by Rabenschwarz

Created on: February 18, 2007   Last Updated: April 30, 2007

When asking such questions as whether or not a "cripple" dog should be allowed to live or not it is a good idea to examine the individual case. If the ailment is a minor one such as loosing a leg, or sometimes two there is no reason to euthanize the pet. Many people have a misconception that a three legged dog can't be happy and live as good a life as it would with four. In reality the dog is a lot more resilient than people give them credit for. It doesn't sit around all day moaning about what he used to have. After all these are dogs, not humans. In a little while it won't miss the leg anymore and will soon learn to run and play just like before. The same could be said for blind or deaf dogs. They may have lost a sense but they adjust and to them it is not an issue. The main question when determining if a dog should be euthanized or not in any circumstance is quality of life.

Tips for knowing when it's time to let go of our friend.
1: There are more bad days than good days. The animal is suffering and there is either no treatment, improvement or chance for recovery.
2: The dog is either too old or in too bad shape for surgery to correct the ailment. In most cases like I've mentioned the animal would most likely die on the operating table anyway.
3: The animal becomes violent due to extreme and uncontrollable pain or madness. At this point the animal is not only a detriment to other living beings but to itself as well. It is more humane to let the dog go quietly and painlessly than to end up injuring/killing another animal or person or to end up on the wrong end of a gun.
Tips for helping animals to live with their challenges.
1: Keep everything the same for a blind dog. At first you may wish to leash the dog and lead him/her around until it learns it's environment. After it is certain of it's surroundings don't change any of the furniture if it can be avoided. Wearing a certain perfume/cologne or other scent can help the dog to follow you around. Also bells can be worn on shoes or on the collars of other dogs that the blind dog can follow.
2: Deaf dogs can be trained using hand signals in a sort of sign language. It is also acceptable to teach the dog using the clicker method by replacing a clicker with a flashlight.
3:Wheelchairs can be used for dogs with limited mobility in either set of limbs. That is of course the front or back. If your dog has joint issues don't let it do a whole lot of jumping or running around while he/she is experiencing difficulties. Glucosamine supplements are also recommended to aid the joints.

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