[Lara's mom]

As many of you know, I have a very old Border Collie X - 14 1/2 years old. Me and her other mom have come to that time when we are going to sit down and decide what we will and will not treat at her advanced age.

To me, at this point it is all about the quality of her life which at this point is excellent. However, what we will be talking about is what constitutes a good quality of life which is where the members of the forum come in. I'd like some opinions as to what you all consider a good quality of life for a dog her age and, how far we should go in terms of further treatment if she should develop a serious illness.

I would be grateful for your opinions since we will be getting together to decide things in the next week or so.

Thanks...

[cigwyllt]

I thought I was facing this a few weeks ago only for my dog to prove that she is well and much more able than I thought.

In the past when we have had to make a decision we decided the end had come when the dog was no longer able to take himself out to the toilet and showed no interest in food. Our two old dogs were very food motivated so when that ceased to interest them and they were soiling their bedding and themselves we knew that there was no joy for them in living. They were both 16 + when we had them pts.

[Lara's mom]

Thanks Ciggie:

Bailey still has an excellent quality of life. She eats well. plays with toys and enjoys her walks and time in the park.

What I want to know is what people think represents a quality of life that is not acceptable. I understand what you said about your dogs. At this point in her life, I wouldn't subject her to surgery. Am I right? These are the things I need to know. If she got cancer at her age, should I treat it?

[cigwyllt]

Personally I wouldn't. I took my old dog to the vet at the beginning of the summer fully expecting her to be PTS although in the end it was simply a sebaceous cyst. But I knew she had a heart murmur and was not prepared to put her through the stress of an anaesthetic or op.