I'm having trouble with this one. We have an old dog - 15 years. She has been a good dog. She has started to decline and we are fairly certain she has dementia. She has lost a lot of weight, but does not seem in pain. She is blind and deaf. None of that has been a real issue.

HOWEVER... her behaviour has gone to crap and cognitive decline has increased. I don't know if I'm just being selfish here or reasonable. I don't know how much of her behaviour issues have to do with her dementia or the fact she is very hard of hearing. We know we are going to have to put her down soon, but am I hastening the process for my own benefit?

Recently, she gets confused about going outside, eating times, where she is, etc. You used to tell her, "Hey let's go potty," or more recently, just nudge her and she knows she needs to go out. Now, she hardly responds. But last night... whoo boy... it was rough.

I let her out right before we went to bed. I was just about asleep when she just started barking. I got her back in bed and five minutes later she was barking again. So I showed her to her bed and she laid down. Then, maybe 30 minutes later, she was barking on my wife's side of the bed. Having just let her out twice, I got her back in her bed. 10 minutes later she is standing in the middle of the room barking. I asked my wife to please take care of her as I had to go to work in a few hours and she is off. Sure enough, she went outside, came back in and the cylcle repeated itself about 3-4 times.

This morning, I am about there. Put her down - not because she is in pain but because she is becoming increasingly unmanageable. I don't mean right away, but if this starts to become routine, I can't do it. Is it reasonable to put her down because of this or am I just being selfish? The wife is ready, but I'm not sure. I have such a hard time going to sleep and staying asleep, that I don't need any help increasing my insomnia.

Thoughts?

It's a tough decision for sure. We had a cat that was probably at least 17 (she showed up as a stray 15 years ago so we don't know how old she was then). She was diagnosed with renal failure about 3 years ago & we dealt with it - special foods blended to add extra liquid content, never getting a full nights sleep - but one night she was inconsolable - all night. Husband dealt with her all night & next morning, she was somewhat better, but we knew she & we could not continue. She didn't seem to be in pain, just confused & needing constant contact, could not get settled it was like she was scared or something.

That night showed us that she was definitely not herself anymore & it seemed to be time to make the hard decision. Sorry you are going thru this.

Sorry to say it sounds like it's time. The large amount of weight loss isn't good, besides the dementia/behavioral issues. If more bad days than good at this point, it's time. Even if they are still eating. Dogs and cats don't show pain like we do. They aren't going to yelp and whine etc. necessarily.
Most clients say they wish they had done it sooner, I've never had anyone say they wish they'd waited.

Blind and deaf and losing weight all indicate it's time.

All good advice yall. Schmell... maybe one of the most spot on posts to a specific topic ive read on texags.

I appreciate it. I was feeling guilty that I was putting her down for our convenience.

Update on the do. The wife found some diahrea spots. Might just have been an episode or could be another sign. Right now we are just going to monitor the situation. I dont think it is quite time, but it is close. Maybe we can get a few more months with her.

Thanks for all the response. Helped me out more than you know.

You can try Selegiline it's approved for cognitive dysfunction syndrome for dogs. It work well for our senior dog for many years and it helped a lot. I'd recommend trying it and see how it goes.