Question
Meggie Girl
I will be so grateful if you can help educate me. My beautiful 13yr old yellow lab mix is slowing down. Her Sept. senior wellness check and blood panel showed she is healthy. She sleeps a lot and doesn't want to walk very far. Her sleeping is deeper as well, and she may not be hearing as well. She is on Rimadyl for joint pain 2x a day. I don't know what is normal for an older dog... how it will be if she dies of "old age." Do things just start shutting down? The reason I am asking is that she stopped eating a couple of days ago. She walks around like she needs to vomit. After trying to lick up some liquid or smashed wet dog food, she seems to gag or have trouble swallowing, and then has a breathy cough or wheeze sounding reaction. Her ears are droopy as is her tail. She looks sad and is just not herself. The vet could not find anything wrong, and another blood panel showed nothing unusual. Now they are suggesting they could do all sorts of expensive tests... I don't know what to do. I have a limited budget and tests will be hundreds or more! Are these symptoms of old age? Does something in a dog's throat, trachea, stomach just wear out when they get old? Knowing my dog is so old, and that there could be many things that I couldn't afford to fix if we did know definitively what it was (surgery or chemo for cancer for example).... are there some reasons that come to mind that could be causing this problem? Maybe something that I could remedy? By the way, she rallies sometimes and seems ok... then will seem bad again. Thank you so much. Jodie
AnswerHi Jodie,
Our pets later years are the hardest to deal with. It's never easy to watch our beloved companions compromised by the effects of aging.
The sleeping longer, and more deeply is normal for a 13 year old dog. There is no standard for how or when the end will come. It's not uncommon for things to start to shut down, as you mentioned, with several health concerns contributing to the decision of when to put a pet to sleep. Without a doubt, that is the hardest decision any pet owner has to make, but it's a decision made out of love when bad days outnumber the good.
I can't begin to guess at what might be the problem, there are many things which have the symptoms you've described. Not eating is a symptom that she doesn't feel well, which you can easily tell by the way she holds her tail and her general posture. Aging in dogs is a lot like aging in people. Organ systems become inefficient at doing their jobs, things wear out, and disease takes it's toll. It can help your dog's breathing to keep a vaporizer or humidifier near where your dog spends a lot of time. Alternatively, take your dog into a steamy warm bathroom (let the shower run with hot water, your dog doesn't need to be in the shower, just in the room!) Stay with her in the steamy bathroom for 15-20 minutes.
You might try feeding your dog smaller portions more frequently. She may be able to keep down smaller portions. There are some products made especially for elderly and sick pets that help stimulate the appetite, and also provide nutrition. Brands to look for are Clinicare Canine Liquid Diet. DogSure Meal Replacement Food Supplement, Enercal High Calorie Gel, and Nutrical Gel.
The average life span for a Labrador Retriever is 12.6 human years. There comes a point where making your dog as happy and as comfortable as possible becomes the priority. If she'll eat only hard boiled eggs and toast, that's okay at this part of her life. What you want to be mindful of her "quality of life".
Assessing your dog's quality of life is an ongoing process, not a one-time decision. Your dog may not be at the point where you need to consider putting her to sleep, but it's a sad eventuality you need to be aware of. It is the desire of all owners that their dogs should die naturally and peacefully in their sleep, but for most this does not happen. It is, therefore, our duty to decide when is the right time to bid farewell. If you'd care to read more about quality of life issues, you can read more here:
http://www.pet-loss.net/quality.html
I hope I've been a help.
Patti
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