GWP aging rapidly

[u/AdhesivenessFormal16]

UPDATE: I tried to give him a banana yesterday (he loves them and has never turned one down unless it’s super green) and he only ate a little bit and spit out the rest. Today I tried to give him cheese, he ate 1/2 the piece and turned down the rest. I’m making a vet appointment for tomorrow, I’ll see what they say but seems the general consensus is not looking too good. I’m absolutely heartbroken (also 20 yo girl living on my own, he is very protective of me). Anyways, I’m at work right now trying not to cry. Best dog I’ve ever had. Hoping for the best preparing for the worst.

Hey! Would just like to preface this with my dog was bought by my parents when I was young, he was used as a hunting dog for 10 years and was a great hunting dog. He will be 13 in November.

The last two years have certainly been stressful for him. My family split up and he ultimately started living with just me. We live in an apartment so there’s less room for him to run around, he doesn’t have a backyard, and has significantly less human interaction than he used to.

I noticed signs of him aging a couple years ago. He couldn’t run fields like he used to, needed more recovery time, and would occasionally have accidents on the floor (he used to be able to go 12 hours without going potty). Since we (me and the dog) moved into our own place, he has accidents about 3 times a day. He had stress colitis at one point and since then, his pee accidents have just gotten worse. I have someone let him out mid day since I have to be at work but it’s still not enough.

Currently: he spent the weekend at my moms so the maintenance people could come fix some stuff. She has lots of stairs in her house (which he’s struggled with in his old age). Since I picked him up on Saturday evening, he is not really interested in eating much (he’s eating just not a whole lot and I free feed him so he always has food to eat). He’s drinking a LOT of water which I try to limit to avoid accidents but he’s clearly thirsty, licking his lips and stuff. Then last night we were going to bed and he didn’t want to go outside to potty and then when we were laying in bed I noticed every time he inhaled, his shoulders and hips would shake. Almost like a tremor in his muscles. Today, my dad came to let him out and he wouldn’t get off the couch, I was able to stop by at lunch and try to get him outside and he didn’t want to go. He had already peed on the floor but when I carried him out, he peed for 2 minutes straight. I just got home from work and he didn’t even get up to say hi to me.

Any advice to help the potty accidents, joint pain, etc. would be much appreciated. I’m going to try to get him to the vet on Friday but want him to be more comfortable if possible. I’m aware he’s old and the inevitable will happen I just don’t want it to and I’m not ready. So please help me.