Need Opinions On My Pug

[pugs-are-great]

Hi everyone.

Some of you may remember that I posted a few weeks ago re my very sick pug. After much veterinary care, she now is only able to lay down and occasionally will get up to move rooms or to eat. She is breathing properly and looks OK, but her quality of life is terrible as she cannot go for walks and is exhausted all the time. She walks on all 4 legs, but is extremely slow and almost looks as though she has had a stroke, although the vets tell me this is not the case. She is no longer on any medication (she was on antibiotics and cortisone). The cortisone definitely made her more sprightly, but she was on it for many weeks and had to come off it eventually.She is 10 years old. Her main symptoms now are arching of the back as if she has back pain. She raises her tail to about 1/2 mast and seems to have difficulty raising her head to normal height. She has had a long sad history (ex back yard breeder's dog, so she came to us with many problems already), but the last 3 years that she has been with us, she has been spoiled rotten. This dog means everything to me, but I have to be realistic now and am considering her feelings over mine and my families. Do DOGers think that it is now more humane to have her PTS? I am dreading making this decision as I know I will not cope. If I do have to have her PTS, what is the best way of going about it? I don't think I could be in the room although I would like her to know that I adored her!

I would also like to know if her problems sound like they can be corrected. It is the lethargy and the stilted walking that bothers me most. If I thought she was in no pain and was happy, I would gladly let her just while away her days lying on her rug. Are there products on the market that would give her some energy. I know this will sound terrible, but we have spent thousands of dollars on her and financially we simply can't afford more veterinary care.

Any advice?

pugs-are-great

[pugs-are-great]

Hi everyone.

Some of you may remember that I posted a few weeks ago re my very sick pug. After much veterinary care, she now is only able to lay down and occasionally will get up to move rooms or to eat. She is breathing properly and looks OK, but her quality of life is terrible as she cannot go for walks and is exhausted all the time. She walks on all 4 legs, but is extremely slow and almost looks as though she has had a stroke, although the vets tell me this is not the case. She is no longer on any medication (she was on antibiotics and cortisone). The cortisone definitely made her more sprightly, but she was on it for many weeks and had to come off it eventually.She is 10 years old. Her main symptoms now are arching of the back as if she has back pain. She raises her tail to about 1/2 mast and seems to have difficulty raising her head to normal height. She has had a long sad history (ex back yard breeder's dog, so she came to us with many problems already), but the last 3 years that she has been with us, she has been spoiled rotten. This dog means everything to me, but I have to be realistic now and am considering her feelings over mine and my families. Do DOGers think that it is now more humane to have her PTS? I am dreading making this decision as I know I will not cope. If I do have to have her PTS, what is the best way of going about it? I don't think I could be in the room although I would like her to know that I adored her!

I would also like to know if her problems sound like they can be corrected. It is the lethargy and the stilted walking that bothers me most. If I thought she was in no pain and was happy, I would gladly let her just while away her days lying on her rug. Are there products on the market that would give her some energy. I know this will sound terrible, but we have spent thousands of dollars on her and financially we simply can't afford more veterinary care.

Any advice?

pugs-are-great

I should add that all this came about after having her luxating patella done. She had an immune response that had her near death.

[WreckitWhippet]

That's so sad The poor old girl

It sounds like she is in pain, its clearly hurts for her to walk. You know yourself when you are in pain you walk slowly and as stiff as you can, in order to reduce the amount of pain relayed. The tail in a Pug is often an idication of how they are feeling, if they are happy and well their tail is generally curled over the back. They have to be very unsure, frightened or in pain for them to drop.

A good indication would be when you enter the room and she sees you, a Pug would normally take one look at you and curl the tail , to greet you with happiness.

I'm so sorry, I don't have any real suggestions, other than maybe something to manage the pain.

She's not my dog and I can't advise you what to do, but if one of my guys was feeling as sad as you say your poor girl is, I would consider giving him/her their wings.

ETA: I have not had to make the decision for three years now, but you need to do what you feel is right and what you can cope with. When is sent Mimi to the bridge, I stayed with her, held her paw and kissed my baby goodbye. I felt it was the least I could do after the years of joy she brought me and the trust that she had in me. I then took her home and Pet At Peace collected her that afternoon for cremation.

When I worked as a Vet nurse I encouraged people to stay with their dogs, even though it's tough, it's a final goodbye and the dogs are with the people that love them. If you decide to give your girl her wings. Can I suggest that you arrnage with the Vet, to either come to your home or call Pets At Peace and arrange for them to collect her body from the Vet.

Edited January 5, 2007 by Warley

[raz]

I'm with Warley. As sad as it is if you think her quality of life sucks I'd be sending her on. I would totally support your decision to do that.

[Erny]

Her main symptoms now are arching of the back as if she has back pain. She raises her tail to about 1/2 mast and seems to have difficulty raising her head to normal height.

I am so sorry to hear of the dilemma you obviously feel the need to consider. I was in similar position to you 6 months ago ..... I remember what it was like. If it comes to it, do what you can do the best you know how and the best you are capable of, for the dog's sake. Whether you are with your girl or not, she will still know that you love her.

I apologise that I don't recall having read your other thread so I am somewhat unfamiliar with background history, but arching of her back could also relate to abdominal pain. Could her digestive system have been irritated by the cortisone medication? Just a school of thought for your consideration and perhaps investigation along those lines may give you better indication as to whether her present demeanor can be improved.

I wish you all the best on this one. Know that whatever you chose to do you do so BECAUSE you care for her first. No-one can ask for more than that.

[SwaY]

im sure you will make the best choice for your girl.

Im sorry i can't offer you any advice on this one.

[huga]

Awww poor old chicken. I'm with Warls on the tail thing - a sad tail usually means a very sad pug. But like the others said, only you can make the decision - good on you for giving her the life she deserves after her previous life as a breeding machine.

[~Anne~]

Monte drops his tail a lot but that is becuase of his medication for his epilepsy which results in him suffering from weakness in the hind legs (ataxia). He is not in any pain though and is quite happy.

Could she perhaps have some nerve damage or similar??? This could be causing her tail to droop.

I know you have been through a lot recently and it has been very costly but would a second opinion help? I am not sure where you are but I could recommend some great Vets who you could possible negotiate with when it comes to finances.

Another thing that comes to mind is her age. At 10 years of age it would not be against thinking to keep her on the cortisone or a similar drug if this keeps her more comfortable.

As an aged Pug that has had a rough life she may only have up to 4 more years at best (sorry if this sounds harsh) and so being on cortisone for this time will not be a problem as she is already coming to the end of her time.

If you make the decision to give her her wings don't feel bad. You have loved her and given her your utmost by all appearances and that is all any little Pug wants.

I wish you both well.

[cowanbree]

What is the vet saying? Does he think she has a good chance of recovery? I personally wouldn’t rush into anything unless the vet says there is no hope – time heals a lot of things.

6mths ago now I woke to find Kell, my 15year old lying down a ditch in the back yard totally out of it (she has a dog door). I rushed her to the vet absolutely sure she had a stroke and it would be the end to have the vet tell me it was a neurological thing and it would improve with time. To be honest I wanted her pts many times over the next few weeks as she was totally out of it but today she is 80% better. She still walks a bit funny and has her head tilted to the side but she has quality of life. She needs a bit of extra care and attention but with a little bit of metecam daily she is happy. At 10 your girl is probably reaching the stage where she is happy to potter round home anyhow . Kell is certainly long past going for walks and even rides in the car but as long as she is happy to potter round the garden, is eating well and is enjoying life I don’t have an issue with that, they can’t stay young forever.

Personally I would give her some Metecam from the vet each day and see how it goes unless the vet advises otherwise. He is the best judge of whether she is in pain as he can see her and his judgment is not clouded by emotion

Edited January 5, 2007 by cowanbree

[pugs-are-great]

Thanks everyone. I want to reply to some of your questions. The main problem seemed to be the immune response immediately after the patella operation. Her ears even scabbed over completely - I have never seen anything like it. One of the vets at the clinic eventually diagnosed it correctly, but this was a few weeks down the track. She also developed pnuemonia. I was eventually forced to take her to another vet as the first vet clinic were at a loss as to how to treat her. Before the patella op, she was a complete little nutter - running around at 100 miles per hour, tail never stopped wagging and she was quite a talker! She behaved like a puppy! Since the op - the complete opposite, even her hair does not shed anymore! I actually thought she was going to die in the car on the way to the vet a few weeks ago as her breathing was so laboured that she was just gasping for air. They precribed cortisone and antibiotics and the improvement was immense. However it has been up and down ever since. It has now been about 3 months since her patella op.

Today I am trying aspirin as it has been suggested to me that it will help with any pain. I cannot have her on any more cortisone, even though that seems to be a magic bullet! She was on cortisone for about 6 weeks.

I would be happy to have her just live out her life as an old dog lying around the house - God knows she deserves it! This dog has meant nothing to her previous owners and you couldn't blame her if she hated humans, but she just adores everyone. She lost one of her eyes due to the neglect of the f#@king backyard breeders, but I think it makes her look really special.

I have to say that I have lost faith in vets. Only one vet seemed to really care. I think they look at her as a problematic dog with a problematic history. Even so, she still wags her tail at them - every single time!

pugs-are-great

[Dogsfevr]

Okay if it was my dog i would be trying Bowen on her or even a good dog chiro to ensure that due to the hard recovery she hasnt put her back,kneck out which can cause great discomfort.

If there was nothing wrong in that field then i would weigh up the options,i can tell you that the pnuemia truley takes its toll on dogs ,i had a dog that suffered that a few years back & his health crashed dramatically,he passed away last month.

[rugerfly]

sounds a bit like neuro toxicity. can you video her for us? post a link to u tube or something?

[calliech]

Hi Pugs-are-great,

If she was improving on cortisone then perhaps you should ask the vet to continue it for longer. I believe you said she was on cortisone injections but you can change her to oral prednisolone. While cortisone shouldn't be used long term it can be used for a long time and at least until the dog recovers. Humans can be on it for years. There are times when it shouldn't be used but if this is an immune response as your vets say, then cortisone is the best line of defense for a while. If she also has an infection then it may be contra-indicated but you have to weigh up the pros and cons and decide which is going to be of most benefit. Has the pneumonia resolved? Did she have aspiration pneumonia? Did the vet do any blood tests....I would be very interested to know any results if they did. I've just weaned a male off high dose oral prednisolone which he was on for 5 months due to allergic bronchitis. He to couldn't breathe and his O2 saturation was down to 82% which is alarmingly low. The cortisone supressed his immune response in his lungs and gave his lungs a chance to repair. He was basically drowning in his own mucous and white blood cells which were attacking the lung linings and had lost the elesticity to appropriately expel air and breathe in. He's back to normal now with no problems at all. They are a little dull on cortisone but at least they are brighter than when they are sick if you know what I mean.

[Faolmor]

Your poor dog. I really hope your baby improves. Please be careful with aspirin though as it is an anti-coagulant and can cause bleeding.

[pugs-are-great]

Hi again,

I decided to give my baby another go on cortisone. The vet didn't seem to think it would be a problem. Anyway, it took a couple of days for the tablets to start working, but she is starting to follow us around the house rather than just lie on her rug all day. Her tail is sitting much higher over her back and she is wagging it quite vigorously at times. When we have dinner in the evening, she has started sitting right beside us with an alert look on her face. Prior to going back on cortisone, she couldn't care less about sitting under the dining table. Considering how greedy pugs are, this was very abnormal behaviour. It's funny how the little things give you so much hope. When she started hanging around the dining table again, I knew she was feeling better.

It has been very stressful with all the ups and downs, but I have decided that I will continue with cortisone because she feels a lot better. I have spent so many nights considering the possibility that she may have to be PTS, but she really seems very good at the moment and I have always felt that she deserves the right to be an old dog who lays about the house. God knows she worked her butt off for many years pushing out pups for greedy backyard breeders!

Just as a bit of background, this is my 2nd pug. I had a male pug as a child and he also had multiple health problems. Horatio died of cancer at just 7 years of age. I want to make sure that my current pug is given every opportunity to get better.

Anyway, I have appreciated everyone's interest, so I thought I should post an update.

[calliech]

Hi again,

I decided to give my baby another go on cortisone. The vet didn't seem to think it would be a problem. Anyway, it took a couple of days for the tablets to start working, but she is starting to follow us around the house rather than just lie on her rug all day. Her tail is sitting much higher over her back and she is wagging it quite vigorously at times. When we have dinner in the evening, she has started sitting right beside us with an alert look on her face. Prior to going back on cortisone, she couldn't care less about sitting under the dining table. Considering how greedy pugs are, this was very abnormal behaviour. It's funny how the little things give you so much hope. When she started hanging around the dining table again, I knew she was feeling better.

It has been very stressful with all the ups and downs, but I have decided that I will continue with cortisone because she feels a lot better. I have spent so many nights considering the possibility that she may have to be PTS, but she really seems very good at the moment and I have always felt that she deserves the right to be an old dog who lays about the house. God knows she worked her butt off for many years pushing out pups for greedy backyard breeders!

Just as a bit of background, this is my 2nd pug. I had a male pug as a child and he also had multiple health problems. Horatio died of cancer at just 7 years of age. I want to make sure that my current pug is given every opportunity to get better.

Anyway, I have appreciated everyone's interest, so I thought I should post an update.

That's fantastic!!!! I had kept my fingers crossed all this while that you would put her back on cortisone. That's wonderful news. It doesn't have to be forever, just long enough to give her time to recuperate properly. I'm just so pleased she's doing better.