Pet Problems

[PilotMan]

I didn't feel appropriate posting in the pet you love thread, nor do I feel like starting a thread entitled, "Saying Goodbye to a Pet Won't Miss" but that's kind of where I'm at.

We've got a shelter rescued beagle/basset mix dog that we've had for 6ish years. She is pretty broken mentally, and somewhere around 10.5-11 years old. I mean broken in that she was pretty abused when we got her. She was uber submissive and shied away at anything at, around, or near her head. She has been afraid of me for the entire time and really will only seek me out if we are going for a walk, or I've just come home from a trip otherwise, she pretty much ignores me.

She's been mostly my wife's dog, but that relationship has soured over the last few years as her almost refusal to potty train has taken root. She is trained. She'll go weeks with no problem, then bang, out of the blue. Lately though, she seems like she's just lost it. She was outside for 11 hours with my wife today, came in for less than an hour and urinated on the carpet.

She gives very little back to the family. She doesn't play, approach, give any attention to any of us. She mostly just sleeps in the corner, eats, and goes outside. She has to be leashed in fenced in back yard because she slips out under the fence.

All in all she's a pet that none of the kids will miss. The wife is telling me it's time for her to go, and I never really liked her in the first place. I have been feeling like she is a responsibility that we need to stick with because I've worked in animal shelters and people get rid of pets for the dumbest reason. I don't think she is adoptable anyway. She's too old, she's not a good pet.

I just feel a little stuck on this one. I think she may need to go to the vet and see if the problem is just physical, age, kidneys, or why this is happening? But if it's really just a matter of she doesn't want to potty train is it ok to get rid of her after all this time?

I feel stupid for asking this btw. Very stupid.

[tarcone]

Sad situation. I feel you. Maybe its time to go to the place where all the dogs get hot dogs for every meal. May be more humane putting her down then letting her live a life that doesnt seem very much like a life.

Sorry to hear this.

[hollmt]

This one is hard for me to reply to and I probably shouldn't. I will probably offend someone.

I have very little patience for people that don't have patience for animals. Mind you, I think at one time you did, but that time came and went.

You are asking that this dog, who spent the first 4-5 years of their life in a very abusive world, to give you the love and affection you and your family want? Because you deserve it?? This coming from someone who 'never really liked her in the first place' and you think she didn't feed off of that energy?

Maybe all you and your family were meant to be was a safe home for her. Seems to me, that you might have served that purpose. With the treatment she had in her early life, she was likely never going to get over that, no matter how hard you tried. I realize that can be frustrating and probably was for you because you wanted that relationship but it probably wasn't going to happen, especially with you not even liking her and her knowing it.

You took on the responsibility, knowing what you were getting into. Provide her the safe haven you have for the last 6 years and suck it up. If you decide to get a professional opinion, which you should, and that opinion is what you want to hear (dying) then do what is right. If it just a potty issue...then do what is right.

[Suicane75]

Maybe try asking around and try placing her somewhere else. Lots of old people could probably use the company, regardless of how attached it will or wont be to them.

[Warhammer]

First off, beagles and bassetts are not the most energetic dogs. Second, how much attention does the dog get when you are away?

One of the issues my family has with ours is the lack of attention ours gets when I am not home. She is not neglected, but she is not given what she needs either. We have had the same issue recently with ours. We determined that our dog was not getting long enough walks. The problem went away.

[Thomkal]

tough situation there PM. The dog I grew up with was also a basset hound/beagle mix, and was the best I ever had. You chose to be this dog's guardian, so like a marriage, you have to take the good and the bad.

I really think your first step is a vet visit. Tell him/her everything that is going on, and find out if something medical (beside the abuse) is causing the anti-social behavior. Check with them to see if there's a trainer that deals with this kind of dog who can give you help with her.

If the vet tells you she is really suffering, it may be a blessing for her to put it to sleep. But you should try to see if she can be "saved" first.

good luck with her and let us know what happens. My heart goes out to her and your family.

[cuervo72]

She gives very little back to the family. She doesn't play, approach, give any attention to any of us. She mostly just sleeps in the corner, eats

This is where we are with our dog. When we adopted her five years ago the vet guessed she was 10 or 11. She's always had some problems - we assume she was either abused or had some other trauma (she has always tilted her head to one side). But she used to actually do something. But now she's deaf (trauma, plus ear infections), has cataracts so she can't really see, won't go for walks. She has given up on stairs so she poops on the deck -- if she makes it outside (been doing this for at least a year; we have spent who knows how much on pee pads, and will probably have to throw out our second area rug in the kitchen before long).

But...she keeps on keeping on. Lives for food, best I can tell. Doesn't seem to be in any pain, but just lives in her own little bubble. As long as she's like this, I don't feel like it's really right to say it's time.

[PilotMan]

I appreciate all of the feedback. I really do. I've been the one saying that there's nothing that we can really do except hang in there. In the last week, since we've come back from vacation, she has peed in the house at least 15 times. This is a dog that goes out regularly, and typically, although not always, will let you know that she has to go. But the ruined carpet, expensive rugs, and general frustration that is felt when she goes out, but simply chooses to go inside when you aren't looking. It's damn near maddening.

That's really the biggest issue. We've been very, very good to her. We've put 2 other dogs down over the years that have gotten older. She's not crated all day. My wife is a stay at home mom, so the dog always has company. She is crated when we go to bed and when we leave. Mostly because she can't be trusted and she won't pee in her crate. Because of that it doesn't seem to be a physical issue, but a mental one. That's why it's so confusing for us.

[Butter]

PilotMan, I get where you're coming from. We had 2 dogs up until recently... a 10 year old Shepherd mix from a shelter and a 6 year old Rottweiler mix we got from a neighborhood family. The Rotty was always aggressive towards other dogs, but her and our other dog seemed to get along OK as long as nothing was at stake food-wise.

In the past year, the Rotty started getting very aggressive, especially over treats and rawhide chews. It was to the point where our other dog lost a chunk of ear in a fight, as she just wasn't big or powerful enough to stand up for herself.

We considered getting rid of the Rotty, but did not as this was just the last of many escalatingly worse fights. We just stopped giving out any sort of treats or rawhides since they couldn't be trusted not to fight over them, and hoped for the best. But I knew another bad fight and any injury to our other dog meant that the Rotty would have to go, one way or another.

The Rotty also had a bad habit of eating anything remotely edible that was left out. One day, I accidentally left my work bag open. Came home, and the Rotty had eaten gum, mints, and the bottom of a mostly empty Ibuprofen bottle. I thought maybe we were talking 3-4 pills in there, nothing harmful. Watched her for a day, she seemed fine. Came home from work 2 days later, she was dead. Felt bad that I could have prevented it by just closing my bag... but on the other hand, I no longer had to wait for another aggressive act from her to get rid of her, because she was definitely on her last leg with us behavior-wise.

Good luck in whatever you decide is best.

[flere-imsaho]

We put our dog down a year ago February. We adopted him in '06 when he was (according to our vet at the time) probably somewhere between 3 and 5 years old, which means he was somewhere between 12 and 14 (or so) when we put him down, which is relatively old for a bigger (rott mix) dog.

Unlike what you're describing, he was a good dog. Great with the kids, great with visitors, good around the house, lots of fun, etc....

However, in the final 18 months or so his body just started giving up on him. A back issue we had dealt with almost from the start, first with physical therapy and then with stem cell treatments, finally stopped responding to treatment, which meant he couldn't run anymore, couldn't jump or make it up stairs, and had trouble lying down and standing up.

In addition he was becoming incontinent, which we think alarmed him as much as us, since he had always been an outrageously fastidious dog.

The challenge for us is that there wasn't any "one" thing that justified putting him down. He could still walk. He could still eat. He didn't have cancer. He was in pain, but not debilitating pain. We tried a number of different things for both the back and the incontinence, but with no real improvement in his quality of life.

In the end it just became clear that he was no longer enjoying his life, and he wasn't going to get better. Why prolong it, when he had so many good years? And so we put him down. It was easily the most difficult decision I've ever had to make, but I do not second guess myself over it. It was the right decision.

[lungs]

I was at the same stage with my cat. She was so fat that she couldn't clean herself properly, and she smelled terrible. She basically lived upstairs in my house. I fed her, cleaned the litter box and all that but that was about it.

I was planning to put her down until one night my house started on fire. Let's just say I wasn't going to put my own skin on the line to go in and save her. Yeah, it was sad to a degree. I had the cat since I was in college. But sometimes bad things happening takes care of other problems you could say.

[timmae]

Ughhh... rough discussions. No easy answer PM... I agree on the vet visit to verify if anything is hurting her at all. If so, then putting her down may be best for all. If not, be patient... even after so many good years it was probably a rough life for your dog. We recently adopted a stray cat and have to remind ourselves that he is just not used to what our other cat has always been around. We definitely need patience for him. If your dog has good years left then either try to do what you can to provide a good life or see if there are farm colonies that could take her on. Not sure on the likelihood but there may be options for fostering older dogs also. Just be honest with the vet and with the other agencies. Most reputable businesses are very compassionate.

[claphamsa]

make her an outdoor dog.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

PilotMan, I get where you're coming from. We had 2 dogs up until recently... a 10 year old Shepherd mix from a shelter and a 6 year old Rottweiler mix we got from a neighborhood family. The Rotty was always aggressive towards other dogs, but her and our other dog seemed to get along OK as long as nothing was at stake food-wise.

In the past year, the Rotty started getting very aggressive, especially over treats and rawhide chews. It was to the point where our other dog lost a chunk of ear in a fight, as she just wasn't big or powerful enough to stand up for herself.

We considered getting rid of the Rotty, but did not as this was just the last of many escalatingly worse fights. We just stopped giving out any sort of treats or rawhides since they couldn't be trusted not to fight over them, and hoped for the best. But I knew another bad fight and any injury to our other dog meant that the Rotty would have to go, one way or another.

The Rotty also had a bad habit of eating anything remotely edible that was left out. One day, I accidentally left my work bag open. Came home, and the Rotty had eaten gum, mints, and the bottom of a mostly empty Ibuprofen bottle. I thought maybe we were talking 3-4 pills in there, nothing harmful. Watched her for a day, she seemed fine. Came home from work 2 days later, she was dead. Felt bad that I could have prevented it by just closing my bag... but on the other hand, I no longer had to wait for another aggressive act from her to get rid of her, because she was definitely on her last leg with us behavior-wise.

Good luck in whatever you decide is best.

I feel like this is an episode of Louie.