Pets, what happened to being simple

[iris lilies]

What happened, Why, Overwhelmed. Little pup was improving in Critical Care yesterday morning, planned to pick her up in afternoon. When I got there things had taken a very bad turn for worse.....

I completely support you in letting this little dog go to Doggie heaven. It is very much on a Train of Diagnosis and Treatment once you get into the medical community. And once you step foot into the specialists, you are on the Expert Train of "We won't stop until you tell us to." At least, with veterinary care, you (the generic you) can slow it down and talk about cost even if that's not the real issue.

The real issue is exactly as you say: her pain and quality of life.

You are her mom. No one else is her mom. You know what is best for her.

[Teacher Terry]

I am so sorry that this is happening. When faced with these types of situations I get very quiet & try to focus on the dog's best & highest good. Often the answer will come to me. My hubby is also save at all costs so usually it is me saying no more & making the decision. I hate to see animals suffer. Steve, I am so happy you adopted an older dog because they have a tough time getting homes. Some of the
little ones live till 20. We have one now that is 16. Pretty healthy. Always has been deaf & is now in process of losing vision & has developed anxiety. We had to put her on doggy xanax so she could sleep at nite & we had to stop crating her at nite & let her sleep with us. The vet said with the double disability she was getting anxious at bedtime because she can't see in the dark. The meds & letting her sleep with us worked. She cuddles tight against me & when I get in or out of bed I need to touch her first to let her know. Right now she still has a great quality of life. Virtual hug

[ctg492]

What a ride, last diagnosis and hopefully the right one, a form of Canine Meningitis. Treatments started today and I went to see her. She is a totally different dog looking like recovering though all those tubes and needles in her. Far from out of the woods but so much better after so long ill. I had gone to say good bye, but now we will hope for the best and see tomorrow. thank you for all your concern.

[Teacher Terry]

Hope your sweet baby continues to get better)

[ctg492]

The diagnosis changed so many times I was at a loss, but She is home now and perhaps, but not sure, it may be a form of Polyarthritis, time will tell. Her meds and there are too many will be slowly reduced to see if she stays stable and it is over, if not well we will cross that bridge then. Unbelievable to me the entire event. thank you all

[Gardenarian]

Sorry, didn't read all the posts, but I do feel that pets are a difficult area to simplify. My dog recently died of cancer and we were really torn about treatment.

Now we have only one dog and that is much easier; I feel that pets get exponentially more complicated the more you have.
We do our own nail trimming, take her for shots at the clinic once a year. She eats dry food that we just leave out. She has very thin fur so no ticks or fleas.

We will need to find a house-sitter when we travel this summer, but I don't foresee any problems there.
I am going to stick with just one dog from now on.

(Soory for typos; using my phone.)

[ctg492]

SO back to the original topic of simple pet care.

I am done with anything but Rabies vaccinations every three years. I only started everything else for the groomer. I will go back to my own bathing, vet does nails.
Heartworm preventative, I guess I have no choice as it is now responsible ownership too me.

Flea and tick, we have never had fleas. TICKS make my skin crawl thinking of them. If my dogs stayed in the yard they would be ok. But we walk and run through the weeds and ticks are just part of that. SO I am on mission for the best choice. currently NexGuard since chewable. Frontline plus, the drops I think about the contamination to me. I would Love a natural product and have been all over the net reading all sorts of homemade and ready made, none really come with good ratings sadly.
If you have one. please post.

I never planned this many dogs, they just happened. 6 year old Retriever mix, went looking for and adopted. 3 1/2 year old Beagle mix, same. Life was dog perfect in the house. One month later the Rott Mix was found after living in a park for a week and needing surgery. I tried and tried to find owners. 3 years later can not imagine life without her she is the most wonderful dog. Then the Jack Russell, well we all know the postings of the the gift puppy. I suppose after all her health issues she came to me for a reason.

[Blackdog Lin]

ctg, I join in the wishes that your "baby" continues to improve. We love them so much, yes?

Re: flea and tick treatment, we've been through them all, and just love the NexGuard. Of course it's not a natural answer, but I tried 2 seasons of "natural" treatments when the Frontline quit working, and all I got for my efforts was a bunch of fleas and more hassle and expense in the long run (trying to treat the house for fleas ourselves. NEVER. AGAIN.)

Our elderly baby tolerates the NexGuard very well and she thinks they're treats. I hope to never have to use anything else. The stuff is flat-out easy and works and in our case little-to-no side effects.

(and sweetie, I see and understand the reasons for your dog-heavy household. You are a compassionate animal-lover and sh*% happened. You may need to think about the future and work on steeling your heart re: more household expenses vs. taking the chance that a dog might not get the loving life it deserves.)

On the other hand, I'm thinking now that for me anyway, a life of rice-n-beans along with a house full of loving dogs.....it very well might be a very fair trade-off.

[ctg492]

I like Nexguard for the fact that I personally feel it is safer for me, not being topical and me touching it. I doubt if is better for the dog though. Thanks for the natural flea tip. I have read every mixer of essential oils, lemon or orange rubbed, the list goes on. I never read any one satisfied with the results.

[Teacher Terry]

We never set out to have 4 dogs either. People would tell people I love Maltese & I would get strangers calling me to take their old, sick Maltese they no longer wanted. WE have had 4 off &on for past 7 years. My hair dresser once gave someone my #. I stopped going to him & I have told everyone I know we are downsizing & don't give people my #-I can't solve the worlds problems. All 4 of our dogs are between 9-16 so as they go we will have 1 or 2 at the most. We are planning on alot of travel. HOwever, I can never imagine being without a dog at all. Also if something happens to us I don't want to leave the burden of what to do with 4 dogs to my kids.