14 yr old Chesapeake Bay Retriever that has severe hip dysplatia, is it time to put him to sleep?

Dog Question: We have a 14 year old Chesapeake Bay Retriever that has severe hip dysplatia.  We took him to the vet last weekend & he gave him a shot of cortisone & medicines for his heart/blood pressure & for pain.  He was originally dragging his back legs as he couldn't hold them up well enough to walk on them.  The vet told us he has lost all muscle tone & cartilege in his hips.  He is using his back legs now & is able to walk, although slowly.  He has now quit eating & when we try to hide his medicine in his food, he picks the medicine out & refuses to take it.  Do we need to continue to give him the medicine & hope he improves or face the fact that it's time to put him to sleep?

Hi Luci,

Putting the dog to sleep is a decision you have to make based on the quality of the dog's life.  If the dog is in constant pain and since the dog is old those are two negative factors.

Sometimes putting a dog to sleep is the most humane thing to do but also the toughest for us.

I'm sure you gave this dog a great life.  You just have to decide what is most humane for the dog which is never an easy decision.

But until you do decide to put him to sleep he needs his medication, so you could try grinding it up and diluting it more in the food, or put gravy on it.