An old sick dog :(

[kades_82]

We have a 13 year old Golden Retriever German Shepard mix. Her health has gone down in the past few months, but nothing to worry about too much. But now we are worried. To start she was a very lively dog. We knew when there was someone walking down the street, or there was squirrels in our backyard. We even knew when there were leaves falling on our lawn. We know she has arthirtis in her hips. In the fall and spring when we haven't turned the heat on and it's cooler in our house we knew she is affected by it. She is now not as lively as she was. She sleeps more, and would rather lay in the house then go outside. Her nose used to be black and moist. It is now all scabby and pink. Her back, by her tail, she has chewed her hair off and her skin is scabby there as well. It is not fleas, we do know that. Her gums are really red and around her mouth, like on her lips, she has developed scabs there too. The past couple of days she was been votmitting bile. She also has a bad smell to her. Worst then a wet dog skink, and giving her a bath does not take it away. So it's like she's rotting away. I know everyone's going to say take her to the vet, but I would kind of like to have an idea of what it might be first. I do know that without seeing a vet I do not know for sure what it is, but like I said. I would like to have an idea of what it MIGHT be. We do have a feeling she has some sort of cancer. A few years ago she noticed she had a lump below her jaw, close to her neck. It has not gotten worst and it doesn't seem to bother her either.
Has anyone ever experienced any of these syptoms with their dogs???
I know it's sad, but we are kind of expecting the worst. She is 13 years old. Life span of her type of dog is usally around 10 years old.

[diandpat]

I'm sorry to hear about your dog. I have a 16.5 yr old golden so I completely understand your despair at watching her age.

I would definitely suggest taking her to a vet and at the very least having a wellness/senior blood panel done, especially if she has never had one. This will provide the vet with wealth of information in helping you decide what course of action to take. We also started Ginger on cartrophen injecions in June and they do seem to help with the hips and she is on glucosamine/MSM/chlondroitin supplements and tramadol. We tried deramaxx and metacam but she did not react well to them.

I don't know why you would hesitate to take her to a vet with or without suggestions from the board. We are not vets and all dogs are different. I would not hesitate to do anything I had to to make Ginger comfortable at this point of her life. I hope you will do the same. Please share with us what the vet suggests. Good luck!!! (oh, and we like pictures here too!!!!)

[kades_82]

I do realise that there only a few people that are vets, out of the thousands of people on here. I do need to save up so money to be able to take her to the vet. It might be a couple of weeks.

[BenMax]

It is difficult to see our furbabes get on in age. However, you already have a gut feeling of what is happening. Follow them.

I know you do not want to hear the staple 'we are not vets' but we are not. I truly believe your best answer will come from a professional which we are not. Sorry to say this, but I think a vet visit is in order.

Best to you and your angel. This is the time when a beloved pet needs us the most.

[Rgeurts]

A senior blood panel and office visit should cost no more than $200. Some vets will allow you to make payments. It sounds to me like she has given you alot of wonderful yrs. and could possibly give more if she were to be properly taken care of. Please, don't let her suffer. If you cannot afford to treat whatever may be wrong, please at least allow a vet to medicate her so she is not suffering. If I thought either of my precious boys were "rotting", I would do anything I could to help them and return the love they have given me.

Just my

[Blackbear]

Unfortunately our members are not vets and unable to address potentially serious health issues like this one. Time is critical - please contact a vet immediately.

Good luck, we'll watch for an update on your pet's condition. In keeping with site policy, this thread will now be closed.

Blackbear