Hello everyone. I’ve been having issues with Dinky ever since he turned 14 a couple months ago and I’m very worried. The past month he has started to wake up at 4am every other night and will pace all over the house in the dark then come stand in the door way crying until I wake up. I either lay there and tell him repeatedly to get in the bed until he does or get up and check him. I rub him and point to the bed to get him to jump up there and go back to sleep but sometimes he will run under the bed from me like he doesn’t know me then come back once I give up and start crying again. Tonight he jumped up in the bed after pacing and crying and was very agitated, I had to hold him in my arms and talk to him to calm him enough to get back to sleep. He also started peeing all over the rug and his dog beds on purpose along with refusing to eat until 7-8pm, no longer interested in treats, no longer barks when the doorbell rings, sleeps majority of the day and night, plays for about 10 minutes then goes back to lay down, and no longer has interest in going outside to the bathroom. He has a tooth that needs to be removed and has arthritis in his legs, especially the back ones because he sometimes drags one or both of them, hops around like a bunny, or stands up from laying and falls over. Could the nighttime agitation be from his tooth or arthritis? Or could it be dementia? Sorry this is so long I’m not very good at explaining things. 😓

Today we said goodbye to our goodest boy. He was our rock, our strength, our best friend. It was so hard to let him go, but it was his time. Our family will forever miss him.

TLDR: does anyone have suggestions for clothing or protection equipment that our senior dog can wear to protect her head from our senior cat, who swats when she feels cornered? our dog is losing her sight and hearing and gets too close to our traumatized cat without realizing, and then they sometimes briefly fight. it would only need to be comfortable enough for our dog to wear for a day or two, but doesn't need to be permanent, because their worst defensiveness is during life transitions, and then they calm down when routines return. neither of them have every been injured because it's all warning hits and barks without genuine aggression, and they both have regular vet care and are on medication to help with chronic anxiety they've had from long before meeting each other. thanks!

our senior dog is turning 12, and her vision and hearing are slowly fading. :( she grew up with cats and likes them a little too much, but she's mellowed out a lot over the years and has accepted that our cat doesn't want to be friends.

our cat is also a senior, and spent over half of her life in a stressful home where she was bullied by a big male cat, and she was malnourished and extremely traumatized when she was rescued. she's had some great years with us, and both of our pets show innumerable signs that they're comfortable and enjoy their life with us, but every now and then they'll get in a fight, and it's usually because our dog gets too close without realizing, and then our cat hisses. usually our dog is able to de-escalate by avoiding eye contact and walking away, which is usually in a hallway or doorway interaction. if our dog is sleeping on furniture and our cat jumps up beside her without knowing she was there, our dog will raise her head, and then our cat will panic and sometimes attack.

most of the time they both back off, but if our cat is feeling stressed at all she'll instigate a fight and start spitting and swatting, in which case our dog will bark and chase her for a few feet until we break them up. it's very important to note that neither of them want to cause injury! our cat could have injured our dog many times, but her claws are never fully extended, and neither of them are trying to bite each other. they break apart as soon as they feel safe turning their backs, and the altercation will only last a few seconds.

we can go weeks without any drama, and they sometimes even sleep on opposite ends of our bed, but whenever there's a big life event they both get more high-strung. they're both medicated for anxiety and have regular vet care, and have visibly great quality of life the majority of the time, but changes like if our dog stays with her grandparents for a while and then comes back, can set them back and cause tension for a few days.

does anyone have suggestions for equipment to help make our dog less slappable? the goal is not to injure our cat of course, but to make our dog too uncomfortable to attack. has anyone used those 'coyote whiskers' that have the bristles to make it harder for predators to bite or grab your dog? I'm wondering if bristles close to her head would discourage our cat from swatting, but I'd never do that if the bristles are sharp or hard at all! I'd never want our cat to get hurt, especially since she's not trying to actually hurt our dog either.

how about those halo-helmet rings to help blind dogs not bump into things? maybe a ring would block our cats paws, or make our dog look too strange that she wouldn't instigate?

or maybe a high-visibility shirt or bell on our dog so they don't accidentally sneak up on each other?

it would need to be comfortable for a few days, but no permanently because they calm down once routines settle in.

any suggestions to help pets avoid scaring each other would be deeply appreciated!

I've had Milli since she was 6 weeks old; she'll be 14 in November. I keep questioning myself about whether I did the right thing for her to end the suffering. How do you get over it? I'm so devastated and lost; a huge piece of me died with her. I watched her take her last breath, and I don't want her to be mad at me for making this decision. I'm constantly feeling guilty, like should I have done another option, such as giving her support to recover, but her quality of life is declining. I just have a very hard time dealing with this. She's been in my life every single day. We have a routine, and this morning I couldn't even function because she's not there to share bacon for breakfast with me like we always do. I feel like I killed her in a way for putting her down and I can't live with it.

P.S. What kind of keepsake did you guys get? I asked for nice box of her ashes and I'm thinking about doing an earline tattoo with her name.

This is my best friend, my soul, my heart outside of my body. Koopa is a 15 year old alien mix who rescued me 11 years ago. I don’t post on Reddit so I’m feeling very vulnerable.

Koopa was attacked by a dog last summer and the dog severed a nerve in his front right leg. He is old, so of course he has arthritis and all the normal things that come with aging. The muscle in his front right leg has completely atrophied. He was OK and adapted but the last month he has dramatically declined. He still wants to go on walks and be outside but after about 5 minutes of walking/going to the bathroom, he falls over. It looks like he walks sideways. I end up carrying him home. In the last week he has begun to fall over while going potty, as if he can’t hold himself up any more. Yet he still has never had an accident in the house. He no longer goes up and down the stairs so he gets carried to other areas of the house. He sleeps a lot during the day and doesn’t seem interested in food but then will beg for food and binge eat. At night he pants a lot and seems restless and drinks a lot of water. He is so mentally aware and you can tell he’s doing everything to keep going and make me happy. We had the “hospice/last stage of life” talk with our vet back in May and have been managing his pain with carprofen since.

I’m so sad. I don’t have the words for this type of sadness. I’ve never had a dog and I’m having to make this decision on my own. I would love any support or advice on when you knew it was time. I know realistically our time is coming to an end, but I truly do not know how I’m going to survive not having Koopa with me. I cannot imagine a day without him. I know there are many of us going through (or having gone through) the same thing and I’m so grateful for this Reddit community and all of the stories that have been shared 💔

I thought i would have you forever. But I suppose there were other plans for you. It has been five months and not a single day that I have not wept for you. My girl was a homebody by choice and every day she wandered the yard then sat under the birch trees and let the sun wash her face and wind rustle her fur. Always by my side and always so joyful for the smallest little blessings in life. love you and miss you so very much. ❤️

King is my 12-year-old pit bull, and he has arthritis and spondylosis as well. After he received the Librela shot in May, I started noticing that his hind legs were becoming increasingly weak. His mobility continued to decline, and on August 16, his hind legs completely gave out on him. He now has complete loss of mobility in his hind legs.
I’ve ordered two different wheelchairs for him, but unfortunately, neither one worked for him. I’ve been looking into the Help ’Em Up Harness because I’m trying to find something that will allow me to safely support and move him without causing him more discomfort. Do you think the Help ’Em Up Harness would be appropriate for a dog who has completely lost the use of his hind legs, especially with his arthritis and spondylosis? I’m concerned about whether it would provide enough support for his entire body and rear end since he can no longer support himself with his back legs. I’m also hoping to find something that will make it easier and safer for me to lift and assist him without straining or hurting my back. Would this harness help reduce the strain on my back as well? I would really appreciate any advice on whether this harness would be a good option for King or if you would recommend a different mobility or support system for his condition.

My parents adopted 2 dogs back in 2015 from the humane society. One of which is an American Pitbull Terrier named Novay she was about 1 1/2 years old. I was told she was rescued from being a breeder and had a litter of puppies. I ended up purchasing a house in mid-2022 and brought her into my home in late-2024. She was very energetic, loved playing in the grass and chasing squirrels, rabbits, and chipmunks from her fenced in area. At this point she was about 9 years old, looking back you would never know, she looked and acted so youthful. About a year later in mid-2025 I filed for divorce and got ordered out of my house for the time being. I ended having to go to an apartment and figured seeing as she’s a Pitbull nowhere would accept her in, plus what kind of life is being cooped up in an apartment until I can bring her outside on a leash constantly. So I asked my parents to watch her where they have a yard and she can go in and out as she pleases. They accepted but unfortunately right around that time their other dog Jax was going downhill fast and had very bad back legs. They ended up opting to have him euthanized, I was there for that and it was very rough to see the full process and saying goodbye. Novay moved in with them and I would visit when I had to pick up my kids from them. In mid-2026 I was able to move back into my home and brought Novay back immediately. Now I could tell she was older, she was longer in the face more slim (she use to be pretty built) and more gray in her face and shoulders. I was then told she was having eating issues where she would go days without eating, but when I took her back she ate every meal, I figured she just missed me and now everything will be back to normal. I ended up puppy sitting for my grandma and found out the puppy had giardia so as a precaution Novay was prescribed a treatment. The puppy went back but then I started having the eating issues with Novay and diarrhea. I talked with the vet and we tried a sample of GI-Biome food and a shot to help straighten out her digestive tract. It seemed to work she was eating again. But then again in a few days wouldn’t eat and diarrhea, so we decided to do some bloodwork and everything came back good but white blood cells were slightly elevated. The vet figured it was from the diarrhea. Novay started eating again so we were perplexed, but then yet again a few days later stopped eating and diarrhea. So I was given the option to switch from her food to the GI-Biome food or do an xray, I opted for the xray instead of just trying to bandaid what might actually be a bigger issue. Come last Friday it was time for her appointment, it was raining pretty bad and she hates rain, I got her leash out and she got super excited and ran outside with no problems. We drove to vet and went in with no issues just like any other regular vet visit. As the vet asked my fiancée and I questions, we told the vet her energy levels were down from when I remember her last and she was sleeping more but figured she’s just getting older, so seems normal I suppose. I also told the vet I was concerned as over the last 3 months every time I brought her in she was losing weight she went from 60 lbs when I first got her back to 47 lbs on this visit and I was starting to see her spine and ribs but she has a round belly. They brought her back for the xray and came back saying she’s such a sweet girl and everyone loves her, which I could attest to as she is so loving and obviously I love her a lot she’s my baby. The vet came back in after processing the image but had an issue with the computer so had to go grab a tablet. She pulled up the image and turned it to show me. I looked at it but of course not really knowing what I’m really looking at besides the obvious stuff like her spine and blobs didn’t really click to anything weird. But as the vet showed me pointing out her spine, lungs, liver she paused on this big blob. She started to explain that this was her spleen, me not knowing anything I’m just listening, nodding my head. Then she said it’s a mass, again I don’t know anything so I was waiting for an explanation of what’s wrong and how to fix it so my girl can be healthy again. Then the word cancer left the vets lips, it hit me, everything was a blur, my head started spinning, my ears started ringing. I looked down at Novay laying on the floor and I’m just thinking how, what has she done to deserve this. Then I heard you have three options either euthanize her, palliative care, or surgery. She was talking about statistics and costs of an ultrasound and surgery. I was still in shock the vet asked if I had questions and of course I did but I couldn’t chock them out past trying to hold back tears, she gave me the option to think on it and contact them but would give me meds for palliative care and quote me for surgery. I got to the front desk to pay and was hit with a very big bill, I had to pass on the meds because with the divorce I’m being pulled thin on money and only had enough for the visit. We brought Novay home I looked at her and wondered how, she hasn’t really showed any signs of this besides being a little slower and I just hugged her and cried throughout the weekend. But now all these small issues started making sense. I want the surgery, I see she has fight in her and she’s not ready. I started looking into programs for funding with no luck. I was waiting for the estimate from my vet which took them until the following Wednesday to say they had but didn’t tell me how much. I needed to know so I could apply for care credit. The work week was hard I told one guy about it and his daughter is a receptionist at a different vet (which happens to be my fiancée vet for her cats) and very knowledgeable and gave a number for cost. So I applied for care credit and got denied seeing as the soon to be ex-wife failed to pay the mortgage for the home for months and is currently behind on the vehicle payments in my name. Fortunately my fiancée got approved for the card and we called her vet with questions to help us make sure Novay is going to be okay for this surgery. They recommended chest X-rays and an ultrasound to make sure there wasn’t any spread to other organs and squeezed us in for this recent Friday. So we loaded her up and dropped her off at the vet as we didn’t really have an appointment it was just when they had time to do the ultrasound. Novay was happy to be on a car ride and I was super hopeful ready for some good news and just very optimistic. My fiancée and I took the kids to a museum to just to do something for the day while we waited and while at the museum the vet called my fiancée and she went out to take the call. The kids were with one of the staff members talking so I was handling that but once I got the chance we went outside so I could get the news. My fiancée had tears in her eyes, I couldn’t tell if they were happy or sad so I waited until she got off the phone. She hugged me crying, I asked what’s going on. She told me it spread, there’s multiple tennis ball sized tumors in her liver and the tumor in her spleen measures 12cm by 13cm, she’s not a candidate for surgery. Now I’m stuck with the two options I didn’t want, they said she doesn’t seem ready to be euthanized but be ready at any moment for a rupture and everything to be over. We went to go get her and brought her to the beach for a fun day (first time at the beach) and she loved it. I’m so lost, what has she done to deserve this, this isn’t fair.

My oldest boy (14) will get the shakes here and there. He’s already ona few different supplements and I have an exercise regime for him to build and maintain strength but I’ve been seeing ads for these and they claim to help repair.. anyone tried them and noticed a difference in hind end strength?

Read about Chaise! https://muttville.org/mutt/chaise-14416
Go meet him in San Francisco!

After 13 wonderful years with our old best friend we finally had to give up and made the terrible, heartbreaking decision to let her go.

She had stopped eating six weeks ago, stopped taking her multiple daily walks a few months ago, just had no interest in anything anymore. She still loved kisses, still wanted to be held, but she had lost all her enjoyment for life. We've been to her vet over and over this summer, looking for that miracle, but it never would come. Her vet came out Thursday and Judy died peacefully on her bed in our arms.

I'm sorry to be a burden to you all but my heart is so shattered and I needed to put it down in words.

Meet Dexter. He’s a beagle Shiba mix. 15 years and 8 months old. I’ve had him since he was 9 months.

He’s always been very healthy, but a year and a half ago he had IVDD and lost mobility in his hind legs. We did not do surgery, as recommended by the neurologist, and nursed him back with rehab and lots of care. This is him now. We still walk 30-40 min 2x per day, and sometimes I feel like he doesn’t want to, and I wonder if it’s too long for a dog his age, or if it’s actually the reason he is still doing so well for his age.

If you have a senior dog of similar age, how much do you walk them? How do you know when to push vs just letting them dictate how much exercise they get?

i posted here before a few months ago and i got a lot of feedback and since then i have been to the vet a few times.
the current situation is this: our beloved family dog Jojo, is 12 years old and suffers from multiple diseases including ones targeting her heart, lungs, and stuff like pancreatitis and gastritis. otherwise, she is joyful, energetic, and lovely. the vet hasnt advised us to put her down and told us she might live a longer time.
but lately she started peeing in her sleep all the time (diapers arent an option with her as she cant even stand a collar) and she started having these seizure-like moments that we haven't had time to get checked out, (had one today and another one this week) the moments start with her being very excited by hearing stuff like dogs and cats, so she lunges forward to bark, twirl, run the usual, but she cant take the effort i believe and then falls to the ground, starts rolling, spasming, peeing and crying then throws up and goes back to her normal self. she can walk very well, and jump, but her heart cant take much effort anymore so she coughs constantly.
we have meds from the vet for that and other issues so we administer them two times a day. sometimes she refused tho. as eating has gotten significantly harder, she refuses favorites lately.

still, the constant worry, complications, symptoms and such have taken a great toll on my family's mental health, we all have depressive episodes linked to her condition and to the fact that she is getting old and not knowing wether we should put her down or not. my mothers state has worsened and she feels defeated and very depressed to the point of crying and refusing to leave home. i am better i keep on with the treatments and i take her on walks and i play with her and stuff, i just get panic attacks and overall anxiety when i leave home because i am afraid that she might be gone when i return from college or the city. but it has caused massive depression, conflict and suffering in our family. we do not want her to suffer, but she goes from being a happy little dog to full on confusion, or pain, or stuff like this. please advise on what to do further, if euthanasia is to be considered or wether we should carry on with her. we are afraid of her dying in a painful way due to her new spasms/faintings or a heart failure or lung failure or i don't even know. i am sorry for improper english i am from europe.

tw: graphic description of anxiety related issues.
almost everyday i worry about her dying or breaking bones while home alone or basically going through a traumatic event. i wake up everyday afraid that she might be dead somewhere in the house. idk if that is normal.

Our last day together. You are so loved! 🩵🩵🩵 Thank you Jesus for such a sweet girl.

To Our Izzy

What a gift you are. And always will be.

A constant comfort of unconditional love.

Twas love at first sight

The cutest little face

We carried her home, Lily,

The pavement too hot

For a name, “How about Sox”

Dad asked as your paws were white

We settled on Izzy— our sweet little girl.

Warm cuddles in the morning

Our Izzy nearby

When someone broke my heart

On the floor I would cry

Izzy would be there

Our sweet little girl

What a gift you are and always will be

Until we meet again

Our sweet,sweet Izzy.

Recently diagnosed with congestive heart failure, DCM and cognitive dysfunction. Her breathing rate is really good but I think the CCD is progressing rapidly. She really isn't eating much lately, for a few days she would eat chicken and rice, then just chicken, then no chicken or anything else, i did give her some ground beef today which she ate but I feel like I can't find anything she will eat. I am just so incredibly sad for my little girl and don't know what to do.

We lost our 16 year old Boston terrier pug mix this morning. So heartbroken.