Old Retriever

Question
Thanks soo much for the reply. Yes she is on her thyroid medication, orally. Yes she has some arthritis medication. I was just worried, or maybe disappointed...forgetting that she is an old dog, and can't go for the long walks that we used to go on. She was at my x's house for a year with no medication and I've noticed such a difference in her, that i thought seeing she was 12 she was on her way out the door. Goldens are known for looking really sad... and I don't like the fact that she's sad, breaks my heart. So I was considering putting her down, if she was suffering, but the vet said that she didn't have a thyroid probem, until she checked and infact she did... so I'm changing vets, getting meds, and as long as I guess she's not suffering, then she'll be okay!! But taking her for a walk to get the mail is almost too far for her, starts tripping over her back feet. I just really don't want her to be uncomfortable and me lingering it on unneccessarily.

Thanks again for the reply, you've helped me out greatly!!
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
I have a 12 year old dog with arthritis in her back legs, her thydroyd is shut down. I am having a real had time coming up with an answer of whether to put her down or not. She's biting her front legs and causing open wounds. I went to my vet and she didn't even notice anything wrong. Can someone help me decide whether or not to get her put down??
-----Answer-----
Hi Megan,

The biggest criteria I look for with an old animal is quality of life - if the animal is comfortable and still enjoying things like attention from his human and eating.

Since your vet didn't notice anything wrong, it might be worth it if you brought your dog back to the vet, and pointed out that it's not uncommon for dogs with hypothyroidism to have bacterial infections of the skin. Request some medication to address the problem!

You didn't say if your dog is on any medication for the arthritis or not. There are also medications available which can significantly reduce her pain, and restore mobility. You also didn't say if your dog is getting any treatment for her thyroid problem, such as oral supplementation of the thyroid hormone, special diet, etc.

Treated correctly, hypothyroidism is not a life-threatening disease, in fact most symptoms should clear up after treatment with the supplemented thyroid hormone.

It sounds as though if you were able to get a little control of the thyroid disorder (which would clear up the skin problem), and the arthritis, that your dog might be be living more comfortably, and you wouldn't need to consider putting her down at this time.

I hope I've been a help.
Best of luck,

Patti


Answer
Hi Megan,

I'm glad to hear that you're changing vets. You didn't say what medications you're currently using to control the arthritis pain, but maybe that's something else the new vet can help with.
It is usually possible to improve the quality of life for arthritic pets a great deal.

Best of luck,
Patti