ShepherdShade
Tourist
So it looks like after 11 years, one of my dogs is starting to go downhill fast.It started a year ago, where he started trying to poop more than usual, and either he would go a little bit here and there, or he would have a regular bowel movement but then the other times there was nothing. The issue progressed slowly over the next few months where he would be trying more and more. When we go out for a walk or a run, there would be a few times where he just had to stop and try for a good minute or two, and nothing. More months go by and the consistency of his shit started becoming more semi-solid, and a little bit messy so he would start leaving little Marks here and there around the house. I started rubbing down spots with the oxygen powered spot spray, you rub that with a towel and the Mark is gone completely so it was no big deal. And then slowly over the next few months it got to a point where he was trying to go all the time outdoors. Never indoors, and he never signaled for an emergency like he needed to go outside, it was only when he had the opportunity.
And then into the last 3 months where the issue has gotten a lot worse, where I had to start putting him in doggie diapers. I forget at what point I took him to the vet because he got this growth on his hind end near the base of his tail, and it didn't show up on x-ray but we did see major impaction. Just absolutely full of shit. His asshole was pretty inflamed, so they put him on a month's course of some anti-inflammatory pill. It's worth noting at this point that I've never messed around with his asshole. I did not cause this inflammation! And then there was a point where I wasn't using the diapers for a couple weeks because it was unnecessary and then all of a sudden he was having a mess for 3 days in a row and the smell went from smelling like shit to smelling like something funky but it wasn't anal gland juice nor shit. I heard it was probably because of the infection that was inside of that lump whatever it is, and it seemed to have drained. Being that it came out of his asshole and it stopped after a few days, I'm guessing it's not some sort of perforated bowel, but something that is growing off the anal gland and it was able to use the gland to pass through whatever substance was in that tumor like object. And then he was clean for a while and it regrew, and there are these phases he goes through where it will inflate and then deflate. Last week it deflated, and it hasn't grown again, but over the last 6 weeks, I constantly have to clean up and wipe him up, and change the diaper more than 10 times a day. The house at this point always smells like that Nature's Miracle stuff, or straight dog shit.
As for his personality, nothing has changed, and he isn't embarrassed by any of it probably because I've never reacted poorly. I am just trying to get the most life out of him that I can, and now it seems like the end is near. I was disappointed with the vet because they didn't seem to really give a shit about the growth, and instead focused on getting the anal swelling down and cleaned out his glands, and said it was neurological dysfunction since that growth wasn't pressing on anything like on his guts causing a blockage. And that's where they figured it was just neurological dysfunction. Or spinal cord issues or whatever. And the vet said this is a pretty common thing to happen with the senior dogs. Best guess is that whatever he has is a cyst since it is periodically draining.
So what I want to know, is where should I be at in regards to euthanasia? I know that for most of the normies out there with their nine to five job and wife and kids, that they would have put on the dog in the progression of his disease, probably around 6 months ago. But I would like to hear more from you guys. Some of the things to keep in mind about me is that I can't just keep going back to the vet and plopping down hundreds of dollars for every single little visit. Over the last two years I've been through some crazy Financial strain and because of that, I've talked to a doctor friend of mine and we now have him on a different food and adding pumpkin to it, and then after a week we'll see how he is, and then we can add Imodium to see if we can get these shits more solidified, to make it manageable. I don't have much hope for any of this working, because he started out with being so impacted that we figured that he's eventually going to get so full of shit that it starts pressing on nerves and giving him such neurological dysfunction that you end up having to bring them into the vet and putting them down. I have seen that happen with a friend of mine who had a shepherd and her dog was kind of walking around like he was drunk and didn't know where he was at, took him to the vet and they found some tumors growing deep within the body that had pressed up against the guts and blocked them off and he was unable to passing a shit, and so the day before he didn't feel like eating, and I guess that was a sign, but it came out of nowhere. And not only that but the dog was also 10 and 1/2 years old and there was no way that she was going to spend $4,800 surgery on a dog that was already so old and didn't even know if that dog would make it out of surgery alive at that point. So it was a lot easier decision for her to have the dog put down. From mine, I just don't know but I want to be prepared, and I want to know at what point you guys would make that decision. So just kind of want to hear from everyone.
And then into the last 3 months where the issue has gotten a lot worse, where I had to start putting him in doggie diapers. I forget at what point I took him to the vet because he got this growth on his hind end near the base of his tail, and it didn't show up on x-ray but we did see major impaction. Just absolutely full of shit. His asshole was pretty inflamed, so they put him on a month's course of some anti-inflammatory pill. It's worth noting at this point that I've never messed around with his asshole. I did not cause this inflammation! And then there was a point where I wasn't using the diapers for a couple weeks because it was unnecessary and then all of a sudden he was having a mess for 3 days in a row and the smell went from smelling like shit to smelling like something funky but it wasn't anal gland juice nor shit. I heard it was probably because of the infection that was inside of that lump whatever it is, and it seemed to have drained. Being that it came out of his asshole and it stopped after a few days, I'm guessing it's not some sort of perforated bowel, but something that is growing off the anal gland and it was able to use the gland to pass through whatever substance was in that tumor like object. And then he was clean for a while and it regrew, and there are these phases he goes through where it will inflate and then deflate. Last week it deflated, and it hasn't grown again, but over the last 6 weeks, I constantly have to clean up and wipe him up, and change the diaper more than 10 times a day. The house at this point always smells like that Nature's Miracle stuff, or straight dog shit.
As for his personality, nothing has changed, and he isn't embarrassed by any of it probably because I've never reacted poorly. I am just trying to get the most life out of him that I can, and now it seems like the end is near. I was disappointed with the vet because they didn't seem to really give a shit about the growth, and instead focused on getting the anal swelling down and cleaned out his glands, and said it was neurological dysfunction since that growth wasn't pressing on anything like on his guts causing a blockage. And that's where they figured it was just neurological dysfunction. Or spinal cord issues or whatever. And the vet said this is a pretty common thing to happen with the senior dogs. Best guess is that whatever he has is a cyst since it is periodically draining.
So what I want to know, is where should I be at in regards to euthanasia? I know that for most of the normies out there with their nine to five job and wife and kids, that they would have put on the dog in the progression of his disease, probably around 6 months ago. But I would like to hear more from you guys. Some of the things to keep in mind about me is that I can't just keep going back to the vet and plopping down hundreds of dollars for every single little visit. Over the last two years I've been through some crazy Financial strain and because of that, I've talked to a doctor friend of mine and we now have him on a different food and adding pumpkin to it, and then after a week we'll see how he is, and then we can add Imodium to see if we can get these shits more solidified, to make it manageable. I don't have much hope for any of this working, because he started out with being so impacted that we figured that he's eventually going to get so full of shit that it starts pressing on nerves and giving him such neurological dysfunction that you end up having to bring them into the vet and putting them down. I have seen that happen with a friend of mine who had a shepherd and her dog was kind of walking around like he was drunk and didn't know where he was at, took him to the vet and they found some tumors growing deep within the body that had pressed up against the guts and blocked them off and he was unable to passing a shit, and so the day before he didn't feel like eating, and I guess that was a sign, but it came out of nowhere. And not only that but the dog was also 10 and 1/2 years old and there was no way that she was going to spend $4,800 surgery on a dog that was already so old and didn't even know if that dog would make it out of surgery alive at that point. So it was a lot easier decision for her to have the dog put down. From mine, I just don't know but I want to be prepared, and I want to know at what point you guys would make that decision. So just kind of want to hear from everyone.
