My 8-year-old Yorkie is blind from seizures. Should I put her down?

Poor Jenny! I'm sorry she is experiencing this! It is a lot of work to manage a dog with seizures and blindness. Dogs can still live a good quality of life but it does take some adjustment for them. Making sure to section off a safe area for Jenny is important to ensure she does not get injured. Try to avoid moving things around in this area so she can learn the layout. It would be a good idea to schedule an appointment for Jenny with your veterinarian to discuss her quality of life issues. Without doing an examination on Jenny it's difficult to say if her quality of life is poor at this time. If Jenny needs dose adjustments on her medication this can be discussed with your veterinarian. If her quality of life is poor, then unfortunately you may consider humane euthanasia to end her suffering. This decision is a difficult one, but there are resources to help with the decision. This website can be very helpful: http://csu-cvmbs.colostate.edu/vth/diagnostic-and-support/argus/Pages/quality-of-life.aspx If you are unable to continue providing care for Jenny, but her quality of life is still good you could consider rehoming her as long as you can find someone willing to take on her care. Thanks for using PetCoach and I hope a solution can be worked out to keep Jenny comfortable and happy.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Bruno. I base quality of life decisions on several factors. Is the patient eating and drinking on his own? How is his mobility? Can he navigate stairs safely, move freely around the house and get outside to go potty? This tends to be a significant problem in large breed dogs. Any time a pet has a chronic illness, there will be good and bad days. Are the good days still outnumbering the bad days? Finally, does he still seem happy? I would recommend carefully thinking about these questions and seeing what his blood work shows. Cushing's can be managed most cases. The seizures are worrisome though. They are unpredictable. He might never have another one, but they could go on to become a frequent occurrence. His blood work will determine if he is healthy enough for anti-seizure medications. I hope this information helps.

Hello. This is unfortunate for you and your puppy. Sometimes, very small toy breed puppies can not regulate their blood sugar and become hypoglycemic, have seizures and neurological issues. If your vet has not monitored his blood glucose- that needs to be done. This can be treated with a high caloric supplement called NutriCal that can be given throughout the day to keep his blood sugar levels in the normal range. The other thing to test for is a liver shunt. This is a congenital malformation of blood vessels that go to and from the liver. If your puppy has a shunt, their liver is usually smaller than normal and cannot perform its normal functions. This can cause toxins to build up and that causes seizures. This disorder can sometimes be corrected with surgery or managed with special diets and medication. If your veterinarian is uncomfortable moving forward , ask to be referred to an internal medicine specialist or even just another general practitioner with more experience with these issues. Best of luck. I hope you can get some answers. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Rocky, what a sweet looking guy! 1-2 seizures per day is consider cluster seizing and Rocky should be seen by a Vet. Unfortunately the start of seizure activity in a old dog is more likely a metabolic issue (liver or kidney disease) or a brain tumor but other causes like a low thyroid, tick borne diseases are also possible. Rocky at a minimum should be started on medications to stop the seizures. He could do well for a period of time. If you do not want to treat the seizures and they continue to happen at this frequency then I would consider humane euthanasia so he won't suffer or pass away during a seizure. I hope this helps and I wish you the best!

I'm sorry to hear that but according to your description i do believe it is time to have her put to sleep as her quality of life is really not good anymore and this should always be the main concern.

Those are a lot of issues to manage at once. Kidney disease can make many painful conditions harder to manage since some pain medications can’t be used. Gallstones can cause issues that may require surgery. There isn’t a good treatment for tracheal collapse other than to keep them calm, manage coughing and inflammation, and weight loss if they are overweight. Your question may be better suited to the vet that has all of the lab results. If you can get a copy, you can use a Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach consult so we can evaluate them and help you decide where to go next.

What a hard decision for you to make! I work for a home euthanasia service, so I do face this question all the time with my clients. You need to look at Holly's quality of life. I typically suggest making a list of five things a dog loved to do; when they no longer do at least two of them, then their quality of life has declined to point where euthanasia should be considered. Given that she is incontinent, blind, can't hear well, stands in a corner and stares, and is losing weight, I would say her quality of life has declined quite a bit and it may be time to let her go peacefully. I would have a discussion with your vet about this, and I'm sorry you are in this position. I hope this helps!