Need health advice for my old man!
hi everybody! never posted on here before but i need some advice. my lab named max will be turning 13 in october and is starting to develop some health issues. he was diagnosed with laryngeal paralysis in february of this year, he coughs a lot and wheezes on occasion. yesterday he had a really bad coughing/wheezing episode so we took him to the vet. they told us about a surgery that could potentially help his throat and gave us examples of one dog who extended their life by 4 years, and another who’s life was cut short due to the surgery. we can’t decide what to do, we’re leaning towards only doing the medication that was prescribed to reduce inflammation, and not doing the surgery due to his age and declining health. overall he’s in good health, just slowed down and his back legs are getting weak. his biggest issue is this throat thing. of course they said they would do bloodwork before to confirm he’s eligible for the surgery and make sure there’s no underlying issues. i really need advice from other people who have had to make this decision. i need an outside perspective bc this is my childhood dog, we got him when i was 8, so im trying to make a decision that’s best for him and not me if that makes sense. this is the first big decision we’ve had to make based on his age. thanks in advance for any advice given.