She turned 16 June 11th. The vet said for her weight (60 lbs) her life expectancy is around 10 to 12 years.

Our Shiba inu of 12.5 started getting extreme anxiety last year, we did all the health checks/scans/bloodwork.

His ALP or ALT, one of those was increased + cortisol (but he is EXTREMELY stressed at the vet) and his kidneys are working a little less. We started him on reconcile cause he was miserable and after a few weeks he was doing way better

Apart from that he was fine for a while, then randomly got regenerative anemia, lowered his reconcile dose and he was fine but also noticed a bit of back pain.

The last year he just gradually started being weaker in his hindlegs and the last few weeks his back was more sore.

The pictures didn't show arthritis or weird things, all looked really good and he can still run/move normally except for peeing.

We debated getting a ct scan, however the prospect of fixing most thing would be being convined for 6 weeks and a lot of fysiotherapy.

I love this dog and I would do anything for him, but he'd hate it. He hates being forced into anything, it gives him anxiety. The same with keeping him in a small space, he would get frustrated/agressive and just feel horrible.

But we discussed cushings, dementia, and back issues..

He shows some symptoms of all diseases, but nothing give us a definite, he is always a symptomatic on some textbook symptoms.

He doesn't drink more or excessively, he sometimes struggles with finding the right side of the door.. but we just moved houses. However the past year it barely progressed, he is less cuddly and he had gotten seperation anxiety the last three years increasively.. However he is getting better again with training, it's been a literal year and he never gets stuck or loses sight of his dish..

He doesn't enjoy walking anymore which he always loved, however he still enjoys running back..

He never was food driven, but the first sign that got us concerned over a year ago is an insane drive for food. Which is the only thing that is getting worse and worse, however it doesn't seem like he has forgotten that he has aten. He has his timings down perfectly, he just starts begging earlier cause he acts like he is starving.

He is also on gabapentin and sometimes I add in meloxicam, it worked for a while, but the last weeks it got worse again and the food anxiety just seems worse and worse.

He doesn't have a clear potbelly, he has an extremely full coat, but he did get ear/eye infections more often out of no where..

Wouldn't cushings or dementia have escalted more at this point? Anyone has ever heard of this case and that has any clue's cause even the clinics/vets are lost as of now.

He has a few symptoms of everything, but also missed a few other key symptoms and doesn't really get a lot lot worse in most aspects..

Help 🥹

My dog died this morning, about 20 minutes before noon PDT. we actually had a home euthanasia vet come to our house, and I knew we were going to call today but literally she was able to come less than three hours from when we called her at 9 AM.

We didn’t give her her 1/4 dose of phenobarbital today because the euthanasia was happening kind of early. We were actually trying to wean her off of it of because we thought it was causing problems, and we had a two week process that the vet gave us. Our dog looked more lively and walked a bit today, but she had mostly stopped eating for the past two days. She was very weak. She was 16 years old and was going to be 17 next month but of course there’s just this feeling that you could’ve done more, that if you didn’t do something that you did, things would’ve been better.

We took her to the vet in July and we actually spent a fair amount of money during that visit getting testing done and x-rays just to make sure that her lungs were OK. And the vet told us she was a healthy dog. But she had had lung cancer before and had started having seizures. We kept reading about different things, and that’s why we decided we wanted to take her off the phenobarbital and then I was second-guessing that. ACK!

Last night she drank a bunch of water and then I started thinking maybe she has water intoxication and should I go out at two in the morning and take her to an emergency vet, and it’s just kind of crazy making, you know? There’s just nothing you can do when it gets to this point but I kept thinking I would have her around longer when she got the good report in July. 😢

ETA: I wrote this on Monday 10/12/26

She passed on Sunday 10/11. She was 17 1/2 years old. This pic was her in action, hippity-hopping around the snow about 2 years ago. She leaves behind me, a 38 year old, my Mom who called her "her chosen child" (real sweet, Ma, thanks), and 2 cats who keep yowling and looking for her. She lived a good, long life.

I called the crematorium to place an order for her urn and I said, "hey I want the most obnoxiously loud urn you have for her size" and the woman on the other side said, "oh we're going fully Dolly Parton. Okay" and that made my freaking day.... Willa's getting a rainbow urn with rhinestones, an engraving, and if I'm lucky there will be some glitter involved.

Hug your pets tonight.

My little old man Max passed away today, I rescued him from a home where he was scared and abused.
He would have been 17 next year, he was fine 2 days ago and died today.
I’ve lost 3 animals back to back and it’s killing me. They were and always will be my family and I will miss them dearly.
I love you ❤️ Max I hope you knew how much I loved you.

Sadie is my 12 year old Rattie mix. She had severe coughing this morning so I rushed her to the emergency vet. Sadie had mitral valve disease and collapsing trachea so I was really worried. After being at the emergency vet for 4-5 hours, the emergency vet told me that Sadie either has the starting of dog asthma or inflammation of her bronchi in her lungs.

I’m really relieved it wasn’t cancer or her heart disease progressing. I was so worried I almost vomited while at the vet. Sadie means everything to me. I’ve had her going on 11 years. Adopted her in 2016 during a dark time in my life. She brought me the light in the darkness.

Sadie will be getting an inhaler in case she has respiratory distress again. She is now at home resting on the couch with me. ♥️

My 12 year old standard poodle has a failing heart. Just took him to the vet ($800) to find out why he has been collapsing and it's because his left ventricle is enlarged and he has arrthymia. They gave me a medicine ($250/month) for the enlarged heart but said I need to urgently take him to a cardiac specialist, the nearest of which is 3 hours away, for a full diagnosis and treatment of the arrhythmia. He would have to spend the night, which means so would I, and probably follow up visits. So my question is, do I go ahead with this, which I know will run into the many thousands and because of the distance will be rough and he'll probably have to be on numerous expensive meds for the rest of his life, or, since he is 12 and has had a great life, let nature decide? It's not that I don't have any extra money, but does it make sense to maybe prolong his life a few months? I'm torn and heartbroken about what to do. What would anyone here do? Thanks.

I lost her back in June and am still struggling with the grief. I know this is super long, I just want to tell her story to someone. Maggie was a grumpy, rude, opinionated little gremlin dog and she was absolutely perfect and I loved her so fucking much.

A friend's dad rescued her and fell madly in love with her. Unfortunately he only had her for a year or so and then he died. He was the only family my friend had, so my friend went and got Maggie and brought her home. After a while though, it became clear that Maggie was scared of her three young, loud kids and just wasn't a good fit for her home. But my friend also couldn't bear the thought of bringing her dad's beloved dog to a shelter, so she asked me to keep Maggie while she figured out what she wanted to do. I have no kids, live alone with two chill cats, and work from home.

In the beginning Maggie just hid in the corner of my living room. I made her a little nest behind an armchair and she mostly only came out for food. She wouldn't eat in front of me though, she wouldn't even take treats from me. I had to put the food or treat down and leave the room. After a few days of that, I'd put the food down and then only go across the room. Then a few steps away. Eventually she would only get the treat if she took it from me. She would creep up so cautiously, reaching her neck out as far as it would go.

I was already falling madly in love with her myself and eventually told my friend "Sorry, you ran out of time. She's staying here."

And bit by bit, I gained her trust. At first, she would just come check on me at my desk while I worked, then go retreat back to her little cave. Then she'd come and insist on pets, but after a couple mins she'd leave again. Then she started laying down at my feet. Eventually she wanted to be next to me all day and her bed had to be moved right next to my desk. If I got up to go make tea or something, she followed me. Like my silent little shadow. She never barked, the only sound she made was a tiny little air leak (wouldn't even qualify as a whine) when she wanted my attention.

And as she felt more safe with me, her goofy personality just blossomed. She was so fucking hilarious!

She fucking loved treats and bones. When I gave her a really good one, she would first lay down and just stare at it for a while and her whole body would occasionally twitch like a jolt of excitement. After a few minutes of that, she'd go pick it up but then drop it again and dance around it like a prancing pony. Once this phase was over, she'd carry it around from bed to bed looking for a good place to hide it. She wouldn't eat it right away, she'd just take it out every now and then to go through the whole routine again. Days or weeks later she'd finally eat it.

I got her an automated electric heating pad for her bed and she thought she died and went to heaven. The cats eventually discovered it and if she got up, they'd steal her bed. She would have to come get me to "save" her from them. I'd be typing and feel a tiny little lick on my leg. Then she'd look at me, at her bed, at me, at her bed... I'd chuckle and go scoop the cat up so she could lay back down.

She didn't really like anyone except me. If anyone tried to pet her on walks, she'd chomp her teeth at them to scare them away. She never wanted to bite them, she only wanted them to think she would so they would leave her alone. My downstairs neighbor had a young girl, maybe five-ish, who fell deeply in love with Maggie. I explained to her that she couldn't pet Maggie because she was scared of people, so the girl just came near when she saw us, squatted down, and spoke to Maggie nicely. One day I guess the girl decided it had been long enough for them to be friends now and she just walked up and pet Maggie like it was nothing. My jaw dropped because Maggie didn't chomp at her one bit. I could tell Maggie was uncomfortable with it, but it was like she knew how patient the girl had been for so long.

Maggie loved shoving her head in bushes. The leaves would tickle the inside of her huge ears, so she'd pull her head out and shake it vigorously, but then just shove it right back into the bush. Over and over. She even started doing this to things inside, like if a blanket was hanging off the bed or couch, she'd shove her head into it like a bush and just stand there. See photo.

She did not like camping. Obviously, there was no electric heating pad. I swear the first time I brought her with me she thought I taken her out into the woods to murder her. That's the photo with the arrow pointing at her Eyebrow of Great Concern.

She loved the beech. The first time I brought her there, she was out of her fucking mind with joy, running around like a puppy. Everyone else on the beach was laughing at her. She ran so much that day that she was limping for a week afterwards.

She loved laying in the sun. I lived in a third floor apartment when I got her, so we only had walks, no yard. Didn't bother her, if she found a sunny spot she liked then she'd lay down and just leave me standing there holding her leash. As she got older, I decided I needed to get her a yard. I often had to force her back inside so I could work, and in a yard I'd be able to bring my computer out and sit with her.

She loved her yard. It wrapped all the way around the house and whenever we went outside for a potty break, shed walk laps around and around and around the house. And I was required to follow her on her laps. If I got distracted on my phone or went to sit on the porch, as soon as she realized I wasn't there she'd come back and poke her head around the corner staring at me silently, waiting for me. The last photo I ever took of her was her poking her little head around because I refused to do another lap and went to sit on the porch. It's the last photo on this post.

She also found her VOICE defending her yard. For the first three or four years I had her, this dog did not bark. Not once. My mom thought maybe she was part basenji, one friend asked if maybe she'd been "de-barked" in the past. But let me tell you, when another dog got anywhere near her fence she barked and snarled, running across the yard to go tell them who was boss. Her favorite activity became laying on the porch barking her little head off whenever a dog walked past. Or someone with something vaguely dog shaped like a stroller or bag. I didn't even have the heart to tell her to stop, now that she had finally found the confidence. I just laughed.

I could go on, but those are some good highlights. I only got about five years with her and it wasn't enough. I didn't know exactly how old she was but could tell she was getting older and slowing down. My guess is she was 14-ish. It was getting to the point that I was trying to emotionally prepare myself to say good bye. All I wanted for her was to have a peaceful end, at home where she felt safe. I had the number to a vet ready who did in home euthanasia. Sadly, it wasn't meant to be.

One day she woke me up super early in the morning needing to go potty. I got dressed quickly but it wasn't quickly enough and she peed a little on the rug by the front door. I put her outside and came in just to spray the rug so it could start soaking, then peed myself. It was less than five minutes that she was outside alone. She went on a lap around the house without me and didn't make it back. I'm pretty sure a coyote got her, but I didn't see it. She was still alive when I found her and I rushed her to the hospital. At first they thought she was going to make it but what they thought was bruising around her lungs ended up being internal bleeding and we had to put her down.

It's been almost four months and I still miss her so much. I still cry every time I think about her. Her bed is still right there next to my desk and it still feels wrong that it's empty. I just want my grumpy little gremlin dog back.

This guy turned 13 today. 🥹 I'm sad I missed the first year and half of his life. But man I hope he knows how much we love him.

Tonight's dinner will be : steak, potato, apple and watermelon...with some birthday cake. ❤️

We have a 12 year old lab chow mix named Milo. Milo was diagnosed with arthritis in his back legs about 5 years ago and it’s slowly taken his zest for life over time. We first noticed a problem when he tried hopping up on our bed one day and yelped in pain. Now, if we walk him too far down the block he stops for long stretches at a time on the walk back. We have to carry him up the steps of our apartment building (probably why he stops on the walk back because he absolutely hates being picked up) but at this point he won’t go down the steps either. We carry his 50 pounds up and down 15 steps every day, at least three times a day. We tried using a harness to hold up his hips to help, but he absolutely hated that. At my parents house we had to get carpet runners and lay down blankets so he could handle walking on the hardwood floors. We had to carry him up and down the three porch steps at their house because he refuses to go up or down them. Our vet prescribes a daily dog chew, but it doesn’t seem to help enough.

It’s hard to watch this from our boy who once ran so far so fast to the woods we lost him for a good thirty minutes. Who would play with is favorite toy, the rubber rings, and now can’t be bothered. Who would hop up on the bed when he felt like it to join us for a little nap. He’s either asleep these days or when he’s awake, he just pants nonstop, which can be tough to endure because we live in a tiny New York apartment. He’s never hot to the touch when he’s panting, so we don’t think he’s overheating, but just in case we leave a little fan on him. I don’t know if the panting is anxiety related or what. We’re weaning him off Prozac because his once-lively self was a lot to handle with his separation anxiety, but now that he’s a senior, isn’t so much of a problem. Also hoping his need to pee so much as well as some of his personality comes back when he’s off the medication. 

My husband and I are pretty emotionally tired. I myself have never had a dog get to this age, so I feel quite alone in its unique emotional tolls and stresses. I just want my buddy to feel happy and good. But it’s feeling more and more like his quality of life isn’t great. He’s healthy in all other aspects which is a blessing considering we’ve had a tough time with some of his stomach sensitivities in the past. I just don’t know.

I think I just needed a place to post my thoughts out to the universe.

My dog is 13 years young, lab/pit/boxer mix. She is currently snoring loudly as I type this. However, she has been having a bad day since I ran out of Ellevet gummies. She has hip dysplasia and arthritis in most of her joints, including her knees. She is under vet treatment, prescribed 100 mg daily Rimadyl and gabapentin (I don't think the gabapentin is helping at all). She finished her Adequan injections so she is on a biweekly maintenance injection. She is also on salmon oil for her food to help with her joints. Despite all that, she was suffering from pain until I got those gummies which I give to her twice a day (Less than recommended dosage) which imo helped a lot. She became mobile, eating more and more energy.

The gummies should be here today. I'm constantly checking status from the mailman. In the meantime, my dog isn't eating as much and has lost interest in treats which is nothing like her. If those gummies stop helping her, I will take her to the vet for different game plan on her pain treatment.

A part of me tells me she might be done. I know. I just want to exhaust all my options without putting her through any suffering. I know one day, not if, she will come to a point where no gummies or meds will help. That day seems to get closer.

What's so sad is that I lost my other senior dog a few years ago. Just when I thought I am finally going to be OK, this is happening again, probably about a year or less. I know it's the right thing to do when it's time. My heart feels like it's broken so many times, I'm starting to feel a bit of despair. How do you keep having pets and then eventually having to make the worst decisions of your life over and over again? My fiancee is worried about my mental health and has been wanting me to get another dog since I lost my first one. I don't think I ever want another. I just want to keep what I have.

I hope this is allowed, I can't open he community guide or find any rules against it.

I'm working on an educational website www.oldiedogs.com for medical conditions faced by owners of elderly dogs. It is not monetized in any way. It is still being developed. Someday I will hopefully sell supplements although I see that the more research I do the fewer of the supplements we spend money on our older friends seem to really do anything but empty our wallets.

Part of the mission of this website, although someday I will try and monetize it (at the rate I'm going it would be a year plus) is to warn people what NOT to spend money on and when to go to the vet for prescription medications. The pet industry is huge, we do anything for our dogs to what end other than a hit on the wallet but when can some things help.

I got interested when a close friends dog developed cushings disease and we chose to treat with natural products instead of prescription medications and it helped her symptoms. Feedback would be nice but I'm just most interested that people have a resource if it helps to understand a specific condition. the website needs work still so be patient using it..

Has anyone has the same experience?

My yoku is 16, mini pom, has been lethargic for 2 weeks, has heart and lung disease for a very long time,now he has dementia, no more energy, he won't eat anymore, we decided not to take him to vet cause the last time we checked his condition not improving, and yoku is not happy going to the vet, and the best is yoku has his time with us the beloved one.

we hope he leaves us when he sleeps, but he is still alive but we don't know he seems suffering?! He is not responding to anything, eyes wide open seems like a corpse :((

he has been barking whining crying no reason at midnight and now at noon also ,refuse drinking and eating

We feel sad ,he doesn't respond anymore, we prepare for his leaving for the 🌈

We might check to vet tomorrow, the vet can decide what to do , seems like no hope to have him active anymore .

Deuil monCKC 11 ans

Je viens de perdre mon chien Snoop (cavalier king charles) de 11 ans après 4 semaines de combat contre une vésicule biliaire qui a eclaté. c'est le jour de son anniversaire qu'il est rentré en clinique pour urgence vitale. On s'est battu malgré un pronostic vitale engagé, il est même sorti sauf que 4 jours après, une infection bactérienne corrélée à cette intervention (complications) s'est propagée sur son foie et malheureusement son coeur. Il s'est battu on a tout donné mais il est parti. La perte est immense c'est tellement dur, comment peut-on faire le deuil...? Comment accepter ce qu'il s'est passé alors que je me projetais encore 3 ans de plus avec lui et partager d'autres beaux moments. Comment faire face à la réalité...

Just found this r/ and decided to add my dog to the list of olddogs. I acquired her as a foster when she was 5-6 years old. I fed my dogs raw so that's what she and the other foster dog got. Health and coat improved and training went well. So Zita was adopted quickly, but everytime someone came in to meet Aiko, she hid behind me and nothing I did would encourage her to even sniff others. She was very suspicious of men and loud noises when we got her. It took my husband, who regularly had stay cats and dogs come up to him, three months before he could even touch her and then, only if I was holding her. Anyway, I adopted her and she became my service dog on her own. So far she has alerted for blood sugar, overheating, to a fire starting on my stove top, lets me know if thunder is anywhere within 50 miles of us and when I fell and knocked myself unconscious, I came to and she was standing on my chest licking me to wake me up. She is the best decision she has ever made for me, all 10 pounds of her. First pic is today. The following are from 2016 to last year.

The years have changed their looks so much, but not their spirits 💕

Napoleon (Chihuahua mix-13 yo next month)

And Ivy (Aussie- 8.5 years old)

I have spoke to people with old dogs, with dogs that have crossed over, done the Lap of Love survey. The only thing left is he still eats, and lives to eat, my homemade food. Everything else, not good. Arthritic, bad liver, heart not good, nighttime pacing, mostly blind and deaf, sleeps all the time, not affectionate, not interactive, stares at walls, gets stuck behind doors. He juat started peeing ALOT in the house. I will not diaper him. He ia 16 1/2 . It is almost time.

Rough day but now we're warm & cozy till more hospital stuff… Sweet dreams & infinite snuggles to you and your old pups.

Well wishes welcome.

I got our family dog (14-years old) when my mother died of ALS last year. The dog is very dear to me but I am in a situation where I don’t think I have enough resources to take care of this dog. It has started barking when it thinks it’s alone (mornings or evenings) and that is stressing me and the dog of course. The dog eats painkillers and has some minor trouble with balance outside and with slippery floors inside but other than that it is seemingly healthy ❤️.

I love the dog, it’s just killing me that I feel like I’m glued to home all the time and it makes it so hard to plan things. I’m also depressed so the effort it takes to take the dog out is just enormous. I don’t know if it’s living it’s life to the fullest anymore, partly ’cause it’s so old but also because I don’t have it in me to take care of a dog right now.
For a while now I have thought about euthanasia.

I just really hope someone could underestand and maybe offer an opinion or something…

Everyone always says “when he’s ready, you’ll know.” And I’ve always said, I’ll never keep him here to spare me the pain. But as we grow closer, I feel like the lines are so blurred. Royce (13 y/o Boston Terrier) was diagnosed with a chemodectoma in April 2025. We decided to go the no-treatment route and I honestly do not regret it. He’s a trooper and a borderline miracle dog at this point, I know. Over the past few months, my sweet boy has been slowing down tremendously. We battled IVDD which has been really well managed by a cocktail of medication and bowel issues that have been relieved with his new food. The past few days he has had multiple spells where he collapses (not losing consciousness) and urinates on himself. His wheezing labored breathing has also gotten worse. He still eats like a lil piggy and has his moments where he seems truly happy and “fine.” But I can see the defeat and exhaustion on his face. I feel like I’m in a weird in between place right now where we are just waiting for his heart to give out. I know that will be so horrific for me to experience but (hopefully) quick for him. I don’t want to give up on him too soon, but I also don’t want him to go in a traumatic and painful way. Has anyone been in the same boat with a chemodectoma and if so, how did you “know?” I can’t imagine saying goodbye when he still has moments of being his usual self. We aren’t in the diaper wearing, no eating, accidents all the time stage yet. But I also don’t think that’s how it will end for us. I’m preemptively grieving and maybe grieving too soon. It just doesn’t feel like there will ever be a right time. Any thoughts or guidance is so appreciated.

My dog is 14 years and 7 months old. We still do daily walks. Sometimes she has ear infections caused by allergies and she shows some signs of breathing issues (when she is climbing or in the Summer when it's too hot). Otherwise she is fine. However, 2 weeks ago she was diagnosed with open pyometra. They also found a mass in her spleen. We have been treating the pyometra with medicine and it has worked but we are still on antibiotics. We have seen 4 vets. 2 of them said they wouldn't recommend surgery. Maybe it could give her a year or less but they aren't sure she would recover perfectly. 2 of them are more optimistic about the surgery and thought she could still live a good life (maybe a year or who knows). They said even if there's cancer in the spleen it could still be local and she might recover. I booked a surgery but I can still cancel it. I honestly don't know what to do. I'd love to spend one more year or even moths with my baby. But I'm scared of the surgery and recovery period. Also the possibility of breathing issues getting worse or causing trouble during surgey terrifies me. There's also a chance the spleen has no cancer and antibiotics work for pyometra and we could anyway have some time left (pyometra would likely come back later). Please help me make this decision. Or if anyone has experiences about this kind of huge surgery at this age, please tell me.