So I have an old dog ( Bitch ) that I rescued about 15 years ago as an abandoned puppy , she has grown up to be a loving and loyal family member that we all care deeply about . Her name is Poo . The problem is that several months ago Poo started to continually bark at night time along with increased panting, for no apparent reason . At first I checked to see if she had any physical injuries or skin problems, but I could find nothing wrong in any of those areas . Poo's constant night time barking and panting then slowly progressed to include intermittent barking throughout the day time , again for no apparent reason . Over the following weeks along with the constant barking issue , she seemed to have lost her appetite. I changed her diet , but it seemed not to help .
Poo's night time constant barking started to take its toll on myself and other family members and being able to get a good nights sleep started to become very difficult to near impossible. So I took Poo to our local village vet and outlined Poo's behavior . After the vet physically examined Poo , the vet's diagnosis was the Poo could be suffering from a combination of Two possible issues that can effect a senior dog . The first possible issue was Poo was suffering from arthritis and the second possible issue could be dog dementia .
The local vet recommended that a blood test be done on Poo , along with an Xray , but the local vet did not have the facility to carry out those Two recommended procedures . So the next port of call was to take Poo to a city vets who had the facility to carry out those Two recommended procedures , the outcome was confirmed that indeed Poo was suffering from dog dementia and arthritis.
The city vet prescribed the following drugs
1. Rimadyl ( to manage any pain )
2. Trazadone ( to reduce anxiety )
The city vet did mention a monthly injection that could help with pain management called '' Librela '' at 3,500 Baht per injection.
The city vet commented that there is no cure for dog dementia and only some symptoms can be treated to improve the dog's quality of life and also there is no cure for dog arthritis only pain management with medication .
Poo was then given the prescribed drugs on a daily basis and at first her continuous night time barking began to slowly subside , to a point where myself and other family members could finally sleep for a few hours a night.
Over the following months Poo's night time continuous barking slowly began to again increase in intensity and also more episodes of random barking started to occur throughout the daytime. So even with Poo now being given the medication as prescribed by the city vet , her continuous night time and day time barking was increasing , and of course myself and my family's sleep was again getting to the point where it was being continually interrupted .The other thing that became apparent was that Poo was now limping more and more , due to the arthritis and her appetite had not returned.
Thankfully where we live there are no nearby neighbor's , who would no doubt not be too happy hearing Poo's continuous barking.
As it seemed the prescribed medication from the city vet was now not having any apparent positive effect , I again talked to the city vet , outlining Poo's current symptoms and how the incessant night time barking had returned. The city vet suggested trying Three other options .
1. The drug Fluoxetine ( sold under the brand name Prozac )
2. CBD cannabis oil ( may help dogs with conditions like anxiety and chronic pain ).
3. Gabapentin ( to treat anxiety and nerve pain )
So along with the original vet prescribed medication , Poo was now also being given items 1 / 2 / 3.
Sadly all the combined medication had no real positive effect on Poo , and the same continuous night time barking and panting has over time only slowly increased , to a point where Poo's health is now rapidly deteriorating and we as a family are feeling helpless that Poo our loving loyal family member is now obviously suffering .
I took to the internet and it became obvious that indeed Poo's behavior was as a result of arthritis and dog dementia , and the prognosis was that its only a matter of time before the dog's health deteriorates to a point where to end the dogs suffering its euthanized.
So I talked to the city vet about Poo's current situation and the possibility of Poo being euthanized. to end her obvious suffering . The city vet's view was not very encouraging and it seemed that the vet's idea was just to let Poo pass away naturally .
I'm just wondering if any one has gone through a similar experience with their dog , or if any one has any thoughts or suggestions .
We as a family are heartbroken to see our loving and loyal family member Poo suffering in such a terrible way .
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