(please don’t tell me about how wrong it is to own pugs, he was a stray I adopted who was found on the street, not a breeder dog I bought. He has a lot of health problems and I’ve devoted a lot to keeping him well cared for).

My poor old puppy. The restlessness and spinning in circles, the staring off into space, the coughing fits. We are already treating the cough but started some dementia-type medicine and melatonin last night. I don’t want to do extensive interventions if he’s unhappy but I want to try to improve his quality of life and make his geriatric years as happy and peaceful as possible.

It’s so hard to make good decisions about elderly pets isn’t it? You want to do the right thing.

  • Nougat@fedia.io
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    5 days ago

    Losing pets is hard. “Restlessness and spinning in circles” sounds to me like possible symptoms of a stroke. Pets usually don’t tell us what kind of discomfort they’re feeling, so we have to make these kinds of decisions on their behalf. Our vet office has thanked me for not waiting on this kind of decision too long.

    This is your call to make, and as long as you’re making it with the best interest of your pet in mind, you will make the right decision.

    • BonesOfTheMoon@lemmy.worldOP
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      5 days ago

      He saw the vet last night and she didn’t think it was. He’s not spinning all the time, just sometimes, so she thinks it’s just dementia behavior. Thank you for pointing this out though, I did indeed ask. We’ll try some things that are more palliative treatment than big intervention and see what that does. It’s just so hard to know what the right thing to do is.

  • dingus@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    I’m really sorry to hear. We’ve been told the family pet has a “collapsing trachea”. I’m assuming it’s similar. Really hard to watch such a loving being struggling to breathe. We have her on cough medicine as well but honestly I don’t know how effective it has really been.

    Whatever the outcome, know that you gave him and wonderful life and I know he has loved you and what you’ve given him.

    • BonesOfTheMoon@lemmy.worldOP
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      5 days ago

      It’s the same thing yeah. Maybe you should try a bronchodilator medication for your pet too? That’s the other thing we are doing now. I can’t say that the cough syrup helped much either.

      Thank you for your kind words. I have done my best by him. It’s just so stressful to know what the best answer is and when to say it’s enough and let him go.

      • dingus@lemmy.world
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        5 days ago

        Thank you for the suggestion! I have a stupid question about it…does that mean your dog has an inhaler type device or is it some sort of oral medication? Our dog had been taking oral steroids for some time but the vet stopped them in favor of increasing cough medicine usage.