16 yo beagle mix, what’s the right time?
As does everyone else on here,
I’m just looking for reassurance that we are making the right decision for our 16.5 yo beagle mix.
Over the last couple years, her hind end function has slowly degenerated. She walks okay once she gets going but falls often and often needs help getting up. If she falls on the wrong surface, she’ll just wait for someone to come find her and help her out. If she has to stand still for any length of time her butt will slowly droop until she falls. We’ve tried different pain killers hoping that reducing pain might help her feel more balanced but nothing has made much of a difference.
She’s been struggling with getting into her poop position for a while and has accidents pretty frequently. We’ve tried getting her out more often but it just seems to be that she has to wait for the poop to come and whenever that is, that’s when she goes, she doesn’t seem to have control. She doesn’t really have pee accidents but she’ll “leak” a bit in her sleep if left too long between trips outside.
She eats well but only if we put hamburger on top of her kibble, which isn’t a great sign for a beagle-type dog. (But also she clearly KNOWS we will put treats on top of her food if she demands it!) She still loves a snuggle and wants to be with and near us consistently, though sometimes she gets confused trying to find us in the house.
We are also heading into a couple months of a lot of travel, which is hard on her and hard on me and/or my husband - whoever is left home with the two dogs with vastly different care needs.
I have an appointment to help her pass this week but feeling really unsure. She seems so happy and content to just sit on the couch and watch TV with us but I’m not sure that balances the rest of the issues. Just looking for reassurance that I’m not jumping the gun.