I am in the awful position at the moment of having to decide when to say good bye to my old collie Grange. She is 14 now and the last few weeks have seen her failing . She fell  over twice for no reason and yelped out in pain on two occasions which resulted in a quick trip to the vet.
He is great and went over her and thinks she either has neck problems or a spinal tumour. she has been given medication and metacam and does seem to have perked up a bit and she is not in pain but the time is fast approaching when we will have to the right thing and let her go with her dignity intact.  We talked to our vet about what we want to happen when the day comes as I know fine that I will not be able to tell him come the time. He has agreed to come to the house as she doesnt like the surgery. I have looked into her eyes a lot this week and begged her to tell me when she is ready to go but she still looks like a pup until you see the whole picture with her very grey muzzle and stiff legs. Why do they have to go so soon?

Saying good bye to an old friend is heartbreaking, everytime. I'm sure you will do the right thing, at the right time. However difficult, I'm thankfull we are given the choice with our dogs. Sometimes I think we treat our old dogs better than we do old people.
My thoughts are with you and your old girl, who's had a long and happy life with you. Like you I think however old they get, they still leave us far too soon. Remember you are not alone, we all share your feelings, having dogs of our own.
All the best,
Karin

You will know when the time is right.  I had to face this decison last week-end and by Monday morning I knew what I had to do and sent my girl off to rainbow bridge.  It is a hard decision and one that only you can make but remember it is better a day too soon than a week to late.  If she is not in pain just wait an watch.  My thoughts are with you.

Sue

Nicky, you will know when the time is right. Enjoy her last days with you. It's never easy, but you can't let her suffer. I'll be thinking of you.

When the bad days outnumber the good she will be ready for her journey towards no more suffering.  It's not an easy decision so best wishes to you all.

Only days we lost Sheena. She was 8 and it was unexpected although she was ill. But we didnt think the illness would lead to her death. I would have loved the oppertunity to have made her last days happy and have the time to say goodbye.
Sadly her last days were full of sickness pain and several trips to the vets.
Enjoy your dog she as had a wonderfull life and Im sure you have made her very happy.
Hope she is doing well and when the time comes I know just how you will feel.
Take care xxxxx

I cant even begin to imagine how you must feel right now.We have a 5 yr old GSD and have talked about what we would do in that situation but i dont want to have to face it.We all want our dogs to live forever,but unfortunatly it can never be.Enjoy the time you have and make the most of it.Im sure you alone will know when the time comes.As the old saying goes..........When you love someone you have to let them go.
All my love and thoughts go out to you and yours at this difficult time.
{{{{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

It's not at all easy - but she will let you know when its time for her to go - at the moment you have time to get used to the idea, and I'm glad you've discussed it with your vet and he'll come out to you - it is a stressful enough time without having to go into the surgery, knowing that you won't be bringing her out.

With Purdey, we knew that the end was coming, that it was something we'd have to face, sooner or later.   And then, one week, she just lost her "sparkle" - although she still had a good appetite, she was getting grumpy with the other dogs, we had to carry her outside to pee & poo, and almost had to keep moving her so that she wouldn't get stuck in one position.   We knew it was time, and we gave her as good a last weekend as we could, took loads of pictures, gave her loads of fuss, and then our lovely vet came, and very, very gently, Purdey slipped over the rainbow bridge, on her own bed, with us around her, familiar smells - and we told her "go on - out" - and she went.

Our thoughts are all with you, its hard to do, but its the most loving sacrifice you can make - to let her go.

{{hugs}}

Margot

This will be a horrible time for you :(  I echo everything Margot has said - you'll know when because she'll have a way of telling you.  Somehow we find the courage because in our hearts it's the final act of love we can do for them.  The grief afterwards is overwhelming but better that we hurt in mourning their loss than they suffer because we can't let them go.

Enjoy what time you have.

Bless you both, Teri x

You will know when it is time. Having the vet come to your house is a good idea as it makes sure they are in a relaxed situation with the people that love them :)

I have done this weith my two old girlie Labs and it in both cases was a very very sad but dignified end for both of them :) I also asked the vet for some sedation which I gave to them about half an hour before the vet came. It was given in their last dinner. That way they were in a very calm sleep which made the event go without them even knowing :)

Enjoy the time left with Grange and I hope she passes as peacefully as my two girls did :)

Take Care

It is never an easy time to say goodbye but we as humans do have the power to let the pain and suffering cease.
She will tell you, and then you will know.
Thinking of you...

Our vet was wonderful to both our dogs in their old age.  The male had kidney failure but had 6 monthly injections and each made him feel so much better for 5 months, but the last month you could tell he was starting to feel poorly again.  Then he would be back happy and mincing around all over the place just hours after the next one :)  This kept him well for 18 months but we knew it was time to call it a day as with the last injection he started to feel poorly just 3 months after having it.  The vet told us that all his organs were starting to fail and that another course wouldn't have the same affect so my Mam & Dad made the heartbreaking decision of having him put to sleep :(  There's no way our family would have watched him suffer!   With the bitch she started to slow down sooo much and was finding it harder and harder to get up.   When she went off her food and wouldn't show any sign of wanting to eat anything at al we knew she'd had enough.  Its a truly awful thing to have to do and I don't envy my parents for being the one's to make the decisions!  Unfortunately for me our new dog will be registered in my name so I'll be the one having to make the call when the time comes for her (many, many years away I hope!).

just as everyone else has already said "you will just know " its on your mind for a while cause you know its the right thing to do.

We lost our boy in August this year age 15 and a half and my cat Mancell who was nearly sixteen a few weeks later they spent thier whole lives together and now are together again at rainbow bridge.

We decided that the time was right as he hadnt been well for a while we took our boy Kyle to the park to all the places that he loved to sniff we let him wander then took him home for a good feed of his favorite food and a big fuss and cuddle from all the people who had loved him all his life .....really dont know how I got through that time knowing how the day would end but it was for him ..it didnt matter how we felt ....

thinking of you ...

~Roni

Thinking of you and your girl, Nicky. xx

Thank you to everybody who has replied.We are taking it a day at a time at the moment and she does seem happier in herself. She is happy to go out for her business and have a doddle round the front garden [the rest of the hounds have to use the back as it is slabbed but she likes the grass]so that is hopeful.  the last thing I want is to look back and wish i had let her go sooner so i am being very aware of that . It is a horrible time  but someone said something which made me think - there is plenty time to greive when they have gone not while they are still here. So we are trying our best to enjoy the limited happy time we have together. Hope she can make her chrissie dinner though as she loves that time of year. Mouching for food, helping with the pressies. I was watching a video of when my daughter was a  baby and Grange is in the background as  ayoung dog and she looks so different, we dont really see them age do we?

No Nicky, we don't.......I've had my dog from the age of 18 months, i was looking through some pictures the other day, and it was only then that i realised how much he's aged.....he's 11 now.

I have everything crossed for you and Grange :-)

{{{{{{hugs}}}}}} to you Nicky.