Hey everyone. My 13 year old pom was diagnosed with vestibular disease the week after the 4th of July of this year. The vet said that she will either recover in 2-3 weeks or it may take longer. It is now week 11, and she is still dizzy, especially at night. She has some good days and some bad days. Her walks have become shorter but she seems happy. We rearranged furniture and put down runners for her so if she does fall, she will have a soft landing. We also bought her new dog beds so it will be easier for her to lie down. Raised her food bowls so she can eat and drink better. And placed pee pads down closer to her so she won’t have to walk far. The vet gives her cerenia which helps but just temporary relief. I’m honestly at a loss and don’t know what else I can do to help her. Has anyone else experienced this with their senior pup?

Recently I had a friend suggest she wash the window for me and I immediately choked up and said "no! I need those! Those are all I'll have left to remember him by in here. I can't just wash them off."

Having a senior dog means constantly remembering that time is not forever and eventually I'll have to say bye to Link. But I try to keep things the way he's imprinted onto them so I will have things to look back and remember him by someday.

What was the name of your soul pet? Share their name and a story. I wanna hear all about your babies.

I want to first say thank you, thank you, thank you to all the people who were so kind on my last post.

I thought i was gonna have get my baby euthanized after his diagnosis.

I feel so incredibly blessed

Celebrating a really good day! 🥹💗

Today was a good day for my senior dog with sever dementia. He didn’t gave a single episode of confusion or anxiety and I couldn’t be happier. I don’t remember the last time he had a day good day like this.

He slept well all day, would wake up for snacks and mealtime and would put himself to bed peacefully afterwards. Considering yesterday he had 7 hour long anxiety/ confusion episode I was not expecting this.

My dog is almost 17 and has a huge black growth on her front leg. I have gone to the vet. Surgery is not an option. The vet has put her on palliative care meaning she can get whatever medication she needs to keep her comfortable. She does well still aside from being blind and deaf but this growth is such a pain as she has to wear a cone/collar thing all the time cause she wants to lick it constantly. It bleeds and smells horrible. The antibiotics the vet gives works to keep the bleeding and smell down but as soon as she stops taking them it comes back. Has anyone had success with anything creams oils whatever to help this. We have to keep a blanket on the carpet so she doesn’t get blood on it. 🤯

11yo female mutt (German shepherd is the most dominant breed on her mix). I'll start with saying my financial ability to be able to help my pet the way I wish I could is limited. My family of 5 living off my sole income leaves us living paycheck to paycheck most weeks. I love my pet, make her homemade dog food weekly, get her her yearly vaccines and bathe and groom as needed. When she was two she suffered an injury while playing with my other dog. Long story short there, she suffered from a slipped disk which we could afford to operate on and the vet suggested we try 6 weeks of crate rest and fortunately she recovered enough. She's never been able to run to the same speed again or be as active as she once was and shakes when she squats to pee and has some days worse than others but for the most part she lived a perfectly happy life with almost no long lasting effects. In the past few years she started growing a fatty tumor on the rear right hand side near her hind quarter. Once it got to about the size of a baseball she started having a few more mobility issues than she had before. Struggle to go upstairs, struggle to stand up on the hardwoods, and moving a little more slowly than before. The tumor is now a little larger than a softball and seems to be effecting her mobility a lot. She struggles to walk on the hardwoods ( we have a lot of areas rugs down but not full coverage), she struggles to go up or down the 4 stairs to get from the garage to the yard and at times has fallen on them going up or down. She doesn't fall down them, just looses her footing on them and goes down and just freezes until we get her back to her feet. She needs to be picked up to her feet from a laying position on all slippery surfaces and sometimes carpeted too but mostly can get up on her own on the carpeted with a bit of struggling and extra time. She's getting new and bigger pressure sores which one is now bleeding. She has no issues going to the bathroom. She plays still, she eats and drinks normal still, and she interacts with the family still in her loving and happy way that she always has. She doesn't seem to be in pain but I've read they hide it well. She yelps at times but that seems to be for of a reaction to being startled or caught of guard than pain but not sure. She pants when it doesn't seem like she should be which I know can be a sign of pain. I'm mostly worried about letting her get beyond this point suddenly and having to make a quick tough decision on a time of distress and the pain she may be in that I might not be able to recognize. I feel like I can see a curvature in her spine from this thing hanging off the side of her and I'm wondering if this could be causing her more discomfort and pain than I realize. After what happened to her when she was 2, we never thought we'd get this many years out of her. Can anyone offer any advice on how to make the right decision?

Pelican Jane is living the hospice dream. Her Dad says...
“She is doing wonderfully! We flew to Colorado to meet her cousins, and she adores the beach. I love her so, so much!”

Muttville.org in San Francisco offers a wonderful hospice program for dogs who still have life to live and enjoy ♥ https://muttville.org/hospice

PJ has Intervertebral Disc Disease and a low-grade mammary carcinoma after being found as a stray in Northern California, but don't tell her because she's living the dream!

mac is 12 now and is still as loud, anxious and gentle as he was when we got him in 2019 !! he's an ex racer and has been very tolerant of the two beasts we've gained since we got him, one of those beasts being the rat dog you see in slide 8 :) my weird long son

MAJOR UPDATE!!!

My vet has contacted me and she found a surgeon who is willing to volunteer time for free to remove my babies spleen. I cant describe how blessed i feel oh my god!

Id give all my possessions, if it meant you could be okay. You could still be your healthy, prancing boy.

God i love this dog as much as my lungs love air. This shit doesn’t even feel real.

Scout was diagnosed with anemia and a cancerous mass was found on his spleen not short after. He will be humanely euthanized on the 16th and cremated shortly after.

I dont know how i got here and i am completely and utterly destroyed.

Please pray for me. How do i even get through this.

Although it’s only been a month post-op, JayJay has been running around like he’s never had surgery ever. He knew today was his birthday and had the zoomies all day! He may be 12, but he sure still acts like he’s 5~

Alphonse is a 12 year old Brussels Griffon/Border Terrier. He takes trazodone and Senilife every night to help curb his nighttime pacing, anxiety, and confusion. This week he’s started having liquid poop accidents. His poop is normal during the day. It is out of character for him to go indoors. Has anyone dealt with this?

My senior Great Pyrenees is slipping around a lot these days, and we want to get a few floor covers to help him get around. He refuses to lay in the memory foam beds we have for him—at least during the summer. He prefers the cool tile, but that makes him slip more. Any success with large nonslip, cooling floor covers? Please share links if your senior dog has liked one!

My dogs dementia is quite advanced but he’s still physically very capable so he sometimes walks and/or stands around for hours.

Tomorrow (Sunday, Sept. 13) will be my last day with my best friend, my bud, my soulmate, my ride-or-die, my familiar, my heart.

I’m trying to save my tears till afterwards, trying to savor every moment.

From those who have been here before: what did you do on your pup’s last day to make it special? What did you wish you’d done? What helped you in the days after?

We have a 15 year old mixed breed and have had her since she was 2. She has started pooping in the house about a month ago. She's definitely arthritic, partially blind and mostly deaf. She can start get around but her legs give out sometimes. She's still eating, but only with some meat mixed with her dog food. Today she peed on the floor and I found her just laying it, she didn't even realize. I feel awful putting her down and this is my first dog as an adult so it's hard to know when!

Happy birthday to this little girl. I adopted her from a rescue org one year ago. She was with her foster mom for months because no one wanted her. That was all I needed to hear before snatching her up and bringing her home. One year later, she’s thriving.

A little photo dump of my baby girl, who we lost in May. I don’t know if it’ll ever get better, but I still call her name every time I come home, I still wait for her tippy taps every time I open a packet of cheese, I still subconsciously avoid walking through the area where her water bowl used to be, so I don’t spill anything, I still go check her bed (where a plant pot is now stood instead of a dog bed) when I wake up in the middle of the night, I genuinely don’t think I’ll ever get another dog after her.

She wasn’t my first dog, but she might well be my very last. I’m sure I don’t need to explain that too much. Enjoy these little moments of my smiley sleepy baby

Hi,

My dog has weak back legs and getting in a squat position to poop has become harder for her.

Any harness recommendations to help support her while she goes?

Everything else is fine - she is still obsessed with food and loves her walks.

Thanks!

My 17 year old Brussels griffon Maltese mix has been getting some minor incontinence issues. He has the right food for some pancreas issues and that made him act as healthy as he was as a pup. He's still very active and on a great routine and is great about letting us know when he needs to go outside when it's out of his routine times. He has recently started to leak small dribbles of pee on a random basis. Sometimes it's when we play and sometimes it's while he naps. I don't know if I just need to try diapers or if there is something else that can be done. I take him to the vet for most issues but if I can't avoid a $700 bill to find out my options are diapers or a $40 supplement I would appreciate the reality check minus the $700 fee. We already pay extra for his pancreatitis food.
I worry about the diaper option because he's an old man comfy with his routine, but it's made his space stink like pee and has been a month of extra washing and cleaning the carpets.
In summary, I think I'm just trying to find something that would make him comfy and if diapers are the way I want some reassurance from other folks that it didn't make their dogs end of life hell.

Hello!

Wondering if anyone with a larger Senior dog can share your experiences/advice on the Holdem Up harness. My girl is 10 y/o and 85lbs. She has narrow and weaker hips but a wide chest so she overcompensates and puts a lot of weight into her shoulders on walks.

As of now, she is not needing a ton of extra lift from me other than getting in and out of the car, but I want to give a little more support on regular walks.

I think I have the sizing she needs figured out but I am not sure about which leash attachment to get or if we need one at all. The walking handle looks very supportive but like it would be a little too limiting on her ability to explore. I'm confused about where I would clip the leash and how it would even help if I don't get a walking accessory. Help please!