when do I put my girl to sleep?

I have a 10 year old dalmatian who has a lot of health problems. She has been on prednisone forever and has cushings disease as a result. The cushings has caused her weight to be redistributed so her face and legs are very thin and her belly is large. She is somewhat arthritic. She has also had bouts of really bad diahrea from intestinal infections but is okay right now. Now she is going blind. The other day at the park, she was off leash and paniced becaused she could hear me call her but she couldn't find me in a totally empty baseball field. Her right eye is very white and the left one is going that way too. Is this from being on prednisone? I have not been very happy with my vet right now so am reluctant to take her back in. I know my girl is going down hill and all the vet does is more blood and urine tests and then wants me to take her off prednisone (after 10 years) to see if the cushings is from the drug or liver disease. The drug keeps her comfortable. Then the vet wants to do scans. I've spent a lot of money but really just want my girl to be comfortable until the end. When do I put her to sleep? She is happy (dalmatian trait) so is hard to even think of it. Is it cruel to keep her alive if she is going blind? Any comments appreciated.

I've never had a blind dog, but I dont think it would be cruel to keep her alive for that reason. You would probably have to make some adjustments for her safety but she would feel safe with you around too.

I think physically if she is getting really bad and you know youve done all you can for her and it gets to the point where she no longer as a good quality of life then thats when I would start thinking about it.

I know cocker spaniels have predisposition for going blind although there is no history of it with our dog. We did accept the fact that it could happen and we would just deal with it when it happened. Although he is just six now so its a ways off for us.

My belief is as long as their happiness outweighs their suffering, then I wouldn't put them down. With all the dogs I have had, there has been a turning point where it was obvious they couldn't go on like that. But if this doggy is still enjoying her life, despite the blindness, and is coping well, then you have a reason to keep her alive. If she becomes fearful and unhappy, or you doubt her happiness, then you will know it's time. Good luck. I know it's a very hard decision to make.

For us, it was when the quality of life wasn't good anymore. I wanted my dog to go while he still had his dignity...as soon as I saw it was slipping we had him put to sleep. The hardest thing ever to do, but the right thing.

I say as long as she is happy and not suffering then it is fine. You will need to make some adjustment to compensate for the fact that she can't see...but as long as she isn't in pain, there is no need to go down that road yet.

I agree with the others here. You will be able to tell when your dog needs to go. As long as she's happy and relatively pain free, look after her to the best of your ability.
It's a very hard discission to make and one that you must be sure of.

I have to agree that putting a pet to sleep is like doing this to your own child, not easy at all. I also agree with the others, if she is happy and coping well then keep her with you.
As for her going blind, many dogs spend their whole lives this way and live a long and happy life. If you were planning to get another dog this could help her by having someone to follow, keep her somewhat safe and give her some comfort in knowing that she has someone like her to depend on. Another thing you can do for her is to scent train her. Go and pick out 3-4 different scents and then place them in important places in the house. Have one for danger like at the top of the stairs, another for her bed, one for the door to go out to the washroom, etc. This way when she can't see anything she can use her nose to find her way.

When food has lost its interest and the pet sleeps more than its awake is usually their way of telling you its time to go. Even when walkies become too much of a chore, most pets are quite content to snack, snooze and give love.

Just wanted to say that friends of ours have a dog that was blind when they took her in (a stray) and she has lived a great life. I don't think that is a reason to put your dog down. I do think that you will know when the time is right and you know that it isn't right for her to have to go on any longer. We had to make the terrible decision for our dog and it was the hardest thing we ever did. :angel:

I had a cat named Buttons and he was blind at the age of 10. He lived to be 20. Please never put an animal down because of blindness.
Blind animals see you in their hearts.