Hi, everyone. Really hoping I can get some information for my elderly dog.
I have a 15 year old rat terrier who's health has been failing rapidly over the past year. She's deaf, blind, has difficulty walking and standing and was recently diagnosed with diabetes.
I took her in to the vet because she was doing so poorly and he diagnosed many things by sight. Hip dysplasia, gum disease, corneal dystrophy, mitral valve problems, diabetes (she tested at 507), arthritis, and back problems in her lumbar spine.
She was prescribed phycox for her joints, tramadol for pain, and NPH insulin (currently at one unit 2x a day).
That was 5 days ago and while I know that's not enough time to sort everything out, I'm having a number of issues. For one, she pees every single hour. She gives no pretense to even attempting to tell me she has to go out and simply squats wherever she is. She drinks about a cup of water every hour and pees every hour. Any time that I am not here or trying to sleep, she will continue to just pee on the floor. I bought a crate for her, but I still have to wake up three times a night to change out the training pads. I have a rental inspection this week and I don't doubt for a moment that they will evict me if they know she just pees everywhere. I've tried putting her in diapers, but she fights them so much that she hurts herself. I don't know what to do about the urinary incontinence, but I can't continue like this for however weeks it takes to get her insulin regulated (which hopefully will stop this ridiculousness). Does anyone have any suggestions??
Also, she has dietary allergies, so she's on grain free food. For the 10+ years I've owned her, she only eats once a day. I have changed this to twice a day in order for her to get her insulin shots on schedule. Since the change in diet, she has had increasingly abnormal bowel movements. It started as just loose stools, now she has progressed to diarrhea with jelly-like blood mixed in. Is this indicative of pancreatitis??
Even with all of the medication she still wobbles and can't manage stairs. All she does is sleep, drink water and pee.
I know everyone's first reaction will be "take her back to the vet", but I simply can't afford to right now. I am unemployed and burned through all my savings already getting her this far. Her medication came before my food. I don't know if I'm just throwing money and pills at a dying dog with multi-system failure and I need to let her go, or if there are solutions to these issues that won't cost a fortune and my sanity. I just want her to be ok. Even if that means putting her down.