[Darwindog96]

I am hoping to find some good suggestions here as I am reaching the end of my rope.

I have a 15 year old JRT. He's always been the greatest dog - sweet, kind, generally well-behaved (he is a JRT after all) and very active. About a year ago he started gradually having problems. He's lost most of his hearing and his eyesight is pretty bad. He started pacing continually and also started having accidents in the house (he can still go in and out the dog door). He's also been very testy and grumpy. It has progressed now to where the worst part is that he paces, paces, paces, then has an accident and just walks around in it and spreads it everywhere. He used to be pretty prissy and never walked in any kind of mess or mud but it's like he can't smell either.

Throughout this past year, the vet prescribed some anti-anxiety pills which didn't seem to help so we stopped those. We also changed his food with no change so we've just turned back to his regular food (Beneful wet and dry mixed). We've also tried Rimadyl but it doesn't seem to help so we stopped giving him that about a week ago. I am thinking of checking back with the vet to see if there is anything else at all that might help but I doubt there is. I know it's mostly just age.

Darwin still seems happy and gets around okay (we have another dog that he follows around) but he clearly doesn't even know when he goes to the bathroom. Based on his physical well being, his body isn't giving out any time soon so I expect he'll be around awhile longer.

Has anyone else out there gone through the same problems? Can anyone recommend ways to deal with this? Would doggie diapers help? Any comments or suggestions will be appreciated!!

Thanks,

Shannon. . . and Darwin

[Palofpaws]

Hi Shannon, Let me tell you what my Vet told me last summer when I had to put my 16 year old golden Retriever and 15 year old Yorkie down on the same day. It was awful and I had such guilt but I knew they were not the same dogs they had been. When we domestcated dogs we took on a responsibilty to do our best for them. A dog in the wild would never have suffered and gone senile because nature took care of them when they were no longer able to function as they should.. I wanted to wake up and have had them pass on thier own, I didn't want to make the decision but you know it was my responsibilty to make sure they didn't suffer. A dog doesn't have a voice to tell you they are in pain or that they have lost control over their peeing and pooping.. Pacing is a definite sign of a dog in pain... I hope this helps you make the right decision becuase it is our responsibilty~~ I wish you the best and hope this helps you!!

[kdinsmoor]

First thing I would do is find a vet that does natural and conventional treatments, it sounds like your current vet does not have a good handle on what is going on with your dog, another opinion never hurts especially if you are thinking of putting him to sleep.

I can tell you what helped my dog as he grew older:

1) A through check up and blood test to check on kidney, liver, etc., also that he does not have an illness.

2) Either home cooked or get him a good organic kibble like Taste of The Wild or Orijen, something without grains. Older dogs need more and quality protein, you can always add an egg(cooked)or chicken or veg. etc to the kibble. Beneful is full of sugar and chemicals and junk protein, check the ingredients on the internet, most supermarket(including petsmart and petco) kibble is not fit for consumption by any animal.

3)Give him enzymes and probiotics, very important! please do research for explanation, not having enough of these will impact their health, especially in older animals, their bodies are wearing down.

4)A whole food vitamin, omega-3, Turmeric for inflammation (no aspirin, bad stuff), does he have arthritis? Cosequin or similar is good, also acupuncture for pain, Rimadyl can cause lots of problems, it's nasty stuff.

5)If he is pacing something is wrong, if he is grumpy and not usually like that there is a problem, if you need to do diapers to save your sanity, do it.

If you decide to put him to sleep just know you did all you can and it is his time, it is a difficult decision, I hope this information will be of some use to you.

[cigwyllt]

Is it possible to confine him to an area that is easy to clean? When my old Jack Russell became senile and incontinent he stayed in the kitchen where the floor was easy to mop. While he would still take himself out to the garden with the other dogs and enjoy his food I couldn't bear to see him go but unlike your boy he wasn't pacing, he just wanted to sleep and eat.

[CorkyMax]

Sorry if this seems short and blunt but to the point---(My daughter is waiting for me so am in a hurry) I just have to say I am glad you quit the Rimadyl!! Please read this: Please Do not Give Rimadyl (carprofen)--CAN KILL
Also see this about Proin (The worst of all 'killers') Is your dog on PROIN? READ THIS!

In a hurry or I would find a thread for you in here on incontinence----Find the word Search in the blue strip across top of page(s) in here and click and enter words like incontinence to try and find some answers.

[Darwindog96]

Thank you everyone for your responses. If anyone else reading this thread has input, it would still be greatly appreciated.

We do kind of confine him and are able to clean up after him. We have a second dog that stays with him and someone is usually home nearly all the time so he's not ever really alone.

I will research on different food for him - it's funny, he's actually more food focused now than he's ever been and his appetite is just fine. Any suggestions on food I can make for him (rice, meats, veggies, etc?).

I will also look into some other possible solutions to help him with pain and/or anxiety - which, from everything I read could be the reasons for the pacing / circling. I know dogs are like people in that they get senile and can have alzheimers, etc. It's not that I don't want to lose him (because that's inevitable) - just want him to be as comfortable as possible.

[CorkyMax]

I started to go through that thread on Proin but I gave up---Please read the entire thread as I think there are several posts in it that try to find an answer to incontinence without using harsh killer drugs.

[Darwindog96]

UPDATE: We have taken Darwin off the Rimadyl and I started making homemade dog food. His eyes have cleared up and his eyesight/balance seems a little better. He's still pacing and having accidents but they don't seem to be occurring at the same rate and he seems a bit more aware. He's definitely no worse off and seems happy. My husband's been really good about cleaning up after him.

So it's better for now - really appreciate everyone's input.

Shannon

[CorkyMax]

Happy to hear back from you. Glad to hear Darwin is doing better--and at least not worse. I reread this entire thread and a few things came to mind. You mentioned that you use to feed Beneful and like Kdinsmoor mentioned to you about it being full of sugar--It is very high in sugar and it made me think about diabetes (Which I have)---Was Darwin checked for diabetes (blood test to check blood sugar)?? Kdinsmoor gave very good answers all through his/her post! I feed home cooked and raw also. I bet Darwin is very happy with the change in his food! It is a lot of work but I think very well worth it. I am going to give a link to a thread I started quite awhile back on what NOT to feed---things dogs can have 'deadly' reactions to:This is a very long thread but important to know about these things!
Foods that are hazardous to a dog Note that grapes and raisins are both a definite no-no!
I have done quite a few posts in here on home cooking/raw but if I can find them and give you links to them-(see list of links at bottom of this post.) You can also put-- dogs home cooking-- in your browser and I am sure you will get many sites to check out!

In the mean time---Wish you would check out about this: Solid Gold Seameal ( a nutritional supplement--Has Prozyme in it too which is not to be heated or it kills it) I think you can find info on the net by putting something like this in your browser: dogs Solid Gold Seameal. Wish to note this now in case I forget--The directions say to use a little warm water to mix it in with the food---BUT wish they would stress very lukewarm water as heat kills some of the ingredients!! I don't even use water to mix it in as with home cooking, I figure it gets mixed in well enough--(NOTE:Use barely lukewarm or cold cooked food!)--Not like trying to add it to commercial dry dog food and having the seameal get left in the bottom of the dog dish.---------If you find their site and are interested in getting some-I think you can find (check their 'things' to click on) where they give a listing of stores in your area--I get mine in a health and nutrition store--maybe called Nutrition World--not sure. Lol, the 2nd time I went to purchase another plastic jar (and it is vacumned-packed--lime green with a big gold label) I didn't mentioned it was a dog product and the clerk was looking in the human sections of the store and was puzzled until the word dog was mentioned--so remember that if you decide to get some!

Another thing--Since getting off all those 'bad meds'--Rimadyl in particular---Your dog is prob. feeling better for that reason alone! You mentioned he wasn't pacing as much--Rimadyl may of been part of it. I don't think you had him on Proin---the very worst of them all but if you did--You are lucky to still have him--I feel that med is like playing Russian Roulette with your dog's life.---And he would pace with that---heart would be racing too--heart attack/stroke killer!! If you read that entire thread--I guess you know about it all!

Will go see if I can find those posts on home cooking now. There are prob. more--5 pages of threads to search through. Just do like I told another member in one of my posts (in one of the links I gave you below)---Go to the search box at top of page(s) in this forum--It is listed in white word Search in the blue strip across the top of the page(s) Click on it and put words home cooking in the box. That is what I did to get the links below.

1st thread I found--only about pumpkin and would add here for you--Add also same amount of PLAIN yogurt (Not vanilla either!) as the pumpkin--Yogurt with the live active cultures with acidophilus and bifidus-at least something on that order.---- Pumpkin

my dog doesn't like dog food ---I wouldn't feed very much rice--It really isn't much good except as a 'filler'--for weight gain--not enough good nutrients to waste on in place of other good things---Protein is mainly what you want. Rice is mainly all carbohydrates---and I would never feed if a dog has diabetes.

Homemade diets

How good do you think this diet is?

The Ways To Feed Your Dog--Part 1

Rachael Ray - turkey bad for dogs?

About Feeding Fruits & Vegetables

Keep us posted ----hoping for more improvement in his health as you continue with the home cooking--2 weeks is just the beginning of this healthy diet!! Hoping to hear more good things!! Good luck.

[Darwindog96]

Thanks Corky/Max - I went and got the Seameal - started using it last night. Darwin is also set for a checkup next month so we'll check with the vet on the diabetic thing or any other possible problems. We're just so happy that he looks much better (less confused and the cloudy eyes went away). We can't tell if he's in pain - he's definitely stiff - but he doesn't whine and doesn't look sad so I'm hoping he's not in pain much.

My younger dog thinks it's great too because she loves the homemade food herself - !

I really appreciate all your (and everyone else's too) help!

[CorkyMax]

Thought you might want to check out these threads/posts on feeding egg---also egg shells for calcium supplement:
About Feeding Egg:

Calcium - Balancing Your Dog's Diet | B-Naturals.Com Newsletter

I also want to find the info for making egg shell calcium--My computer is acting up and very slow so not sure if I can find this right now but if not--you can try putting egg shell calcium dogs in your browser.
One comment I will put here now--After grinding in a coffee grinder--I pour the crushed shells through a sieve to make sure the shells are very fine--You can kind of press them through with your fingers.

Found this: http://www.pet-grub.com/part1/how_to..._dogs_and_cats --Be sure to see entire page as ads at top of page. Note that this article doesn't say how long to leave the shells in the 300 degree oven--I leave about 10 minutes.

Here is another article from same site you might want to read about also:

http://www.pet-grub.com/holistic_pet...alcium_citrate

You will find a lot of articles on this site of interest--Just check all the 'click-ons' provided.