How to know when to put an old dog with cancer and dementia to sleep?

This is always a hard decision as our loved ones get older. My rule of thumb is to look for when they have more bad days than good days or they quit eating or quit getting excited about things that ALWAYS use to make them excited. From what you're telling me it doesn't sound like she is ready to be euthanized BUT you know her better than anyone and with her age and all of her problems, whenever you make that decision it will be be The Right time for her and you. She is so lucky to have such a loving family and to have lived such a LONG life. I hope this helps!

Hi there! Thanks for letting us take care of you today! Sorry to hear about Sam. I definitely know where you are coming from as I mostly see cancer patients. What I usually tell my clients is that the time to consider humane euthanasia is when they stop being themselves. For example, when they stop doing 3 out of their 5 favorite things (eating, playing, or whatever these are), it is time to let them go without suffering. Of course this is if not considering treating the cancer. There are always palliative medications you could consider like pain control medications such as Tramadol and NSAIDs to be added to the gabapentin just from a palliative standpoint to try to make Sam feel better in the meantime. Sorry you are going through a rough time.

If your dog is happy and you feel that she has a good quality of life and can poop fairly easily, there is no reason to put her down. Listen to your dog. She will tell you when it is time to go. Your dog knows. Apart from that there are quite a few ways to control pain. 1) arthritis pain is probably the worst and worse than tumor pain at this stage. So if she is stiff and wobbly you may want to ask your vet about giving her an NSAIDs for arthritis (she needs to have normal kidney and liver parameters, though, but since you had surgery done recently, your vet may be able to use those blood work results). 2) if she cannot take NSAIDs, then there are other pain medicines available. The lumps under the skin either side of her anus could be filled anal sacs which could be expressed. They may not be tumors. Your vet may be able to stop the bleeding of the tumor by cauterising it, or you can get some Yunnan Baiyao powder or capsules and put the powder on the bleeding wound. It should stop the bleeding for a while.

I'm sorry Kenya has cancer! I work for a home euthanasia service, so I face this question from my clients frequently. I recommend looking at her quality of life. Make a list of five things she loves to do, and when she is no longer doing at least two of them, then her quality of life has declined to the point where euthanasia should be considered. Best of luck, I hope this helps.

I'm so sorry Ghost has cancer and you are going through this, it's very hard! I work for a home euthanasia service, so I face these questions with my clients all the time. I would speak with his vet about pain medication. He can be put onto a pain management protocol that could make him feel better, and increase his quality of life. You can also talk to your vet about the possible use of laxative on him, which may make it easier for him to pass feces. Having these medications on board can help significantly improve him quality of life for a period of time so that you can have more time with him before having to let him go. I would have him seen by a vet today or tomorrow to speak about these issues. When it comes to saying goodbye, I tell my clients to make a list of five things their dogs loves to do. When they aren't doing at least two of them, then their quality of life has declined to a point where euthanasia should be considered. It's very important to take his quality of life into account when making the decision to let a pet go or not. I hope this helps! If you'd like to discuss things further,, I'd be happy to snout with you, just click the "consult online" button under my answer.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Jade! This is the hardest part of owning pets. You know what is best for your pet. You know her quality of life better than anyone ever will. Your Vet and we can help you decide when it is time. I consider a decreased/poor quality of life when the bad days out weigh the good days. When an animal no longer hangs out with the family, can't get around well, has vomit, diarrhea or won't eat, is crying or whimpering then I consider that a poor quality of life. I don't think it is wrong to try some time with pain medications to see if you can improve her mobility. But if it doesn't work and you think she is in pain then it might be time to consider putting her to sleep. I wish you and Jade the best!

Pain is not always a factor in these condition, common places where those tumors like to go are the lungs, the liver and the brain, in case of the lung you will start seeing respiratory distress, in case of the brain you will see neurological signs and seizures. It's very different from case to case and it's difficult to know when the right time will be, but when the time comes you will probably know.