Oh dear, you poor thing. I do feel for you. We have all been through this. You really do know when it is time. I hung on to my boy and was adamant I would not have him pts, but you just know, in the end, that it is the right thing to do. So go by your own instincts, he is your boy and you know him best.

It really is painless, they literally go to sleep, so please don't worry about that part. I am sure the vet will be considerate. Our vet was very kind and sensitive and didn't mind about the emotion and tears, so don't be worried about that. They are used to it.

My boy had an individual cremation and the ashes returned to me in a casket. I suppose it depends where you live on costs but the whole thing cost me £45 pounds for the vet to pts and £145 for cremation and return of ashes. I thought it was very reasonable.

I am so sorry.

Firstly, let me give you a cyber hug! You clearly want what is best for your boy, and through your words I can hear just how much you love him.

It is so very hard to watch our loving companions decline with old age. I really wouldn't like to say whether it is Max's time yet or not, as I don't know him. You know him best of all, and I am sure you will know when it is the right time to say goodbye to him. You have my heartfelt sympathies, as it is so hard to let them go, but it is an act of kindness to end their suffering.

It is a good thing that you are preparing things now though, as often after the event everyone is too upset to think properly. I had my old GSD cremated and I have her ashes in a lovely wooden, carved box. The vet will arrange to have your boy cremated (although check which pet crematorium they use and check on their credentials).

Thinking of you.

I have recently had my boy put to sleep. He went off his legs & for about 9 months mainly walked on his front legs & dragged his back ones but as his problem was CDRM he was not in pain, He struggled to get up or didn't bother to get beyond the sit but he was in no pain & he loved life, still wanted to play with his toys & ate well. Sadly at 14 he had a stroke (his second) & lost the use of his front leg so the vet came to the house & he was put to sleep here. THey then took the body & had him cremated for me & his casket is here on the sideboard next to where I am typing.

It is so very hard. My poor OH had to take our old boy Kip while i was away - I knew nothing about it until afterwards. I felt so sorry for him having to do that himself and then having to break the news to me...he said it was the two hardest things he's ever had to do.

But though I miss Kip like crazy, I know that my OH made the right decision at the right time and I love him all the more for that.

When the time comes, please let us support you - I know that you don't really know us that well, but when Kip was pts I can't begin to describe how much comfort it was to have people that really understand (rather than the people in the office staring blankly at my tear stained face).

It's an incredibly hard time for you right now and like the others, believe you know yourself when the time is right, like you I too did not have any children.

As for it being painful or not, from my own experience of my last gsd, I cuddled and held him tight, he never flinched at all whilst the needle was inserted and I felt him exhale his last breath. It was very peaceful and he just slid away. The one previous to this, he was sedated in the surgery first and then taken back out to the car. When the vet came out to give him his final jab, he had nearly gone so both those experiences were very peaceful.

Beforehand, I always spoil and treat leading up to the event, I also work hard on keeping it together until after the event when I let it all go.

Feel for you in this hard time. x

Firstly , this is somethign only you can make the decision on..but my heart goes out to you when you have to make it.

A friend of mine was in exactly the same situation a couple of yrs ago with her old GSD (girl) all the same symptoms as yours, back legs to weak to walk, incontinence..

Her mind was so willing, but her body had given out

She would tell you herself if she was here, that they kept Cleo going to long.... but at the time the decision was unbearable to make, as every day she said..today is the day, Cleo would have a good day.

There is a saying, better a day to early , than an hour to late...

I would talk to your vet, ask his advice, only you know your dog... you will know when you wake up one morning... this is the day, I am sure of it.

Regards being prepared, in some ways we are lucky to be able to prepare for this day.. instead of a "wish I did it differently " when it happens suddenly.

It will be up to you , if you can cope with her being done at home, or at the vets..

Speak to your vet, before you make the decision, ask her/him if he will come to your home.

Then you have the choice of letting the vet take her back to deal with the crematorium, or you can deal with the Crem direct... look on line for your local one, ask your vet who they deal with.. give them a ring and ask their procedure.. i.e will they come to you to get her, or will you have to take her to them... they will usually come to you at a given time.


Make sure also that the crematorium, does "individual" cremations... this should guarantee you get your dog back, and nothing else.


Also If you decide to let the vets deal with the cremation, make sure you know what days the crematorium, "pick up" from the vets.

You dont want to have your pet PTS on Mon, and they dont pick up till Thur!!

Sorry, if that sounds callous, but it is something you need to get straight and in place before that time.


It might also influence your decision on letting her go at the vets.

I recently has my cat PTS, she was done on Monday, and I started to panic a bit , when I had not heard from the vets by the end of the week.


It turned out , they dont get a "pick up" till Thursday...

This upset me to think she spent all that time in the vets waiting, when if I had known I would have taken her myself to the Crematorium.


Just something you can think over, it may all help you in your final decision , when the time is right.

Many hugs coming your way, for a not to nice a time you have to face.

So sorry to hear about your boy, we were in a similar situation with our boy who was 12 years old, the time came when we had to let him go without him suffering so i know you have your boys best interest at heart and want to do the best for him.

We had Charlie privately cremated and had his ashed returned to us in a beautiful casket. We are in rented accommodation so we have kept his casket on a shelf and we have made a small piece of our garden as a memorial to him and got a plaque made and put some flowers and ornamants around it to make it pretty, if we move then we will be able to take all that with us as we never want to forget our beloved pets.

Hope you decide soon what you are going to do and be brave and strong and enjoy the time with your boy xxx

My thoughts are with you at this very difficult time. I recently had my nearly 11 year old GSD put to sleep under very similar circumstances. He was unable to get up without help, kept tripping over and was not eating. In the end I was spoon feeding him, but he was still not interested. I wished everyday that he would improve and kept delaying having him put to sleep in the hope that he would get better. I still wonder now, but know in my heart that I did do the right thing.

We had Ben put to sleep at home. The vet came with a nurse. He did not even wake up and was asleep the whole time. I think in total it was about £110, £50 for the home visit and £60 for the injection. It was very peacefull and both my husband and I were holding him, afterwards we cried like babies.

We kept Ben's body and had already made arrangement to have him buried where my sister lives as she has a lot of land and he liked it there. My brother-in-law had already prepared the hole with his mini digger. We spent some time with him at home and then took him to be burried.

I think we did the best we could for him.

Thank you everyone for your kind words and advice.

I have collated some information on local crematoriams and vets (we've just relocated 200 miles last week so I need a new vet to do this for me). I am going to ring around and get an idea of procedure, prices, reputation etc so me and my wife can make an informed decision.

We are going to get all of his favorite foods in and really spoil him rotten up until the time comes.

I'm still thinking about the conditions of actually putting him to sleep. I think i'm now leaning more towards taking him to the vets and staying with him there. But like I said, still thinking about it. All I know for sure is that I will be with him when the time comes. I'm also going to go for the private cremation. I want his send off to be as dignified as possible and I would like to option of either keeping his ashes or scattering them at his favorite walk locations.

This is all just preperation at the moment though. I'm not saying I'm going to arrange it for the weekend but I know that it will have to be sometime in the next month. He's declining fast now and I won't let him get too far. I think my time with him is limited to the next 4 weeks so I need to think about and prepare these things and also make the most of our time left together.

It's a horrible situation to be in but he's worth it all a million times over. To everyone, thank you so much for taking the time to advise and reassure me. You have brought me to realisation in the most gentle way, i'm truly grateful. I will update this post with news when I have it.

Thank you all again

My heart goes out to you too, you have done everything you can for your poor boy, and personally, once they become incontinent like he is now, I feel their quality of life has gone. Dogs don't like messing in their beds, they are very clean animals, and this must be upsetting him a lot, even though you are trying to do your very best for him, just like a guy in my village who did the same for his beloved gsd bitch, but to me, when the writing's on the wall, you know you've got to lose them one day soon anyway, then it's far, far better to be a day too soon, than a day too late, so let him go with dignity that he deserves.

I lost my 11 1/2 year old beloved gsd bitch 2 years ago with cancer, I watched her struggle, I did all I could for her, and although my husband told me to "wait until the week-end" I could bear it no longer, watching her struggling to get in from outside, so I just picked up the phone and called out a vet. That was the longest 2 hours of my life waiting for her arrival (my own vet had referred me to a special private vet to come out and do this for me). It was a beautiful passing, the vet was so very kind, she knew I was struggling, everything was done so peacefully and slowly whilst I held my baby and spoke to her gently as I caressed her gently on her head. Don't be afraid, you have done everything else for this boy of yours, you really must be there with him at the end, and for me, it has to be done at home, no trauma of travelling to the vets, leaving them there, it's all too painful for both yourself and the dog, home is where he knows, he'll feel safe and secure.

Pick up the phone and ask the vets what they can do to help you and what they can do regarding the cremation, because we had our girl here overnight and buried her next day, but that was because we wanted her to be here with us and I think in total, I must have crept back downstairs a dozen times to kiss her goodbye over and over again.

I will tell you now, what that vet said to me once it was all over. She put her arm around me and told me I was a very responsible dog owner, because sometimes, she just couldn't bear to witness the sights she had to see on some of her call-outs, because some people just don't realise the pain they are putting their loved ones through, but she knew alright, she could see, whereas some owners can only see what they want, they can't let go, but when there is no hope, you have to see it, and let them go, and when you truly love them, you will find the strength, and I know you do love your boy with all your heart.