I'm having a stressful time trying to figure out how to care for my 15
year old dog. She has been on medication for CHF for the last two
years, but in recent months has developed additional problems - loss of
hearing, occasional fecal incontinence, spinal problems and arthritis
that have made her a bit wobbly on her hind legs (not too bad on flat
surfaces, but struggles going up stairs). I know that these are all
signs that the end is nearing, but the positives are that she's still
in fairly good spirits and has a healthy appetite. She is already on
anti-inflammatories and the vet says there are medications for
incontinence, but they may have side-effects with respect to her heart
condition (so I've decided to hold off for now).

The problem is that I'm in the process of moving to a new apartment on
the 2nd floor of a low-rise building. The move has already been
postponed for half a year - I hadn't expected my dog to last this long
and thought it better for her to stay in familiar surroundings. Now
there's no more delaying... Currently I take her out mornings and
nights and someone helps me take her out a couple more times while I'm
at work (she needs to go often because of diuretics). I can carry her
out at the new place, but I don't think the helper will be able to
manage the 45 lbs going up stairs. I'm also worried about aggravating
the new neighbors if she should foul up the hallway. Meanwhile my SO is
growing unhappy with the unsanitary aspect of present circumstances.

Basically I'd be grateful for any advice whatsoever. Are there any
other options in terms of treatment? I'm not too familiar with how some
dogs are house-trained...I've seen some disposable floor mats on sale
in pet shops, is there any hope of getting an old dog to use them? I'm
also thinking of confining her to a part of the apartment during the
day and somehow preparing the area for easy clean-up.

Any advice greatly appreciated!
KR

Some folks I knew had a thing built to contain sod and kept it on their
balcony once their geriatric dog could no longer make it up and down the
stairs. The dog was used to going to the bathroom on grass, so the
transition was not that bad.

Good luck! I have lost a couple of grand old dogs in the last couple of
years and I well appreciate what you are going through.

Yours in dogs and rescue,

Lea
www.shepherdrescue.org

Most vets will tell you of dog owners' reaction after putting their senior
citizen animals down: Wish I had done this sooner.


"K. Reem" wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm having a stressful time trying to figure out how to care for my 15
year old dog. She has been on medication for CHF for the last two
years, but in recent months has developed additional problems - loss of
hearing, occasional fecal incontinence, spinal problems and arthritis
that have made her a bit wobbly on her hind legs (not too bad on flat
surfaces, but struggles going up stairs). I know that these are all
signs that the end is nearing, but the positives are that she's still
in fairly good spirits and has a healthy appetite. She is already on
anti-inflammatories and the vet says there are medications for
incontinence, but they may have side-effects with respect to her heart
condition (so I've decided to hold off for now).

The problem is that I'm in the process of moving to a new apartment on
the 2nd floor of a low-rise building. The move has already been
postponed for half a year - I hadn't expected my dog to last this long
and thought it better for her to stay in familiar surroundings. Now
there's no more delaying... Currently I take her out mornings and
nights and someone helps me take her out a couple more times while I'm
at work (she needs to go often because of diuretics). I can carry her
out at the new place, but I don't think the helper will be able to
manage the 45 lbs going up stairs. I'm also worried about aggravating
the new neighbors if she should foul up the hallway. Meanwhile my SO is
growing unhappy with the unsanitary aspect of present circumstances.

Basically I'd be grateful for any advice whatsoever. Are there any
other options in terms of treatment? I'm not too familiar with how some
dogs are house-trained...I've seen some disposable floor mats on sale
in pet shops, is there any hope of getting an old dog to use them? I'm
also thinking of confining her to a part of the apartment during the
day and somehow preparing the area for easy clean-up.

Any advice greatly appreciated!
KR




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In article ,
KarlMang276 wrote:
Most vets will tell you of dog owners' reaction after putting their senior
citizen animals down: Wish I had done this sooner.

"Most vets?" I've never had a vet say that to me. Frankly,
I'm very uncomfortable with people who have virtually no
information recommending that it's time to have a pet
euthanized. In my experience, people working with their
veterinarian and using some objective criteria tend to make
that decision very well and don't need judgment from those
outside the situation. Examples of more-or-less objective
criteria include things like: over the course of a week, if
a dog has more bad days than good days; or pick three things
your dog loves to do, and if he can no longer do two of them
it's time, etc.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

"K. Reem" wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm having a stressful time trying to figure out how to care for my 15
year old dog. She has been on medication for CHF for the last two
years, but in recent months has developed additional problems - loss of
hearing, occasional fecal incontinence, spinal problems and arthritis
that have made her a bit wobbly on her hind legs (not too bad on flat
surfaces, but struggles going up stairs). I know that these are all
signs that the end is nearing, but the positives are that she's still
in fairly good spirits and has a healthy appetite. She is already on
anti-inflammatories and the vet says there are medications for
incontinence, but they may have side-effects with respect to her heart
condition (so I've decided to hold off for now).

The problem is that I'm in the process of moving to a new apartment on
the 2nd floor of a low-rise building. The move has already been
postponed for half a year - I hadn't expected my dog to last this long
and thought it better for her to stay in familiar surroundings. Now
there's no more delaying... Currently I take her out mornings and
nights and someone helps me take her out a couple more times while I'm
at work (she needs to go often because of diuretics). I can carry her
out at the new place, but I don't think the helper will be able to
manage the 45 lbs going up stairs. I'm also worried about aggravating
the new neighbors if she should foul up the hallway. Meanwhile my SO is
growing unhappy with the unsanitary aspect of present circumstances.


Sorry to hear of your problem. My vet lives on the 6th floor of a midrise
and had two older dogs who weren't able to move about much, so he put sod on
the balcony. The dogs were very happy with the situation till they finally
died. The urine will likely kill the sod eventually but he brought in new
sod periodically. Seems the area was about 7 by 9 feet. His dogs were
smaller than yours but it might be worth a try. I had to carry my 16-yr-old
golden retriever (about 75 lbs) up and down the stairs for about two weeks
and it was not easy but it was doable. Maybe you could get someone else to
help you with that bit? As to your neighbors, sometimes if you explain the
situation and tell them how you're going to minimize the problem, people can
be pretty accommodating. Best of luck to you. I've been through this three
times now and it can be heart-wrenching.

"K. Reem" wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm having a stressful time trying to figure out how to care for my 15
year old dog. She has been on medication for CHF for the last two
years, but in recent months has developed additional problems - loss of
hearing, occasional fecal incontinence, spinal problems and arthritis
that have made her a bit wobbly on her hind legs (not too bad on flat
surfaces, but struggles going up stairs). I know that these are all
signs that the end is nearing, but the positives are that she's still
in fairly good spirits and has a healthy appetite. She is already on
anti-inflammatories and the vet says there are medications for
incontinence, but they may have side-effects with respect to her heart
condition (so I've decided to hold off for now).

The problem is that I'm in the process of moving to a new apartment on
the 2nd floor of a low-rise building. The move has already been
postponed for half a year - I hadn't expected my dog to last this long
and thought it better for her to stay in familiar surroundings. Now
there's no more delaying... Currently I take her out mornings and
nights and someone helps me take her out a couple more times while I'm
at work (she needs to go often because of diuretics). I can carry her
out at the new place, but I don't think the helper will be able to
manage the 45 lbs going up stairs. I'm also worried about aggravating
the new neighbors if she should foul up the hallway. Meanwhile my SO is
growing unhappy with the unsanitary aspect of present circumstances.

Basically I'd be grateful for any advice whatsoever. Are there any
other options in terms of treatment? I'm not too familiar with how some
dogs are house-trained...I've seen some disposable floor mats on sale
in pet shops, is there any hope of getting an old dog to use them? I'm
also thinking of confining her to a part of the apartment during the
day and somehow preparing the area for easy clean-up.

Any advice greatly appreciated!
KR

I didn't find it hard to train my dog to use a pad...I didn't have to do
much work at all. I got the treated kind that attracts the dog to pee in a
certain spot. I rewarded her the first few times she used the pad and now
she's good with it. I have an older dog (12 y/o) who has been quite
healthy, but has occassional problems. I put pads down whenever I leave her
in the house. Sometimes she doesn't need to use them, sometimes she does.

I will admit sometimes her aim is a little off so she gets the corner or
near an edge, but my floors are tile so it's easy to clean up. I'd suggest
you try the pads AND keep them in an easily washable area like a kitchen.
If you're dog is as agreeable as mine you won't need to pen her in the same
room as the pads, she'll learn to go to them to relieve herself.

Thanks for the feedback. I believe my dog is still getting
enough satisfaction from life to warrant keeping her around:

- she loves to eat and she'll sniff around the kitchen floor for an
hour in
hopes of finding a crumb of food.
- she goes to the trouble of moving from room to room to be around
people.
- she'll happily roll around the floor when given a back scratch

Unfortunately the new apartment doesn't have a balcony, but I may
experiment by lining the second bathroom with housebreaking pads. I
also came across a product called the "bottoms up leash" which is like
a hind-leg harness for older dogs. Has anyone tried this and could it
help a dog go up stairs?


Rox wrote:
"K. Reem" wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm having a stressful time trying to figure out how to care for my 15
year old dog. She has been on medication for CHF for the last two
years, but in recent months has developed additional problems - loss of
hearing, occasional fecal incontinence, spinal problems and arthritis
that have made her a bit wobbly on her hind legs (not too bad on flat
surfaces, but struggles going up stairs). I know that these are all
signs that the end is nearing, but the positives are that she's still
in fairly good spirits and has a healthy appetite. She is already on
anti-inflammatories and the vet says there are medications for
incontinence, but they may have side-effects with respect to her heart
condition (so I've decided to hold off for now).

The problem is that I'm in the process of moving to a new apartment on
the 2nd floor of a low-rise building. The move has already been
postponed for half a year - I hadn't expected my dog to last this long
and thought it better for her to stay in familiar surroundings. Now
there's no more delaying... Currently I take her out mornings and
nights and someone helps me take her out a couple more times while I'm
at work (she needs to go often because of diuretics). I can carry her
out at the new place, but I don't think the helper will be able to
manage the 45 lbs going up stairs. I'm also worried about aggravating
the new neighbors if she should foul up the hallway. Meanwhile my SO is
growing unhappy with the unsanitary aspect of present circumstances.

Basically I'd be grateful for any advice whatsoever. Are there any
other options in terms of treatment? I'm not too familiar with how some
dogs are house-trained...I've seen some disposable floor mats on sale
in pet shops, is there any hope of getting an old dog to use them? I'm
also thinking of confining her to a part of the apartment during the
day and somehow preparing the area for easy clean-up.

Any advice greatly appreciated!
KR

I didn't find it hard to train my dog to use a pad...I didn't have to do
much work at all. I got the treated kind that attracts the dog to pee in a
certain spot. I rewarded her the first few times she used the pad and now
she's good with it. I have an older dog (12 y/o) who has been quite
healthy, but has occassional problems. I put pads down whenever I leave her
in the house. Sometimes she doesn't need to use them, sometimes she does.

I will admit sometimes her aim is a little off so she gets the corner or
near an edge, but my floors are tile so it's easy to clean up. I'd suggest
you try the pads AND keep them in an easily washable area like a kitchen.
If you're dog is as agreeable as mine you won't need to pen her in the same
room as the pads, she'll learn to go to them to relieve herself.

"K. Reem" wrote in message
oups.com...
I
also came across a product called the "bottoms up leash" which is like
a hind-leg harness for older dogs. Has anyone tried this and could it
help a dog go up stairs?

.........a towel used as a sling could work just as well.

best to you and your oldster
buglady
take out the dog before replying

buglady wrote:
"K. Reem" wrote in message
oups.com...
I

also came across a product called the "bottoms up leash" which is like
a hind-leg harness for older dogs. Has anyone tried this and could it
help a dog go up stairs?


........a towel used as a sling could work just as well.

I saw a guy at a herding trial use a log-carrier sling to help his
ancient BC in and out of the vehicle. He also used it to help support
her while she peed and pooped. It looked like it might work better than
a towel since it had handles. He looked like he was carrying a
dog-shaped suitcase, but both he and the dog seemed comfortable with it.

Kathleen

In article ,
Kathleen wrote:
I saw a guy at a herding trial use a log-carrier sling to help his
ancient BC in and out of the vehicle. He also used it to help support
her while she peed and pooped. It looked like it might work better than
a towel since it had handles. He looked like he was carrying a
dog-shaped suitcase, but both he and the dog seemed comfortable with it.

I've heard people say that before, but the log haulers I've
seen look a bit wide (12-18"). Towards the end of Duncan's
life I used a dog sling to help him get around and while it
has some nice features (machine washability, for example -
he was pretty incontinent in his last few weeks) it was also
pretty shabbily made. It would be nice to find a sling
that's as sturdy as log carriers but sized better for
medium-sized dogs.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community