before we eventually had to make the decision to put him down. We too were concerned about "How will we know?", "Will we let him suffer out of our own selfish desire to have him around longer?", "Will we misinterpret a bad day for the end and put him down too soon?", etc. I can reassure you that you know your dog best and she will be able to let you know when it is time. As the others have mentioned, maybe by stopping eating or maybe the look in her eyes, when it is time, it will be unmistakable and you will know. It is good you are preparing yourself, but I would caution worrying too much and just enjoy the time you have left with her (possibly a few more years).

before we eventually had to make the decision to put him down. We too were concerned about "How will we know?", "Will we let him suffer out of our own selfish desire to have him around longer?", "Will we misinterpret a bad day for the end and put him down too soon?", etc. I can reassure you that you know your dog best and she will be able to let you know when it is time. As the others have mentioned, maybe by stopping eating or maybe the look in her eyes, when it is time, it will be unmistakable and you will know. It is good you are preparing yourself, but I would caution worrying too much and just enjoy the time you have left with her (possibly a few more years).

My Roxy will be 9 this month and altho she sleeps most of the day away and is having some pee accidents in the house, euthanasia could not be further from my mind.

I'm happy to report I just had her eyes checked and she still has good tear production. I'm hoping for at least another 4 years!

My Roxy will be 9 this month and altho she sleeps most of the day away and is having some pee accidents in the house, euthanasia could not be further from my mind.

I'm happy to report I just had her eyes checked and she still has good tear production. I'm hoping for at least another 4 years!

i have two rescues that are 9 yo and do they have medical issues yes they do....one has dry eye and artifcal tear are about 9$ a box....we have a morning ritual were i clean her eyes and before bed time... the other is just old and the joint are bad...she needs a little help with the stairs once in a while and some times well she pees on on the floor!!!!! would i ever think of putting them down becaue their a bother no i would not....their happy they enjoy going for rides...yes it takes me almost an hr to get them in the car for a 15 min drive but the two old broads are pretty happy about getting out and around....
when is is time...when they stop eating...when the cancer is causing to much pain...but not
when it becomes to much work...

i have two rescues that are 9 yo and do they have medical issues yes they do....one has dry eye and artifcal tear are about 9$ a box....we have a morning ritual were i clean her eyes and before bed time... the other is just old and the joint are bad...she needs a little help with the stairs once in a while and some times well she pees on on the floor!!!!! would i ever think of putting them down becaue their a bother no i would not....their happy they enjoy going for rides...yes it takes me almost an hr to get them in the car for a 15 min drive but the two old broads are pretty happy about getting out and around....
when is is time...when they stop eating...when the cancer is causing to much pain...but not
when it becomes to much work...

Its an anti-rejection drug given to patients who have undergone a transplant resulting from cancer, such as liver transplant...and one of the beneficial side-effects is that it can increase tear production if a gland has any remaining production factor...it works in most cases but not all.

Its an anti-rejection drug given to patients who have undergone a transplant resulting from cancer, such as liver transplant...and one of the beneficial side-effects is that it can increase tear production if a gland has any remaining production factor...it works in most cases but not all.

You are right on.  I couldn't imagine leaving one of my babies to face that alone.  It is not an easy thing to do, but I wasn't there when two of mine passed and as you said, it haunts you forever.  One was in for surgery at the er vet and I was told to go home and they would cal shen everything was done, and he passed on the table, and the other, I think it was for me that he died while I was at work at I had just put one of my other down a few weeks before,  God works in mysterious ways!!!

You are right on.  I couldn't imagine leaving one of my babies to face that alone.  It is not an easy thing to do, but I wasn't there when two of mine passed and as you said, it haunts you forever.  One was in for surgery at the er vet and I was told to go home and they would cal shen everything was done, and he passed on the table, and the other, I think it was for me that he died while I was at work at I had just put one of my other down a few weeks before,  God works in mysterious ways!!!

he was a beautiful man!!!!!!

he was a beautiful man!!!!!!

For her and when that did take place if it ever does. I have been doing eye drops for years, I just sometimes feel like maybe I'm being selfish because her one eye gets really bad and is starting to get the black in it and almost towards the center. Time will tell, and I would definitely be there holding her when they do that to her, if it comes down to that.

For her and when that did take place if it ever does. I have been doing eye drops for years, I just sometimes feel like maybe I'm being selfish because her one eye gets really bad and is starting to get the black in it and almost towards the center. Time will tell, and I would definitely be there holding her when they do that to her, if it comes down to that.

drug and when prescribed in drop form will increase the tear production in your girl...

You will 'know' when it is time...I had the vet come to our home...OMG!!! just take a big stake and drive it through my heart.

[IMG][/IMG]
Andrea, Ruby, Lola and Jigger
XXOO

drug and when prescribed in drop form will increase the tear production in your girl...

You will 'know' when it is time...I had the vet come to our home...OMG!!! just take a big stake and drive it through my heart.

[IMG][/IMG]
Andrea, Ruby, Lola and Jigger
XXOO

Our Rocky was a wonderful bulldog with many issues. Whatever he was going through he never showed pain. As he got older, he also developed dry eye in both eyes, eventually he was almost completely blind. He managed quite well though, we think he knew his way by instinct. We knew his time was approaching, and we hoped, like everyone, that he would go peacefully in his sleep. But that was not to be.
Then, he stopped eating, and we could see in his eyes, it was time. The day we made the much dreaded appointment when my husband came home from work, Rocky was laying on the floor, and when my husband got down with him he wagged his tail a bit, it was heartbreaking, the hardest thing we ever did. But it was the right thing, at the right time, he knew it, and so did we.
Rocky 1999-2009

Our Rocky was a wonderful bulldog with many issues. Whatever he was going through he never showed pain. As he got older, he also developed dry eye in both eyes, eventually he was almost completely blind. He managed quite well though, we think he knew his way by instinct. We knew his time was approaching, and we hoped, like everyone, that he would go peacefully in his sleep. But that was not to be.
Then, he stopped eating, and we could see in his eyes, it was time. The day we made the much dreaded appointment when my husband came home from work, Rocky was laying on the floor, and when my husband got down with him he wagged his tail a bit, it was heartbreaking, the hardest thing we ever did. But it was the right thing, at the right time, he knew it, and so did we.
Rocky 1999-2009

Tacrolimus or cyclosplorine work great for dry eye. consider looking into that before putting your dog dow.

Tacrolimus or cyclosplorine work great for dry eye. consider looking into that before putting your dog dow.

I have her on the cyclosporin or however you spell it eye drops etc. I'm just trying to get people's advice for the future. I just hate to see them suffer too much, especially don't want to keep her going out of my selfishness. But thanks for the responses, she still has awhile to go, just curious when people really felt the need to take that final step.

I have her on the cyclosporin or however you spell it eye drops etc. I'm just trying to get people's advice for the future. I just hate to see them suffer too much, especially don't want to keep her going out of my selfishness. But thanks for the responses, she still has awhile to go, just curious when people really felt the need to take that final step.

taking her to a vet opthalmalogist?? There are currently medications out there that can help really with some of the issues of dry eye. My old girl started getting dry eye about 9 years of age....I gave her tear production eye meds....she was still very full of life, and lived to be 11 1/2. I didn't once consider putting her down for it. Check all your options before deciding to do something to that extreme, especially since she has quality of life, and with some med management it can be managed and in cases improved. JMO.

taking her to a vet opthalmalogist?? There are currently medications out there that can help really with some of the issues of dry eye. My old girl started getting dry eye about 9 years of age....I gave her tear production eye meds....she was still very full of life, and lived to be 11 1/2. I didn't once consider putting her down for it. Check all your options before deciding to do something to that extreme, especially since she has quality of life, and with some med management it can be managed and in cases improved. JMO.

I always say that when their tails stop wagging and they don't eat.... I also keep a llist of the good days and the bad days, when the bad outweight the good then.... Also you can tell when they are tired.  Their eyes speak volumes. 

I always say that when their tails stop wagging and they don't eat.... I also keep a llist of the good days and the bad days, when the bad outweight the good then.... Also you can tell when they are tired.  Their eyes speak volumes. 

but I want to state my own. Sigh...there are several points I wish to make, tho not in any particular order of priority. My bitch is 12& 1/2yrs old now and altho she has notable arthritis and some dry-eye, I hope she can at least get past this summer and I'm willing to help her out to the yard, clean her eyes a couple times a day and put drops in, and in general, spoil her. Her mother lived to be 13 and I did the same for her, so having your dog reach 9yrs old is good but she may have a couple more years in her if you're willing to tend to her needs.

Regarding her dry-eye, that can happen at an earlier age than nine, and if you cannot afford or simply don't wish to try one of the cyclosporine Rx products which MAY stimulate more tear production, you can at least (and at reasonable cost) buy generic artificial tears at Wal-Mart or equivalent and keep her eyes rinsed and moist 3-4 times a day...that will at least keep her comfortable and allow her to use what remaining eyesight she has without it getting worse. I don't think this is too much to ask of you.

If you have been using the same veterinarian for several years, he/she will honor your request and euthanize your dog when you say her quality of life has dropped sufficiently that you feel the need to put her down. With a dog of this age, the vet likely wouldn't challenge you...tho with a younger dog that might not be the case. I do want to stress however that it is IMHO your responsibility to remain with her when she receives this lethal injection. She deserves to be calm and assured by your voice and touch that she is ok. Of course this will be hard on you...and it should be a sad time, but she deserves this quiet calm send-off and you too should feel that she left with the calmness and comfort you could provide at the end. There's nothing ugly or frightening about a lethal injection...most dogs just go to sleep (coma) and you can very occasionally hear a slight "sigh" at their last breath but its a natural occurrance. There is a charge for this service, usually based on the weight of the animal, and yes you can have the vet's office arrange for a cremation of her remains. I've had this done on several of my recently passed bullies and the company send the ashes to me in a lovely small pine box together with a plaster pawprint of her and a lovely poem.

I am a retired RVT and have worked in veterinary offices where animals were brought in for euthanasia, as well as having this done for some of my own old/very sick dogs. A great many years ago I brought a sick cat in to be put down, and I left the cat there for the staff to deal with...the thought of that abandonment has haunted me for years and I vowed never to leave one of my loved ones alone again.

T

but I want to state my own. Sigh...there are several points I wish to make, tho not in any particular order of priority. My bitch is 12& 1/2yrs old now and altho she has notable arthritis and some dry-eye, I hope she can at least get past this summer and I'm willing to help her out to the yard, clean her eyes a couple times a day and put drops in, and in general, spoil her. Her mother lived to be 13 and I did the same for her, so having your dog reach 9yrs old is good but she may have a couple more years in her if you're willing to tend to her needs.

Regarding her dry-eye, that can happen at an earlier age than nine, and if you cannot afford or simply don't wish to try one of the cyclosporine Rx products which MAY stimulate more tear production, you can at least (and at reasonable cost) buy generic artificial tears at Wal-Mart or equivalent and keep her eyes rinsed and moist 3-4 times a day...that will at least keep her comfortable and allow her to use what remaining eyesight she has without it getting worse. I don't think this is too much to ask of you.

If you have been using the same veterinarian for several years, he/she will honor your request and euthanize your dog when you say her quality of life has dropped sufficiently that you feel the need to put her down. With a dog of this age, the vet likely wouldn't challenge you...tho with a younger dog that might not be the case. I do want to stress however that it is IMHO your responsibility to remain with her when she receives this lethal injection. She deserves to be calm and assured by your voice and touch that she is ok. Of course this will be hard on you...and it should be a sad time, but she deserves this quiet calm send-off and you too should feel that she left with the calmness and comfort you could provide at the end. There's nothing ugly or frightening about a lethal injection...most dogs just go to sleep (coma) and you can very occasionally hear a slight "sigh" at their last breath but its a natural occurrance. There is a charge for this service, usually based on the weight of the animal, and yes you can have the vet's office arrange for a cremation of her remains. I've had this done on several of my recently passed bullies and the company send the ashes to me in a lovely small pine box together with a plaster pawprint of her and a lovely poem.

I am a retired RVT and have worked in veterinary offices where animals were brought in for euthanasia, as well as having this done for some of my own old/very sick dogs. A great many years ago I brought a sick cat in to be put down, and I left the cat there for the staff to deal with...the thought of that abandonment has haunted me for years and I vowed never to leave one of my loved ones alone again.

T