What next???

[Da Biggin]

I'm at a loss here. I view the many posts and sentiments given to the families who have lost their cherished furry friends and I can't help but think about that day when it's Major's time to go. He was diagnosed with masticatory muscle myositis this past fall and it is taking a toll. Watched the condition sideline the pup on a ringneck hunt in ND to the point where we wondered if he'd make it home. As of right now with medication and spoiling things are going ok; however, the disease is advancing. The family has decided that the decision on the "right" time is all mine and it's a really hard decision to make. So, when the decision has been made and you've said your final goodbyes and the tears start to fall how is it you all get over your losses? How do you explain to your children that their bed mates, best friends, reading buddies, etc. just isn't coming home. And, more so to those of you who seemed to have bonded better with your canine than with your significant other how do you deal with the void left by their abscence?

Major has been a top notch hunting partner and an even better companion and confidant. He's celebrated in my victories with me and licked my proverbial wounds when life beats me up a bit. All that being said in his mere 25 months of life and only 23 months in mine has he completely changed my life and my outlook on life. When he goes I will miss him immensely and I'm just trying to prepare myself now for what inevitably is going to happen. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[MuleShack]

First off, very sorry to hear about the issues with Major.

I would say take lots of pictures and videos along the way to have good memories of Major and reflect back on the good times you had with your buddy.

back in the fall of 08 and spring of 09 we lost both of our labs with in 6 months due to illness. Both were around 12 1/2 at the time and it was definitely a sad time but we looked back at the good times and said they both had a good life.

The only thing I regretted was that we held on to them too long for our benefit instead of letting them go out with more dignity. Ultimately your dog will tell you when its time and that is the moment you cherish.

Best of luck on this journey you are on and hope it goes well for Major as well as your family.

Eventually you will get another dog and the pain starts to go away with the joy of a new buddy. How soon you make that transition is up to you with respect to remembering Major.

[pureinsanity]

Sorry to hear about Major!

Make the decision when you feel he is in pain and can't take it anymore. Dogs are really good with pain tolerance. So it is a tough call! Obviously you don't want to do it when it is too soon, and you don't want to do it when its too late.

I don't have kids, so I can't give you advice on that one. My first dog still crosses my mind from time to time. It took me a little while to get over everything as well. My now next dog is 12 and hes got something going on where he is coughing a lot. I know his time is coming short too.

One thing is with every dog we own they seems to be better and better. Maybe it is because we are better trainers by then and that in turn changes our dogs to be better.

No dog will ever replace another dog. But cherish every time with each and every dog you own! Never forget your old pals either. I know to this day my father and I still talk about certain hunting trips with certain dogs..

One off the top of my head was about my first dog I owned. My father trained him for me and showed me how to do so. He was notorious for not listening well. One of our first days in SD chasing some roosters he wasn't doing so hot and not listening to us. The next day before we headed out in the field my dad said some words to him. In pg rating it sounded like this: "If you don't get in gear and find us some birds there is going to be a new puppy come spring."

Needless to say that dog knew what he was talking about. Now out of several dogs later this dog still holds the record for shortest SD hunt. 3 of us limited out in less then 15 minutes, and that dog flushed and retrieved every bird we dropped..

What I am getting at is we can never replace our best friend, but what we can do is always hold on to those memories! Do what is best for the dog, not what you feel or want because you do not want his time to end with you. I think being straight up and honest with the kids that he is sick and he has to go to doggy heaven. They may not understand it now, but some day they will.

Again I am sorry for all of what you are going through. I know how hard it is from being a kid and seeing a dog hit by a car, get put to sleep because of old age, as well as having some of my own dogs put down.

best of luck to you!

[blindluck]

1. Don't let your buddy suffer. He wouldn't want you to suffer either. He'd tell you he loves you if he could. You will know when the time is right.

2. Get another dog. You may need sometime to mourn, but antoher companion will help you out. I saw in your other post you may wish to get another breed. That's not a bad idea. If you go with the same breed you may wish to consider the other gender.

We put down our 10.5 year old lab back in July. Bone cancer. Our lab before that had to be put down at the age of 5 due to a lymphoma type cancer. His last year was pretty rough as my dad spend thousands trying to keep that dog alive. My dad was in a bad place for awhile after this last one. We adopted a rescue lab in September. She's a great dog, the first female we've ever owned. Just last week we got a GSP puppy from a breeder, so now we have a 2 year old and a 5 month old. We've never had more than one dog before. It's a little challenging and there has been some ear biting going on, but for the most part it is a lot of smiles and just a whole ton of love.

Make the good times count and no regrets. Best wishes.

[DaSwede]

Well...since we just put our lab down on Monday, I can help a little. I have two children, a 6 and 9 y/o. We scheduled our lab's, Kody, appointment Monday morning. The vet knew that it would be soon so he kind of let us pick the time we wanted. We waited until our kids came home from school. We sat them down and explained what cancer is, how we had been treating (medication and lots of rest) Kody for the past couple months, and that with older dogs, it's not possible to treat him like human patients (chemo, radiation, etc). We told them that we didn't want Kody to hurt and not be able to walk because that wasn't fair to him. Then we told them that the vet would give him a shot that would make all the pain go away, and would make his heart slow down and then stop. You should never tell them that the vet is "putting the dog to sleep." That may scare them and then they won't want to sleep. There is no easy way to do this. My 9 y/o howled he was crying so hard. He still has a tough time when he comes home and Kody doesn't run out to greet him, BUT I can tell that over the last couple days it has gotten better. We then sat there with Kody as a family and talked about him some more and had them ask questions. When that was done, we let them each have some quiet time alone with him to say what they needed to say in private. Then, I loaded him up. That's all I can write without shedding more tears... I will say that it was one of the most peaceful things I have been a part of. There was no pain...just rest.

How do you fill the void? I'm not there yet. Can't tell you. There is a huge hole in my heart. I miss him so much. But time will heal...I know it. This is our "new normal" until we get a new pup. You just have to tough it out, shed lots of tears, remember how much fun you had with him/her. It's been by far one of the toughest things I've done in my 36+ years.

Hope this helps a little...

[Da Biggin]

To all that replied I am extending a heart felt and sincere thank you for your responses. This has been a rollercoaster of emotions to say the least and I cant stand to see him suffer and I can easily see myself erring on the side of too early versus too late. But I will cross that bridge when I get there. As of right now I am soaking up all the time I can get and find myself laughing at things that drove me up a wall before. Just like its been said now its about quality time and memories.

[pureinsanity]

To all that replied I am extending a heart felt and sincere thank you for your responses. This has been a rollercoaster of emotions to say the least and I cant stand to see him suffer and I can easily see myself erring on the side of too early versus too late. But I will cross that bridge when I get there. As of right now I am soaking up all the time I can get and find myself laughing at things that drove me up a wall before. Just like its been said now its about quality time and memories.

SPOIL THAT DOGGY!

[Chuby Minnow]

Alot of good advice above. It's been two months now since I put Bolt down and not sure if the void will ever be filled. Still miss him alot. Good luck to both you and Major. I am sure the two of you have an amazing relationship.

[Da Biggin]

So here is an update...

Major did what no one, including his vet, thought to be possible. He survived his bout with MMS and is doing very well! It never ceases to amaze me the resilience of this dog. He just celebrated his 3rd birthday and we did it in style in ND. This dog left with the top dog award among the group hands down and thats without training and being spoiled to no end. I will attempt to attach some pics of him now. He still on the thin side at 53 lbs but with some training he will be back to his 62 lbs of pure muscle. I cant wait...

[Da Biggin]

That second shot is the indecision between shooting the picture of him going on point and attempting to shoot the bird also... Had to be one or the other because trying to do both resulted in both being done poorly. Never got Major on full point and the shot at the bird was pure comedy.

[toughguy]

Good to hear!

[LABS4ME]

I'm glad Major is on the mend and well into full recovery. Take great solace in all the borrowed time you'll have with him over the upcoming years.

It is amazing what a dog in their prime can go through and come out of it basically unscathed. They are tough buggars!

Here's to hoping you have landed in calm / lee waters and you have smooth sailing from here on out!

Good Luck!

Ken

[S.D. Ice Angular]

Great News!!!

[Ufatz]

Wonderful news! Here's to more years of fun with a great looking dog. Enjoy all the time you can so when the time comes to say goodbye-and it will- you can do so knowing Major had a good and happy life and enjoyed his journey with you.

I have said farewell to more than a dozen and always believed they gave more than they received. Bless 'em all.

[rustysetter]

Awesome story!!