My senior dog can't walk or eat. Should I consider euthanasia?

Question

My dog is 18 and from one day to another stopped walking. She now can't get up. She drinks water but has not ate in 4 days. What might be wrong? I took her to get x rays but they didn't see anything wrong with her back legs. I don't know if she's in pain and I should put her to sleep or wait out.

Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS · Accepted Answer

I'm sorry your dog isn't doing well! I would be concerned that she may be in pain, and she could have a neurological problem causing her inability to walk. It's quite serious that she hasn't eaten for four days and can't get up. I work for a home euthanasia service, so I frequently encounter the question of when to put an animal to sleep. I always recommend looking at the dog's quality of life. When a dog can't stand up and isn't eating, their quality of life has declined to a point where humane euthanasia should be considered. She will be starving from not eating, and that will be painful to her. It's also probably distressing she can't get up. In this case, I personally don't think it would be fair to wait it out. You can have her seen by a vet tomorrow to see if there are pain medications to give her to see if that helps her get up and medications to stimulate her to eat. If those don't work, then letting her go peacefully is the most kind option for her. I'm sure that's not something you want to hear, and I'm very sorry that she is doing so poorly.

My senior dog can't walk or eat. Should I consider euthanasia?

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