I’ve had dogs since I can remember. I’ve had a Cocker Spaniel, a Chow Chow, a GreyHound, a Lab Mix, two Pitbulls, and I currently have a Border Collie and an American Pitbull Terrier. I loved all of my animals. I spent every day with them. Most of them I rescued. Unfortunately, most of them had to be euthanized or “put down”. I’m a pretty tough guy, but I’ll admit that I cried with every dog that I had to bring in to be euthanized. The decision is tough on everybody.

I’ve met some people with old, sick dogs with a variety of problems and they refuse to have their dog euthanized and that’s their decision. However, if your dog is in intense pain then you may be doing it a disservice by not euthanizing it. Then again, I’ve met dogs that have intense cancers that seem happy to be alive and are incredibly energetic and, in that case, I wouldn’t think the dog should be put down. I’ll give you an example of the latter.

Over at the doggy daycare where I work we had a big black lab come in for boarding named Cody. When I first met Cody he was all over the place — incredibly energetic, happy to be alive, excited about playing with other dogs and loved to meet new people. I knew Cody was an older dog, but I had no idea that Cody only had 6 months to live until the owner told me that the dog had terminal skin cancer mainly centering around the jaw and mouth.

I told my fellow coworkers about Cody’s affliction and we all watched him closely because he was staying at the doggy daycare for a little over a week. Not one day did Cody seem to be lethargic or fatigued or even in pain. Therefore the owner decided not to euthanize Cody.

Even though it’s difficult deciding when to euthanize your dog, there is no real answer as to when you should do it. You, as the owner, are the soul decider. You’ve lived with your dog long enough to know when it’s in pain. See, your dog can’t talk to you, but as a dog owner it should become fairly evident when your dog is no longer happy to be alive and is in intense pain. When it comes to that then you need to make the decision to euthanize your dog.

However, even if your dog is old and has an illness and seems to be doing fine, you need to hold off on euthanizing despite a veterinarian’s recommendation. I’ve seen tons of examples of sick, old dogs living out their last days happy and carefree. They may be in pain, but they’re happy to be alive and if that’s the case then you need to let your dog die naturally.

So, the question of whether or not you should euahtnaize your dog is a hard one. The best thing that you can do is watch your dog closely and read its actions. If your dog seems as though it is in intense pain and does not want to be alive anymore or if it stops eating and starts wanting to close itself off from people, then it’s probably time to euathize your dog. But, even if your dog has been diagnosed with an incurable disease, like Cody was, and it seems to still be happy to be alive and active then there is no reason to put your dog down.

Remember, no matter what age your dog is, diet and exercise are key to ensuring that your dog lives a healthy, happy, active life even it is getting on in years. Feed your dog food that is appropriate for its age and condition and provide it with an all-in-one dog supplement.