How Old Is Too Old To Put Your Dog To Sleep? Should You Just Wait For Your Dog To Die A Natural?

I personally believe one should not put down a pet unless that pet is in uncontrollable pain.

I certainly wouldn't want someone deciding to end my life because "she's 90, she doesn't have long to live anyway...

Putting a dog down, especially if it is a family member can be one of the hardest things you would have to do. I would seriously weigh my options before doing so. If it's just old, but everything else is functioning normally albeit a little slower, then why put it down?

I have had to put my dog to sleep, when we could not bear the thought of him suffering at an old age of 13 years then - his liver was diagnosed as failing and heart was not strong. 'Heart stabbing' decision to make, but I had to do it to stop him from suffering.

I don't subscribe to having pets put down, sometimes it is just used for social reasons; however, I had an old dog, Jason, about 16 years old, he had a massive lump come up on his right shoulder. I took him to the vet who said it was cancer and that Jason had about a year at the most. He added that he wouldn't be able to run and play (he was still like a spring chicken at his advanced age) and would be in constant, progressively worse, pain.

He also said that I wasn't doing him any favours keeping him alive, so I agreed to have him put down, it hurt me, but I think it was the best thing for Jason.

I work with dogs and the only time we put them down is if they are in severe pain that won't go away, or if they have a sickness that is untreatable and killing them inside. There is no age in my oppinion.

If your dog is suffering then it's time to put him or her to sleep regardless of the age. I lost my dog last year to cancer and she was only 5 1/2 years old. She was suffering and there was no treatment or cure.So it's not as much an age issue as much as it is a humane issue.

If the dog is suffering and is in pain then there is no such thing as a natural death only one of suffering.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.