Rudy Freno
When You Have To Put Your Dog Down – Some of the most alarming symptoms are the inability to breathe normally and eat or drink. Another sign is an inability to get up to do normal tasks, such as reaching for the food or water bowl, and an inability to get up to avoid defecation.
Some vets will identify and tell you what you want to know, while others will throw out a quality of life rating based on your dog’s physical and mental well-being when you have to put your dog down. on a checklist.
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The truth is, in most cases, a combination of these two approaches will give you the answer you’re looking for.
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Most vets refuse to give their personal opinion on euthanizing your dog. Instead, they will tell you what they see from a vet’s perspective.
These will be followed by a series of questions commonly known as the “Quality of Life Scale” (originally developed by Dr. Alice Villalobos of
Why are vets so reluctant to give personal opinions when it comes to putting your dog to sleep?
You may be wondering why vets – even vets you’ve known for decades – rely on the Quality of Life Scale when answering your questions about your dog’s sleep.
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The reason for this is almost always because your vet believes that you, as your dog’s guardian, have more intimate knowledge of his overall well-being.
Your vet can tell you what the tests say. they can tell you what they see. But these things are based on one moment in time.
As elderly or dying dogs approach their final months (or even years), our pets experience good days and bad days.
Only a person who has experienced the good times and the bad times, and has seen the same dog in the healthier stages of its life, can make a complete picture of the current state of the animal.
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The ‘Quality of Life Scale’ helps your vet to determine whether your pet is physically fit and able to get on with its life, but it also makes you think about your dog’s real quality of life, from can you create a ‘when to send’ your dog checklist.
Sometimes pet parents deny the quality of life of their dog – usually because they are afraid of losing their four-legged companion – but the numerical value created by the quality of life scale provides a rod -less subjective measurements.
While some owners see the When to Put Your Dog Checklist as a “little thing,” the Quality of Life Scale is closer to a scientific approach led and vetted by veterinarians. measures your dog’s true quality of life by measuring seven important things your dog has. general welfare.
Each factor is rated on a scale of 1-10 and the seven numerical values ​​are then added to obtain a number between 1-100.
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In addition to the quality of life rating, this site has a special questionnaire for pet owners to decide when to euthanize a dog, with many personal questions to answer.
Ohio State University also has a detailed survey and questionnaire to help pet owners determine when it’s time to euthanize a dog:
However, the Vets Quality of Life Scale also considers seven additional factors in addition to the numerical scale for better evaluation:
If they are in pain, is that pain treated by a vet or pet pain medis 75% of the time?
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If medication does not help relieve the dog’s pain, how often would you rate your pet as having pain?
Pain is the first and most important aspect of filing your dog’s life checklist and scale to consider, and this factor informs the rest of the assessment.
A score of 1 indicates that your dog is in pain most of the time and the pain cannot be relieved by medication or other medical intervention.
A score of 5 indicates that your dog is in pain, but the pain is controlled with medication 75% of the time or more.
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A score of 10 indicates that your dog feels no pain or very little normal age-related pain.
If they are slow or reluctant to eat, what is their interest in food or food in general?
If they refuse food or vomit / have regular diarrhoea, are they getting adequate nutrition or do you have to hand feed them or use other feeding methods (feeding tube) to make sure from proper nutrition?
When assessing your dog’s hunger, it is important to consider that your puppy may experience nausea as a side effect of medication or illness.
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If you think this might be the case, talk to your vet about anti-nausea medication, which may relieve nausea and increase your dog’s appetite.
A score of 1 indicates that your dog is consistently refusing to eat and you are noticing subtle signs of weight loss or signs of malnutrition.
A score of 5 indicates that your dog eats a little slower than usual, often divides food into several portions, or simply does not finish food like he used to.
It can also indicate that your dog is eating well, but is reluctant to eat several times a week.
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Is there a reasonable medical explanation for this change if the thirst has changed or your dog is not interested in drinking?
Similar to the desire for when to put on your dog’s checklist, when assessing your dog’s thirst, consider whether your dog has side effects from pain or other medications, signs of other health conditions, or nausea that makes him drink more or less. than usual.
A score of 1 indicates that your dog is refusing to drink and showing signs of dehydration.
A score of 5 indicates that your dog is drinking water, but his normal drinking pattern has changed.
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If they lose bladder or bowel control, are they mobile or do they spend time sitting or lying in their own stool?
Hygiene plays a vital role in your dog’s overall health and is essential to consider in your dog’s checklist.
However, if your dog is unable to stand or walk, he can develop pressure sores that can lead to serious infection.
If your dog is non-dangerous and cannot stand or walk, he is also at risk of urinary scalp or faecal infection from pressure ulcers.
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A score of 1 indicates that your dog may spend a lot of time in the litter box or may not be able to urinate or defecate without your help.
They may have pressure sores that often become infected, or they may have a rapidly growing and inoperable tumor or tissue necrosis or infection.
A score of 5 indicates that a dog may have elimination problems, may have occasional incontinence, or may have difficulty moving but is still able to move on its own regularly.
Does your dog still respond to you with enthusiasm – wagging his tail, coming to greet you at the door, and other regular behaviors?
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When evaluating your dog’s overall happiness to place on your dog’s checklist, it is critical to consider the signs of canine mental disorders.
Similar to depression in humans, many older dogs develop symptoms of CCD that can be alleviated with changes in their routine and prescription medications.
If your dog shows a pattern of withdrawn, depressed or anxious behavior, ask your vet if CCD could be the cause.
A score of 1 indicates that your dog is unhappy, depressed, anxious, and not enjoying himself any more than he used to.
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A score of 5 indicates that your dog is experiencing “bad days” or periods of anxiety or depression, but is generally still enjoying himself as much as he used to.
Does your dog have difficulty standing or can it stand without assistance and dog mobility equipment?
A score of 5 indicates that your dog is moving more slowly than it once was (perhaps having trouble with stairs, etc.), but is still independent and able to stand or walk on its own or on a leash to help guide them.
A score of 10 indicates that your dog is fully mobile with no movement restrictions.
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As a final idea for putting down your dog’s checklist, compare the past with the present.
Did they have more good days than bad, the same number of each, or more bad days than good?
A score of 1 indicates that your dog has very few good days compared to his bad days.
A score of 10 indicates that your dog is living his “normal self” with no (or very few) bad days throughout the year.
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More than just time to write your dog’s checklist, the Vet for Dogs Quality of Life Scale provides pet parents with a numerical value that helps determine the current quality of life of their elderly or sick dog.
For this reason, it is also important to consider another factor when putting your dog down – your experience as a dedicated dog guardian.
This is where the more common pet owner topic comes into play when listing your dogs.
Dog owners who go