What treatment did your vet recommend?

You would need to know if the loss of the use of your pup's back legs is due to arthritis or is disc related etc. (We have gone through both and are currently dealing with arthritis with our 14 year old American Eskimo - he is on Cartrophen injections and fish oil capsules.) There is Metacam that is taken orally and is honey flavoured but it can more easily affect the liver.

However, we have also had Dachshunds that had the disc related issues (and the surgeries).

You need to know the reason for your pup's health issues. There is no easy treatment it if is disc related.

eccentric is 100% correct!

Your dog is in pain and I very seriously doubt that symptoms started when you posted your question.

The "natural" way of dealing with this is not going to have an immediate impact on pain which your dog desperately needs and it simply many not work at all.

Also, your dog is a senior. Consider that his time with you is limited and precious. For that life to be lived in discomfort is not a pleasant experience.

Mike

Larger breed dogs are very prone to arthritis as they age (and also those carrying extra pounds)....and yours is well-aged!! If you haven't done so already, as others have suggested he needs to be examined by your vet, who will be able to correctly diagnose any issues and provide palliative care.

We each have to do what we feel is right. There are company's that make carts for dogs with bad back legs. I have several clients that have gone this route. I always felt kind of sorry for those dogs. Each of us must decide what is right quailtly of life for our pets

I completely agree that this issue is an individual one.

That being said, I also think think it is a humans responsibility and duty to educate themselves about how to proceed if they get in this situation.

I got wonderful counsel from someone I know very well who was a very successful city vet for many years, now she is a country vet mainly dealing with farm animals.

She said when she was a city vet she would do what ever clients wanted to try and save their pets. After she became a country vet, she now thinks that many times she did to much.

Human emotion is a powerful thing. Humans sometimes allow that to take over this situation, sometimes to the extreme, which I completely understand. Unfortunately, it is not always the right thing to do.

Mike

I would expect that a "country vet" might have clients that raise animals for slaughter. I also suspect that those ranchers certainly can distinguish between a "profit center" and a "pet"but the Vet and the Rancher may be somewhat more pragmatic in their end-of-life decisions.

I have a Greyhound dog that raced 147 races at the track in
Tampa, FL, before sustaining a non life-threatening injury. It appears that she was very well taken care of while she was winning but when she injured herself she was a money-loser and was likely going to be destroyed.

She's sleeping by feet as I type and I periodically send photos to her her original owner in FL. He had named her after a granddaughter of his, but it was about owing a "pet." I suspect when I have to let her go, I'll cry, her original owner will not.

Points well made.

When I lost my old 14 year old girl I almost wound up in the hospital suffering with grief. Not a path I would recommend.

I have since lost two other old dogs and will soon loose another. My personal experiences have greatly helped me counsel clients who are about to have the same experience.

I can understand what that vet meant, sometimes especially if 1st pet people want to keep breathing as long as possible with out thought to quality pet is living. I had clients tube feed a 17 year old yorkie for a year. I tell people when a senior animals stops eating they are telling you they are ready. Fast ending is the last gift i can give them.

Just as it is with humans, it should be the quality of life that is of primary importance, not just the quantity. Often, in our desire to keep our beloved pets with us for as long as possible, we opt for the more selfish, quantity factor.

Dogs and cats can have an amazing tolerance for pain and never show you that they are hurting. They are often far more stoic about it than their human companions. If you suspect that something is off.......behavioral changes, decreased appetite, significant loss of weight, mobility issues, etc........then get thee to a vet ASAP!! Do not try to treat at home without professional evaluation and advice.