- Messages
- 4,094
- Likes
- 14,826
Damn good pups
What to look for/preparing for your dog’s death
- Thread starter Pipe Line
- Start date
Welcome to tPB!
Welcome to The Platinum Board. We are a Nebraska Husker news source and fan community.
-
Welcome to The Platinum Board! We are a Nebraska Cornhuskers news source and community. Please click "Log In" or "Register" above to gain access to the forums.
What to look for/preparing for your dog’s death
- Messages
- 3,369
- Likes
- 9,745
Just had to put one of mine down a couple of weeks ago. Really weren’t any warning signs. Just all of a sudden quit eating and started vomiting bile. Took him to the vet on the second day and got the bad news. Hardest couple of days for my wife and I.
- Messages
- 2,364
- Likes
- 9,981
Sorry for that. Tough to lose best friends after such a short life.
Hell of a pic though.
- Messages
- 3,672
- Likes
- 11,277
rip frank
- Messages
- 4,094
- Likes
- 14,826
Took my 6 y/o mutt in for a lump and the vet seemed concerned so sent it in for tests, my wife is freaking out convinced it’s horrible news. Going to be a long few days to get the results back
- Messages
- 1,418
- Likes
- 13,608
Sent you a DM
- Messages
- 4,094
- Likes
- 14,826
Got the bad news that it’s cancer, gonna go in for surgery next week and hope for the best. @kenyanfeline has been a knowledgeable sounding board in DMs, don’t know him outside of the board but is a grade A dude in my book
- Messages
- 3,369
- Likes
- 9,745
Hope for the best. We had to put down one of ours this summer. It never gets easy.
- Messages
- 1,461
- Likes
- 4,866
This thread makes me sad. Good luck to all you pet parents. May we have as much time with our companions as possible. They bring us so much joy and happiness but the pain of losing them is immense, but still totally worth the experience. NFM
- Messages
- 4,094
- Likes
- 14,826
He’s middle aged for a dog, and in great health outside of this, so I hope he responds well and bounces back. Love that crazy fucker
Last edited:
- Messages
- 948
- Likes
- 3,778
This weekend I sold a custom kennel I made myself for my dogs. I put both of them down in June, but had been dragging my feet on selling their kennel. As I was cleaning it up I said to my wife how I was sad to see it go. Its one of the many things I've made that I'm the most proud of and something that got a ton of use out of too. For the longest time we had our lab and husky in those plastic dog crates and I handcrafted a kennel for them that they both loved. I sold it to one of my best friends and his family so definitely feel good about it.
- Messages
- 7,124
- Likes
- 13,085
I still have my big dog's harness, been about a year and a 1/4 since he's been gone. My daughter loves looking at pictures of him even though it's really tough on me. I don't think I'll ever toss it. It hangs on its own hook next to the other twos' harnesses. Our little rescue dog uses his leash now for walks but that's fine, that's just a generic one from Petsmart that I've bought dozens of over the years once they rip.
- Messages
- 97
- Likes
- 586
Having to come to this realization soon. Have a Pug-beagle mix who's 11. Diabetic and have to give him two shots a day, he's almost completely blind now, has arthritis and has been pissing on the carpet more and more lately. He has Cushings Disease (which is basically a non-cancerous tumor on his brain that makes him constantly hungry and never feels full,) so he's always acting like he's starving. The last couple of days he just been walking in circles and seems disoriented. We have to take him outside ourselves now.
But then he acts all happy when we get home and normal, and he doesn't appear to be in any pain.
My two teenagers grew up with this guy, and he's their best buddy. Mom is really trying to stretch it out, but I'm bothered by his quality of life right now, despite him not showing that he's in any pain.
I think the decision is coming in the next couple of weeks, and I'm dreading it. It's going to be hard for both me and my wife, but my kids will be devistated.
But then he acts all happy when we get home and normal, and he doesn't appear to be in any pain.
My two teenagers grew up with this guy, and he's their best buddy. Mom is really trying to stretch it out, but I'm bothered by his quality of life right now, despite him not showing that he's in any pain.
I think the decision is coming in the next couple of weeks, and I'm dreading it. It's going to be hard for both me and my wife, but my kids will be devistated.
Last edited:
- Messages
- 2,904
- Likes
- 12,735
I had to put down my lab 2 weeks ago. It was tougher than I thought it'd be. She was 14. Lived a good long life. My hope was that she'd just do it on her own, but that dog was always a fighter. I probably should of known she wouldn't give up. Could hardly walk, likely heart issue, was barely eating, and was going downhill fairly quick. She was in pain and pretty much made me do it. Looking back now though, it was the right move....even if I didn't like doing it.
- Messages
- 1,418
- Likes
- 13,608
The weird thing about being a vet is that I give advice to people on a near daily basis on how to handle the end of a dogs life. However it’s my turn now and I’m lost as fuck and can’t make a decision.
I’ve had a some really good dogs in my life. Some military dogs that were selfless and loyal. A couple great hunting dogs.
The two best I’ve ever had are the two I have now. A Pyrenees named Amos who protects all of my other animals and will lay his life on the line for my wife and kids, and a lab named Windsor who I got to be a hunting dog, he was horrible at it, and became simply a companion dog.
On two occasions, my wife was 9 months pregnant, and on a random evening Windsor laid his head down on her stomach and cried for hours. We didn’t know what he wanted/needed, so we ignored him. He then resorted to taking a shit right next to our bed (literally the only two accidents he ever had in 12 years). Both times, her water broke within a few hours. He knew before we did that the baby was coming.
We’d bring the new baby home from the hospital and he would immediately just follow them around and sleep at the base of their crib and when the babies would cry he would bring all sorts of random shit from around the house and put it next to the baby to try to calm them.
He is that kind of dog. Just the definition of unconditional and irrational love for my family and I. He’s incredibly useless because he has been bad at every “job” around our farm, hunting, etc. But despite all that, he is the best dog I’ve ever had. His only goals in life have been to be obedient and bring joy to our family, and he’s accomplished both of those goals daily, without fail, for the last 12 years.
Anyways, I’ve known for a while Windsor’s time was getting close. He has a pretty aggressive form of lymphoma. I’ve kicked the can down the road for a few months with various medications but it’s nothing that I can remove or cure.
He went down hill bad over the last three weeks, and especially the last few days.
The main reason I haven’t gotten him put down is because I’m struggling to talk to my kids about it. I talk to strangers and several of you about it all the time. I’ve told my kids that their grandma is dying, I’ve told them that their cousin was in an accident and isn’t going to make it. But they love this dog so much I can’t find the words to talk to them about this. I think part of it is that they think our dogs are invincible because of my job.
So anyways, I think tomorrow might be the day, but I’m not sure. The biggest thing is that I need to talk to my kids about it. They are 12, 8, 6, and 5 and have never lost a dog before. And Windsor is their absolute best friend and they are all emotionally attached.
Like I said, I can talk to strangers about this all day every day, I even talk to other peoples kids upon request every now and then when I have to put their pets down. But now that the roles are reversed and it’s my dog and my kids, I’m at a loss, so if anyone has advice on how they’ve talked to their kids about it, let me know.
I’ve had a some really good dogs in my life. Some military dogs that were selfless and loyal. A couple great hunting dogs.
The two best I’ve ever had are the two I have now. A Pyrenees named Amos who protects all of my other animals and will lay his life on the line for my wife and kids, and a lab named Windsor who I got to be a hunting dog, he was horrible at it, and became simply a companion dog.
On two occasions, my wife was 9 months pregnant, and on a random evening Windsor laid his head down on her stomach and cried for hours. We didn’t know what he wanted/needed, so we ignored him. He then resorted to taking a shit right next to our bed (literally the only two accidents he ever had in 12 years). Both times, her water broke within a few hours. He knew before we did that the baby was coming.
We’d bring the new baby home from the hospital and he would immediately just follow them around and sleep at the base of their crib and when the babies would cry he would bring all sorts of random shit from around the house and put it next to the baby to try to calm them.
He is that kind of dog. Just the definition of unconditional and irrational love for my family and I. He’s incredibly useless because he has been bad at every “job” around our farm, hunting, etc. But despite all that, he is the best dog I’ve ever had. His only goals in life have been to be obedient and bring joy to our family, and he’s accomplished both of those goals daily, without fail, for the last 12 years.
Anyways, I’ve known for a while Windsor’s time was getting close. He has a pretty aggressive form of lymphoma. I’ve kicked the can down the road for a few months with various medications but it’s nothing that I can remove or cure.
He went down hill bad over the last three weeks, and especially the last few days.
The main reason I haven’t gotten him put down is because I’m struggling to talk to my kids about it. I talk to strangers and several of you about it all the time. I’ve told my kids that their grandma is dying, I’ve told them that their cousin was in an accident and isn’t going to make it. But they love this dog so much I can’t find the words to talk to them about this. I think part of it is that they think our dogs are invincible because of my job.
So anyways, I think tomorrow might be the day, but I’m not sure. The biggest thing is that I need to talk to my kids about it. They are 12, 8, 6, and 5 and have never lost a dog before. And Windsor is their absolute best friend and they are all emotionally attached.
Like I said, I can talk to strangers about this all day every day, I even talk to other peoples kids upon request every now and then when I have to put their pets down. But now that the roles are reversed and it’s my dog and my kids, I’m at a loss, so if anyone has advice on how they’ve talked to their kids about it, let me know.
- Messages
- 2,364
- Likes
- 9,981
Lost mine back in March, and there is a time everyday that it still hits like a ton of bricks.
- Messages
- 2,364
- Likes
- 9,981
Man, this thread. Gets me every time. Love you guys. I don't care whatever differences we may have, views, whatever. I know just reading everyone's posts on here that I would like you. Iykyk.
@kenyanfeline I don't have kids, that's a tough one. But, you're going to have to get them to understand that there are worst things than death. I worked with at risk youth for 15 years. I always shot them straight when discussing important but tough things. The kids I worked with were 10-17, but majority around 12. I'd have that talk with the 12 year old privately, and maybe have him help with the 5 and 6 year olds. Good luck, I feel for you and your kids. I remember losing my first pup. Pretty damn shitty but hazy memory.
@kenyanfeline I don't have kids, that's a tough one. But, you're going to have to get them to understand that there are worst things than death. I worked with at risk youth for 15 years. I always shot them straight when discussing important but tough things. The kids I worked with were 10-17, but majority around 12. I'd have that talk with the 12 year old privately, and maybe have him help with the 5 and 6 year olds. Good luck, I feel for you and your kids. I remember losing my first pup. Pretty damn shitty but hazy memory.
- Messages
- 1,353
- Likes
- 3,548
No joke. I'm about to unfollow this thread because it drags me in every time.
We don't deserve dogs.
- Messages
- 4,094
- Likes
- 14,826
You’ve been a great help to me over the last couple weeks with my dog. Surgery on Wednesday and then we will find out what grade his cancer is, nervous as fuck.
We do not give credit enough to how resilient and understanding kids are, my best advice is just to tell them the truth, he’s old, he’s sick, and his time to go home has come, as hard as it is to say goodbye it’s what’s best for him.
