Misha The Black Lab's Last Weeks - A Little Help

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We adopted Meg and Misha in June 2022. Misha is now 10, and the vets have diagnosed from her urine and bloods that she has kidney failure, this was about 6 weeks ago. It feels like we are in the final weeks, but it might be a lot longer.

The vet wasn't especially helpful with what happens next. They did say she can come to the diet clinic to lose some weight, she is 40kg and should be closer to 32kg. And they suggested blood pressure testing. I couldn't see the point of either, we have her on a senior weight management kibble. I know I can ring them, but so far she has been okish so it didn't seem to be the right thing to do.

However things are changing now.

Up to now she has been overdrinking. Now she seems to have stopped urinating as often and as much, a few weeks ago she was waking every couple of hours and now goes 4 hours.
She is really struggling with her rear legs suddenly, almost unable to climb the stairs.
Still runs a bit outside for the ball, but has slowed down.
Can't walk as far as a week ago, gets out of breathe easier.
2 days ago threw up all her food for the first time, not happened again and seems to be eating again like a labrador.
Her skin is awful now, always been subject to dandruff but lots of flaky skin, her lumps and bumps seem bigger. And she is definately shedding hair a lot.
She is now sleeping a lot more than she was a week ago.
Her eyes are very bloodshot, wine red.
She is defactating fine.

If we see any changes I will revise this post, and any input will be massively appreciated. I want to judge when is the right time to ring the vets to see her again, she hates it and I don't want to stress her.

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Just to add she has been the bestest goodest girl in the world, poor Misha.

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moorx said:

But one thing I did wonder - would your vet do a home visit for a consultation if Misha finds trips to the vet stressful?

Edited by moorx on Saturday 17th February 16:39

Unfornately not.

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popeyewhite said:

My sympathies. My dog is 14 so I'm acutely aware ill health is imminent.

If Misha lost 8 -10 kg life would probably be a considerably easier for her.

It would yes, but I keep thinking that it's far too late. I will take her to the vets tomorrow and weigh her, and ask the receptionist about an appointment.

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garythesign said:

As others have said, better a week early than a week late.

Only you will know when the time is right.

Its is absolutely hell to go through

Sending hugs from my 13 year old to Misha

I had a rescue Tibetan Terrier and it took me 4 years to get over her death through heart failure due to overbreeding. I am a bit more hardened now, and we got them when they were old not expecting them to last forever. 10 is a good age for a big girl like her. Thanks for everyone's good wishes and concerns, it is really appreciated as I don't have anyone else to talk to about this.

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Marcellus said:

Earlier this year we were going through very similar feelings (see my topic).

I’ll not reshare the cartoon, but it’s very relevant, as were the 3Ws.

In the end it came down us agreeing that we were only really prolonging Macks life for us not for him and actually he had very little/no quality of life.

Good luck with whatever you decide….. it’s not easy and we all share your pain.

Thank you, the cartoon has been at the back of my mind since you posted. She is here now snoring, she had a proper cough a few months ago and the vet diagnosed a heart murmur, diseased voicebox nerve and that food was dropping into her voicebox. She is very vocal now lying in bed as a result. It hasn't been easy for the last 6 months, she wakes so often in the night for a wee we have to keep her in the bedroom, and she is very noisy.

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Since starting this thread today she has definitely gone down hill. She got upstairs, but is for the first time looking uncomfortable. She came and lay by me and just looked over her shoulder at me for a long time, she never does that.

We will go for our walk in the park and ring the vet on Monday. I am dreading having to get her downstairs and into the car if she has an issue at night she is so big.

Thank you everyone.

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SlimJim16v said:

Sorry to hear about Misha
There are mobile vets that do euthanasia, if your vet doesn't do home visits. Some do weekends also. It's much less stressful for both you and your pet.

Thanks I will Google.

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Thanks for the benefit of your recent experiences, sorry for your doggy loss. Wise words.

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fttm canada said:

So sorry to read your update , it's time and Misha read you that cartoon earlier . Do your best tomorrow , both in my thoughts .

Thanks we have perked up a lot today, we will make the vet appointment for Friday and see how she is then. Dogs are very resilient, she has the 3w's today.



Bonus Meg

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Update! Vets are booked until middle of March for normal appointments but tell me they have emergency appointments if needed. Going to try to get an appointment for Friday just to have her checked over.

Sleeping more than ever but did a 3k walk this morning. Her gums seem to have gone very red suddenly, anyone care to comment or am I being paranoid. Link rather than pic! https://photos.app.goo.gl/oaqfgEs4hUXarCS39

This is her climbing the stairs, but she can run ok for a very short distance she might just be funny about the stairs I suppose. https://photos.app.goo.gl/biez2ZxeCJajZuyQA

She is asleep right now and looks comfy. Still doing the 3W's no problem.

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Things are not going well here. I had an invoice from the vets today from 6 weeks ago, I wasn't told about this. It's only 15 quid for bloods but why didn't they tell me about it I paid in full at the time of treatment.

Now Meg the staffie has been sick yesterday and twice today. I gave her some moon bones yesterday and we thought it was that as a few bits came up undigested. But it seems not. And she seems to be losing weight suddenly, we have just adjusted her collar as a result.

If I go to the vets they will start investing and it will cost thousands. An awful decision. I have only had them 18 months, I can't justify that. I have to take her for a consultation, and it's her worst fear the vets she is awful there.

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moorx said:

I
The oldies can break your heart, sadly (again, I've been there ). Wishing you the very best and hoping things get better for you all.

Thanks Moorx, I opened this thread for some help but I feel like I am whinging now. My daughter is literally having a baby right now, my son is on holiday and I just hope they don't come home to an empty house.

Lets look on the bright side, Misha was bouncy again today and Meg will eat her dinner tomorrow and be fine, tomorrows walk around the lake might be one of the last but we will enjoy it together. It is all about the memories!

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QBee said:

It's about quality of life, judged over a number of days/weeks, not just as a result of one bad day/night.
Enjoy them while you still can and do what you can for them when it's needed.
At least that's something we can do for them.

Thank you Qbee. Yes I am learning that slowly. In good news I am a grandad today, and they both had a great walk in the rain. Oh and the vets caved over that invoice.

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Thanks for the prompt to update. Still good at the moment, still up every couple of hours in the night, and needing massive wees every couple of hours.

She is just out for a walk with me, still bouncy and chasing balls.

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Thanks everyone you have made a real difference to her and me.

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MesoForm said:

I had to get our 35kg 13 year old Lab downstairs on his final morning, I managed it myself (but I'm in my 40s and run / go to the gym) with someone in front of me in case I fell but he was quite calm/weak so didn't mind being picked up. When we got to the vets they had a solid stretcher they strapped him to to get him inside, it might be worth asking in advance when the time comes if you could borrow one to take her in?

Thanks, my neighbour is handy and has alsatians so I think I would be able to get hold of him thinking about it.

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Update today on Misha. She is a bit slower, still eating, barking for walks and happy.

However her fur has lots of white spots that seem to be growing by the day, terrible dandruff, she has a few holes in her fur, shedding really heavily, and a two new small holes on her foot are bothering her occassionally as she has started licking that foot. And she is sleeping through the night from 9pm until 5am now, whereas she was getting up every 2 hours which I suspect is a bad sign.

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moorx said:

Did your vet test for thyroid issues?

We had a very expensive blood test which probably covered that. But she made it clear the kidneys were kaput.

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Time for a Misha update. She is good, sleeping until 430am now rather than waking every 2 hours.

In the last two days she has developed a real issue with her rear legs standing up from a lying or sitting position. She is bunny hopping with her rear legs and only just making it up the stairs. I have just given her some Loxicom that I have and we can see if it improves. I can see her being unable to get up in a few days, once up she is fine.

Still ravenous, of course being a lab. Enjoying walks, happy waggy tail. She doesn't seem to be in any pain.