dog is too old, doesn't have a good life, what should we do?

Question

When I met my husband, his dog was 5 yrs old. Now, 10 yrs. later, this dog is more trouble than she is worth. She is not committed to any member of the family. All she does is look for food to eat (crumbs, from the garbage, out of my kid's hands). We feed her dog food, but she won't eat it until all the lights are off and we're sleeping. then she eats her food. otherwise, she'll wait for whatever she can steal from us. She takes easter candies from the kids, raw meat that i'm defrosting in the sink. and when we walk her, she doesn't go outside, and waits until we get inside and makes a mess.

so, we keep her contained in another room. what life is this for her? what should we do with her?

PS, she growls at my kids (3 yrs. and 1 yr.) if they come close to her for any reason.

she probably gets mixed signals from us because we teach the children to not be afraid of her (she's large), so they hug her and try to play with her in their children-ways.

After a few days of her being by herself in a room, I feel bad and let her out to roam freely. She can do whatever she wants and sleep where ever she wants. (on the beds or couch).

life for her has to change since we have kids now.

ok, to answer everyone's question, yes she is healthy. the doc said that he is surprised that she is so healthy for her age. she eats IAMS dogfood (which isn't cheap). and keep in mind that I didn't choose to adopt her. I married into her family. I have taken care of her for the last 10 years. My husband travels a lot and it is me that walks her, feeds her bathes her, and sleeps with her in my bed at nights. I am not looking to put her to sleep. It would kill me if she were sick and that's what I have to do. i knew that I would have a lot of dog lovers judge me, but you dog lovers have also interpretted the situation based on your opionions. B/c of her growling, my kids don't go near her anymore, but I know that she would never hurt them (I would never let that happen to my kids). So, I thought that someone would volunteer to take her!That was the purpose of my post.
Also, she isn't trained. She was a spoiled only child for the first 5 yrs. of her life.

Answer 1

You know, I asked the same question about my Grandma the other day -- she's way "more trouble than she's worth", too. The reception was not friendly.

How can you expect an ancient dog to be "committed to any member of the family"? She's stopped being a good old dog, so now you're looking to dump her. Your toddlers wave candy in her face, so now you're looking to dump her.

She's old and creaky, probably can't see or hear that well. The toddlers scare her. I'm not sure why you seem to have a problem with her wanting people food, especially if you've been letting her have people food all her life, but apparently that's a problem.

If she can't control her bladder/bowels any more, yeah, that's a problem. But otherwise she sounds like an old dog who has given you and your husband her whole life. Just because she's an old pain in the a** now, you want someone to tell you to put her down.

Trust me. I have a 14 year old dog who is a huge pain in the a**. But he pulled my dogsled and finished his AKC championship for me, so he gets the best I can give him until it's no longer fair to make him stay.

Are you asking this question for the right reasons, or out of convenience?

Answer 2

I agree with Loki_wolf. Just because an dog growls at a child does not mean it's suddenly an evil baby eater!! Growling is a natural defense. Teach your kids to leave her alone if she starts showing signs of wanting to get away from them.

If you are not trying to figure out a solution to help the dog, you are looking for validation to get rid of her or put her to sleep.
If that is your intention, do not read any further.

Senior animals are more messy and harder to deal with than animals in the prime of their lives. I have a 20 year old cat that makes me crazy but I still love her as much as I did when she was a cute kitten. She is gross and pissy but you would be too if you were that old and had to deal with people/animals bothering you all day.

If you are really looking to improve the standard of living for your dog, you should start by taking her to the vet for a senior health check. Find out if she's doing any of this acting out due to health problems.

You may need to invest in some training and involve the whole family. Kids need to learn how to interact with her without threatening her. They need to stay away from her when she eats and should not be feeding her anything from their hands.

She may not like the food you feed her - have you looked at the ingredients and verified that it's the best food you can afford for her? Try a Senior brand - not Dog Chow or a store brand. Good food can make a huge difference in her life and overall, it's not that much more expensive.

My mom has 2 very large German Shepard's, each over 100lbs. They eat a very high quality diet and have NEVER taken anything from the table or counter. We trained them to trust us unconditionally - we can take anything away from them at any time and they do not growl or bite.

Answer 3

she's in good health? but now she's old and in the way huh? man am i glad i'm not ur parnets...off to a crappy nursing home they go.

'dog is more trouble than she is worth.' she has lived with u for 10 years and u don't care?
...she 15 she is most likely part blind and does not hear well. the kids scare her.
its not her problem its urs. i feel bad for her.
sounds like she had no training to start with. and that would be the owners fault. she growls at the kids cause well i'm sure they fall into her or something. cause if the dog's not trained.......then....

i put my 16 year old dog down 4 years ago. he was a pain in the @ss but i loved him. the last few months he could not walk up stairs so i carried him and i was 5-7 months pregant. he would pee on the floor. but never did these other thing like eatting from the coffee table or get stuff he was not allowed or take food from ppl or kids. cause wow he was trained.

Answer 4

Wow, what a miserable life for that poor dog. First, you should probably control your kids better, they're probably irritating her. Look, dogs are ALWAYS begging for food unless trained otherwise. You really shouldn't be defrosting meat in the sink anyway, have you ever heard of food poisoning? You're probably not walking her long enough, some dogs take a while to feel the urge to potty. She's also very old, she may not be able to control herself like she used to. What took you so long to get frustrated with this poor dog? Why don't you surrender that poor baby to a rescue group so the last of her years won't be spent locked up in a room somewhere?

Answer 5

Whats wrong with you?
It sounds like the dog is not happy because of you not because shes old.

Sounds like you need to teach your kids the proper way to treat animals. They dont need to be hanging all over her neck, pulling at her, or any of the other normal kid stuff.
Its not normal. I have 2 dogs and 2 kids (ages 6 and 3). Neather of my girls pick, poke, cling (hug), bite, or do any of the normal kid things that would make a dog mad. They love our dogs, they play with them all the time, they also know to respect them.

of corse she goes in the house, shes locked in a room all day alone, and only gets to spend a little time with her family. Shes not going to poop shes going to want to soak up all the time she gets with you.

Dogs eat crumbs, sometimes they take food from kids, Sometimes kids give dogs food, and yes if a dog is not traned properly, ignored, and left to do what it wants it will take meat out of the sink.

Why didnt you just come here and tell the truth. Instead of trying to make everyone agree with you, you should have just said I have a dog after I had my kids i grew bored of her. Now she acts up and im to lazy to work with her. Shes old and annoying so i want to put her to sleep but I want people i dont know to tell me its ok and that im not a bad person.

Why dont you find you dog a home with someone who will love her and NEVER get another living animal.

Answer 6

Is she sick at all? If she is not suffering in terms of health then I think you need to come up with some new ways of dealing with this problem. If she is truly dangerous to the kids then I would suggest giving her up for adoption. She may not live too much longer but she could have a few more years to go and it isn't fair to cut her life short if she is healthy. Has she had a full exam lately?

Answer 7

What would you do if you thought your kids were more trouble than their worth? What if you was old and more trouble than your worth? I'm sorry to say but if the dog is in good health for her age than it just sounds plain out mean to say the dog is more trouble than she is worth. I once read a poem (which I can't find at the moment) but it was a very good but sad poem about a dog that was loyal to his family but when he got old and their lives changed he was know longer wanted and taken to the pound to be euthanized. Sadly dogs should not be euthanized unless they are in pain and nothing can be done to help them. IF you absolutely can't keep your dog then the most responsible thing you could do for your dog is find it a good home or a rescue group that can take it in their care. I feel sorry for your dog. No dog should be kept contained in another room. Sad story I really feel sorry for the dog!

Update: I am really glad you posted another comment about you wouldn't put her to sleep unless she was in pain & suffering. I think there are so many of us pet lovers (myself included) judging some of the time maybe because there are so many dogs who do get put to sleep or taken to the Dog Pound simple because alot of people get tired of taking care of their dogs. However I can understand where you are coming from. I would suggest trying to find a dog rescue group in your area that can take her or possibley help you find her a good home. You could also post her on www.petfinder.com on their classified section. (It's free) It is a great website that can help you. You can also find a list of Dog Rescues in your area on that website that maybe able to help you. Good Luck!

Answer 8

Maybe she is not committed to any member of the family because none of you have committed yourself to her. Sounds like she is sorely in need of a good leader to guide and train her. I think you should put her up for adoption so that someone who will dedicate time, patience and training can care for her. Maybe she looks for food because she has worms, that can make dogs very overly hungry and obsessive about food. Take her to the vet and talk to them about options... if the dog is healthy its unfair and cruel to euthanise her, I feel bad for the dog and no offence but it sounds like you just dont have or havent taken the time to train her so she is well behaved. Another home for the rest of her life would be best.

Answer 9

ALL canine wellbeing declines as they become previous, not being waiting to climb the stairs is undemanding in previous canine, the undeniable fact that her back leg doesnt artwork is a topic yet while she would be able to stroll around the living house ok and choose for short walks i think of shes doing solid! a super form of people can tell while their canine isnt enjoying life, if her tail wags and he or she bounces around then the lady nonetheless has some life in her! individually if this became my canine i wouldnt placed her down, yet i dont understand each and all of the situations so i advise asking your vet climate he/she thinks your canine is in a super form of discomfort and im particular they are going to subtly enable you recognize their concerns. dont difficulty, save on with the medicine, see what the vet says, she ought to survive for some extra years and im particular shes enjoying her life merely provide her extra advantageous cuddles and treats now and then and he or she must be high quality :) its effective your any such worrying proprietor:)

Answer 10

She is getting old but the problems sounds like she was not trained properly!! No fault of hers!!! Why does she growl at the children??You're right..... what kind of life are you providing for this poor dog? To me it doesn't sound like the dog needs to be euthanized, she needs a family that will love her in her senior years!!! Do her the favor and find her a forever loving home!!!!!!!!! I, myself wouldn't reccommend you to get any other dog!!!!