BorderKelpie

Until oyour daughter is able to make that hard choice, you may want to look into adding some Vit C. I have used it for joint pain in my working dogs (and myself) It does help.
Beswt wishes for poor Cujo.

Vitamin C For Dogs

peppersb

Hi Pamela,

I just had another idea. Can't believe that this didn't occur to me when I first read your post. I would have the dog tested for Lyme disease.

Several months ago, my 12-year-old boy Bob was having difficulty coming down stairs in the morning and I spoke to my vet about it. He (and I) assumed that it was just a worsening of hips that we already knew were bad. But he suggested doing the Lymes test just to rule that out. Well, it was Lymes! After treatment, he is coming down the steps pretty easily and also showing a lot more energy. I know of another dog, a young puppy, who was very close to being euthanized before someone suggested the Lymes test. She had Lymes and is just fine now.

It may be a long shot, but definitely worth having the blood test done.

MaryLynn

I have a difficult time in my own mind sorting out how I feel about putting dogs down, part of me wishes that humans were not restricted from dying with dignity, while the other wishes that our dogs had the ability to chose their own time.

This is a decision for your daughter to make. I don't think she is selfish for holding on so long, I think some people euthanize too soon often as a result of a list of pros and cons with the cost factor of keeping their dogs alive outweighing a few more months or years of their dogs happiness. I respect your daughters choice to keep trying for Cujo, and I am sure she will do the right thing when she comes back.

sarahmurphy

We went through the same thing with our old dog, Trapper. He was old, his hips gave out, he had tumors in his legs and his joints were seized up. He was such a lover, right up to the end, but he was in pain. We used a sling to help him up and down the 3 steps to our yard for a week or so, then we used it to help him up off the floor, then to support him while he ate, then we realised that this was no life for him, and was not how we wanted to remember him. We made the final vet appointment (our Vet is fabulous, by the way), and had a farewell party. We had a couple of days, and we wanted to help him out before he could not get out of his own poo. Everyone came by to say goodbye to him - which was a nice closure for all of us. We had a dinner party and gave him a people plate of people food, and he just seemed so relieved to be able to leave us and know we were okay. (maybe I am nuts to think I sensed this). As a final sign that we'd made the right choice, he did poo and could not get up to get away from it, or even to get outside.

While this sounds like it went on for months, the reality was that it was a few weeks from "Struggling with the stairs" to "Can't get out of the poo"... It's a tough choice to have to make for them, and if you are lucky, they give you a final sign that you've made the right choice - it was time, and you get to say good bye. Even though Spike is a year old now, we still look for Trapper when we come in the door...

Your family is in my thoughts as you go through this time with your sweet boy.

hugs, sarah

CT Girl

My brother-in-law had miraculous results with condroitin (please forgive my spelling) and his dog regained the ability to do stairs. Unfortunately he also kept the dog going on way too long before he finally let him go. As long as the dog is content and not in pain keep him but hopefully your daughter will realize when the time has come to let him go. I hope she can buy some time with the condroitin.