Elderly Dog Illness

[AmyK]

I have a 14 year old female Chow Chow that has hip dysplasia, arthritis, atropy of her legs, has cataracts and hearing loss. For the most part she is a happy wonderful dog. In the past week, she has started drooling profusely and had her annual check up yesterday. The vet says that she has gingivitis and possible peridontal disease and they want to put her under to clean and remove teeth if needed. Until now, they have not wanted to clean her teeth due to the risk that she won't come out of the anesthetic..the prior vet there always told us straight up if he suggested that things be done or not. At age 14, we are concerned that she will not make it through the procedure and wonder if she is in so much pain now, if it is in HER best interest to put her to sleep. Not to mention the cost of this procedure if it won't prolong her life. Does anyone have any suggestions??? We love her dearly and hate to even consider this, but we have to look at her best interest. Either way she goes and when will be devastating to our 6 year old.
Please help....

[chrissycat21]

I would get a second oppinion by another vet if possible.

Try posting this in dog health. :) More people will be able to help you there.

[wolfsoul]

Honestly, I would consider putting her to sleep. :(

Periodontal disease is a deadly thing --- but then if it's a risk to put her under anestetic... Either way you could be taking a risk. Periodontal disease is incredibly painful. Eventually the bacteria that builds up on the gums enters the bloodstream and flows to the major organs and attacks them. Eventually the dog will die a very painful death. I would rather put her under anesthetic than have her suffer like that. Atleast the anesthesia will give her a chance for a less painful life. However, from what you say, it sounds like she won't be here very long. I would really consider letting her take the road to the Rainbow Bridge. Sorry if that sounds harsh. :(

[KYS]

Some places do offer teeth cleaning that is anesthia free.
Probably will not be as good as if the vet cleaned them,
but it might be good enough.
Might want to talk to your vet about it, and see
what he thinks.

[Scooby4]

I adopted an Eskimo Spitz almost a year ago. He is about 12 years old, arthritic, has cataracts, mostly deaf, and has serious gum disease. I renamed him Dirtnap so I wouldn't get attached.:rolleyes:
His mouth and breath is soo bad that he couldn't eat dry food and I could smell him when he entered a room!:eek:
I've taken him to 3 vets to put him to sleep but they ALL said "No, because he can eat and is still playful". He sleeps a majority of the time.:rolleyes:
Well, as luck would have it, I've fallen for the little brat!:rolleyes: I even call him "Smiley boy". He's slowly been improving since adoption. I had to water down the dry food for awhile so he could eat it. This helped with his teeth as he was gradually able to get the food harder and harder until now there is no water needed at all.:D
I also used dental wipes. They are like wet wipes but for the teeth. I'd recommend following the directions on the container which requires the dog facing AWAY from you when scrubbing. He's adjusted to that now.
I'd wait to put the dog down until you start geting consistant incontinance and other age related ailments without hope of improvement. I give my dog Brewer's yeast and Glaucostimine for his coat and his arthritis.
I haven't had Dirtnap as long as you have had your dog. However, I believe you will know the right time to put them down versus the Vet recommendation. I find it ironic in my case that I couldn't find one to do it!:rolleyes:

[AmyK]

Unfortunately...the vet found something worse. There was a huge tumor on the back of her tongue that had attached itself to the tissue underneath. We had to put her to sleep on Friday. It was melanoma and too large to remove and she was having a hard time swallowing. There was nothing the vet or we could have done for her. It was located so far back and was so fast growing that it was beyond chemo-which isn't very sucessful for melanoma type cancer in the mouth. She is in a much better place, but we miss her terribly....
the search for a new dog has started for our family.
Thanks for all of your support and suggestions....

[Scooby4]

I guess it really was time to do it. I am glad you had some time to dwell on the subject and it wasn't such a last minute decision. God bless you!