my dog is getting old

guccimamma

guccimamma

guccimamma
Aug 8, 2006
9,447
1,856
#1
She is 10 1/2, but all of a sudden...my cocker baby is turning into an old lady.

It is breaking my heart, because I see what is happening.

She is losing control of her bladder on things. She won't let anyone groom her (she has always been feisty). Her hair is losing its luster. Eyes are not so good.

I guess since I've been here before with other dogs, I dread what is coming. Maybe a year or 2 , hopefully 3...down the road...but so sad to see her getting older.

My other cockers all passed around 12. I hope she breaks the record.
 
#2
I'm so sorry...I know what a horrible feeling that is when you start to see the end.

There's medication for the incontinence. Really helped for the first year or so for my lab mix. Then the arthritis got worse and the medicine for that and the incontinence medicine counteracted each other.

Pay attention to her breathing. If you start to notice a lot of heavy breathing and panting without exerting her self...she's suffering. They won't show pain, but they can't hide their anxiety for the pain...thats where the heavy breathing comes in.
 
#3
I know what you are going through. :sad: One of my dogs is 12 and the other just turned 10. My 10 yo is losing her sight and now she is bumping into things. My 12yo is still a very feisty little maniac though. But both of them have started to get grey fur around their faces. They will always be puppies to me.
 
#5
Oh, I am sorry to hear this....I was at the vet yesterday with my dog and was thinking about him getting older.....everything must change and time goes on...so sad.
 
#7
aww i know this is a hard time. :crybaby:
i went through the same thing, though it was with a cat.
my cat smokey had to be put down at the age of 16.
before we did though, i could see that it was coming soon.
i remember one weekend and we couldn't find him;
we ended up eventually finding him sleeping on a high shelf in the basement.
when we found him i started bawling because i thought for sure that he had sulked off to some corner and sighed his last breath.
thankfully though, i got a few more good weeks in with him before the end.
 
#8
I hear you. Our oldest beagle Booker (and my first dog ever) is also 10 1/2 and I also notice that she definitely isn't as young as she used to be. I won't say "slowing down" because she has really never been a particularly energetic dog, but even so I can see a difference. We did start her on glucosamine earlier this year and it has made a world of difference to her energy level and overall condition - even though I don't think she had particularly bad arthritis I do think it has helped reduce overall stiffness and such. But she can't jump up on the bed anymore (more a loss of confidence, I think - she can still make it if she tries but has to be really coaxed to attempt the jump) which just breaks my heart as she always loved to sleep on our pillows or crawl under the duvet when we were away from home.

On the other hand I was with my friend this weekend when she had to put her 7 year old vizsla down for a brain tumour - that definitely made me cherish the fact that at least I get to have those senior years with Booker.... It also brought the concept of my beloved dogs' mortality home to me... and never having to go through that before definitely makes me dread what I know is coming one day.
 
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