How lucky for the dog you stepped in.

Many people are very passive about dealing with their vets, as your parents are, and basically put all their trust in them. That kind of trust works with a tried and true vet who has already gotten you through caring for sick animals and has proved his or her skills. (I always say that you need to find a good vet before you need one, if that makes sense.)

Your parent's vet sounds either lazy, disinterested or incompetent. Any one of these adjectives begs for another person in charge of the medical care of a beloved pet.

How to get your parents to change is another matter. Probably anything negative you say about their vet will fuel their defense of him.

I think people, including vets, make erroneous assumptions about people. Some vets think seniors don't have enough money to do everything for their pets, so don't suggest everything that would be beneficial. Supposedly that approach saves people from feeling guilty about not being able to afford the gold standard of care. For whatever reason, it seems seniors get this treatment quite often. Also I don't think that some vets like to explain things to seniors- I've seen this happen too often. Many older people are not medically savvy, and they are of a generation where doctors know all and you need to just do what they say. It can be difficult to explain things sometimes because they just don't know much about medicine or physiology- after all they took biology classes a LONG time ago. Between all that, sometimes the services offered to seniors isn't as good as it should be, and they don't know better. I'm not at all saying that is right or defending it at all. I am a firm believer that all clients should be offered the best of everything, and they should know why everything is recommended, so they can make informed decisions. Limited funds can be directed to the most beneficial treatments with the vet's help.

As usual, the vet is failing in the communications department. It is impossible to be a good vet without being able to talk with people. He may be a miracle worker in the medicine department, but without being able to talk to clients and get the opportunity to do the best treatments, you'd never know. And the animals suffer for it, which is the worst part.

I agree that you need to find a vet who will talk to your parents. Luckily, you should be able to find out pretty quick if the vet is going to be helpful or not after just one appointment. The new vet should listen to all the concerns and address each one. And is s/he doesn't, then it's not the right vet.

My dad actually suggested that they put him down and thankfully my mother said 'NO'. She's already crying about losing him and I guess my dad is more of the type to just want to get it over with because at that point my mom would have to get up out of bed in the middle of the night and help Jessie to stand up. I'm glad my mom said no. They've only both retired and with being home so much it would be hard without him there. Not only that but both dogs love when their mom and dad are home and I would like to see them enjoy some time together before its gone.

My parents aren't wealthy but had good paying jobs and now have a stable financial setting with which to enjoy their retirement without the worry of money. This has been their vet for a loooong time. I remember taking my cat to him when I was younger and he passed on before my parents got either of these dogs, so that's probably 15 years ago.

My dad is more tight about his money but they both are willing to pay for something if they know its going to help and see the results. They have a method of donating to the first 2 charities that contact them each year and then refuse the rest who call but if they see something regarding animals who've suffered they will donate willingly and not count it as one of their set limits. They would never let their pets suffer (unfortunately I don't think Jessie shows his pain in a way they can see, they honestly don't know if he's in pain or not) but also understand the age of their pets make their choices more difficult than when the pets were younger. My dad doesn't want to spend hundreds of dollars on an older dog who might have to be put down if all that fails. I can understand this logic, I just want to make sure they've looked at all options before that day comes and this vet doesn't seem as though he's going to be the type to help.

Animals show pain by not doing things they used to do, like not being able to get up from lying down without help, not jumping, not playing, not running around like usual. They very rarely whine or cry except with acute pain, like being hit by a car. Even then, they aren't crying by the time we see them in the ER.

Pain meds are great for older animals. Often people don't realize that their pet is in pain, and that pain is the reason that they don't do the things they used to do. It is more difficult to assess when the animal also has vision or hearing troubles, because that also makes the animal not want to move around as much as before.

Pain meds are not without risk. Pets who will be on NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) need to have a complete chemistry panel and CBC prior to starting the medication to be sure the liver and kidneys in particular are able to metabolize the drugs. Then they must be monitored on a regular basis. The owners must watch for signs of problems, such as decreased appetite, vomiting, increased lethargy. But most animals do great on NSAIDs. Without knowing the cause of the dogs pain, NSAIDs are a good first choice.

For a GSD sometimes their pain can be neurologic, like with degenerative myelopathy or cadua equina syndrome. In these cases, NSAIDs alone may not be enough. My own rottie K'Ehleyr has a terrible back, and recently had trouble getting up from lying down and some other neurologic problems. I thought for sure she'd need back surgery or be paralyzed. But after 2 MRIs, they couldn't find a specific cause for her trouble, and we just switched out one of her pain meds for another. She was on rimadyl (an NSAID) and tramadol (a synthetic opioid) for over a year with good results. But since we thought that she was having neurologic trouble, we switched her tramadol for gabopentin, which originally was used as an anti-seizure drug but it turns out to be good for controlling neurologic pain. She's doing MUCH better now. She has also been on glucosamine HCL 1500mg, chondroitin sulfate 1200mg, duralactin, fish oil, and vitamin E since I got her 2 years ago. She was a wreck when I got her, but between all that and significant weight loss (she was also fat, which didn't help) she is doing really well.

In short, there are a lot of options for pain control in dogs. Sometimes it takes a little time working out which options are best. I would definitely try some sort of pain management on a dog who was having the symptoms you described. Could make a big difference in the quality of life for the dog.

I know GSDs who have lived to 16, so 13 is old, but not unheard of.

My dad says a guy he knows brought his dog in and got a shot and lived another 2 years. I'm thinking its like what my mom got, cortisone I think, but my dad is going to go and ask the guy and find out what it was. I convinced my mom that when they do find out to go to this other recommended vet to ask about the shot and to get a second opinion on Jessie. It will be a good opportunity to see how this other vet works and wouldn't be a commitment to change unless they like how he works with their dogs.

That must have been one heck of a shot!

I don't like cortisone shots as a first option for pain/inflammation, especially in older animals. Steroids suppress the immune system and cause muscle wasting with long term use, 2 things that older dogs definitely don't need. Plus steroids are more ulcergenic than NSAIDs (possible exception is aspirin) and negatively affect every single body system. NSAIDs inhibit the COX pathways, which control inflammation and pain, and have less effect on other body systems. Neither class of medication is without risk, but the NSAIDs have much less than steroids, for about the same benefit in most cases. If you give an animal a long-acting steroid shot, and the animal has a bad reaction to it (like GI ulcers- very common) then there is nothing you can do except treat the problems. You can stop giving pills. Finally, starting with steroids to control pain and inflammation is breaking out the "big guns" very early. Some animals with severe inflammation and pain do need steroids, but most can be managed quite well with NSAIDs and other drugs. Save the steroids for when they are *really* needed.

You did a great job convincing your mom to give another vet a try. I hope s/he works out better. Thank you for stepping in to help this dog.