Author Topic: Old Girl (Read 4915 times)

sabrina · « **on:** February 21, 2011, 07:31:36 pm »

My lovely German Shepherd Fallon will be 13 in April. She is deaf, eyes not so good and now her back end is beginning to wobble to the point that she can fall over. She eats well and some days when we go out she seems happy, tail wagging and joins in as much as she can with the 2 other dogs. I know the time is not far off that we will have to put her to sleep which will be heartbreaking. This leaves us with Tanya our other German Shepherd who is 10 and a complete nut case. Both girls sleep in the old cottage outside as they cannot stand the heat in the house, Tanya has water work problems every since being spayed so although they get in during the day when I am around to let her out at night is a problem as she gets me up every couple of hours where as sleeping in the old cottage I just wash out the floor. She gets upset if we try to take her anywhere and has been like this since she came to us as a rescue at 6 months old. She had been very badly treated and hates any strangers . Although we have Jake the Jack Russell she does not pay him much attention Fallon being her close friend. As I will be 60 this year we decided getting another big dog would be unfair, not so able to do the long walks. Apart from her mental problems Tanya is in good health if you do not count the wetting which has been going on for years so we are used to that. What should I do to make the passing of her friend easier on her. I think we will be lucky if Fallon see the summer and I am worried that Tanya will get depressed and I will not be able to help her as I will be so heart broken myself.

knightquest · « **Reply #1 on:** February 21, 2011, 07:43:04 pm »

It's really hard and I feel for you.

My advice for what it's worth is to be as calm as you can leading up to the sad event and after. Dogs are remarkably resilient and can read our emotions much more than we realise. If you worry too much about what might happen then invariably it will.
Try to remember the good times that you have had especially when dealing with a dog that is left. It does help them to carry on.

It's bloody hard though!

All the best, here's hoping that Fallon recovers and she has another five years..............wouldn't that be great? So unfair that dogs live such a short life.

Ian

Rosemary · « **Reply #2 on:** February 21, 2011, 07:57:12 pm »

I've read that it's a good idea to let the remaining dog see its companion dead. Morbid as it might seem, the dog is more likely to accept that its companion is dead, mourn it and move on rather than think that it has just been abandoned.

Try and enjoy what time you all have together.

faith0504 · « **Reply #3 on:** February 21, 2011, 09:45:33 pm »

i second what rosemary has said it is the same with horses let them say good bye, they deal with it better, you will find the strength to get through for your other dogs, my old girl roxy is a rescue i also rescued her full brother, the demons from his past came back to haunt him and it was decided to let him go in peace before his mental state went to far and he reverted back to the shell of a dog that i rescued, roxy missed him terribly, that gave me the strength to get through it, as i had to be strong for her, and get her through losing her bro, i was worried she might give up but 4 years on she is still by my side, she has the incontinence problem you have mentioned, we get tablets from the vets that help it, may be you could have a chat with your vet, then maybe if she cant cope with being in the cottage on her own she could sleep in your kitchen, just a thought.

thinking about you all

sabrina · « **Reply #4 on:** February 22, 2011, 12:03:50 pm »

Going to the vets this afternoon to pick up injections for the ponies so will have a chat about what would help Tanya. Jake sleeps in our bedroom, often gets into bed at night if he gets away with it, the girls have beds in the kitchen so if Tanya can be helped then she could come indoors. We would just have to turn of the heating in there. I do hope that Fallon has the coming summer but we have decided not to put her through another winter. The deep snow was just too much. When the day comes my OH says we should give her a favorite meal, take them all for a short walk down our farm road makes me cry just thinking about it

Rosemary · « **Reply #5 on:** February 22, 2011, 12:28:22 pm »

Me, too

We've all got it to face but I agree with your OH.

Eastling · « **Reply #6 on:** February 22, 2011, 01:11:48 pm »

Sorry to hear about your old girl, it's always a hard thing to do, but remember the good times and what a great friend and companion she has been. You will know when the time is right. As for the remaining dogs i would give a DAP diffuser ago might just take the edge of a little bit.
http://www.dap-pheromone.com/gb/DAP-The-secret-to-happy-dogs/All-about-DAP-R/What-is-D.A.P.-R

take care xx

little blue · « **Reply #7 on:** February 22, 2011, 06:40:29 pm »

can't really better the advice given so far, let the other dogs see Fallon when her time comes.
We share our lives (and at the moment, the settee!) with a rescued GSD with lots of issues, so you have my understanding & sympathies

Roxy · « **Reply #8 on:** February 22, 2011, 10:06:45 pm »

Its so hard when our dogs get old. We have 5 - all outside dogs. We have said we will not have any more when these go....

We had two brothers and a sister who lived in one kennel. We lost the girl and one of the boys together in tragic circumstances two years ago when they were 8. This left Twyford on his own for the first time. He was fine, and lives on his own quite happily. Dogs can adapt - its us humans that do the worrying.

Nina · « **Reply #9 on:** February 24, 2011, 08:27:34 pm »

Agree with the others about letting them see her after she's gone - Our old farm dog died naturally aged 16 earlier this week, he'd enjoyed a trot round the lake the day before and went in his sleep...

The other dogs all gave him a sniff and have been fine so far...

Advice would be also that it's better to make the decision to let her go a week too soon, rather than a week too late... Better to have happy memories or her being well. Thinking of you, tough times to come...

Sylvia · « **Reply #10 on:** February 25, 2011, 12:15:24 pm »

Please, don't make the mistake I made with my blessed and beloved Welsh Border Collie. A dog in a million, a dog in a lifetime and I still grieve for him. BUT! I kept him alive long after I should have. I bullied him into keeping going even when he was begging me to let him go and the memories I have of him now are filled with guilt and sadness instead of happiness.
I vowed I would never do that with another dog and never have and memories of later dogs are joyful and precious.
Do what you have to do when you have to do it, for the dog's sake