[anna&jacksmom]

My question is more about quality of life for Anna and not course of treatment. She is taking 200mg of Rimadyl a day. I am not sure about shots but will ask her vet next time I see him. We are doing the glucosamine thing but haven't seen many results from that. The rimadyl helps a lot for now, but the weather is changing and Cold bothers her. She still "bounces" (pushes off the floor with her front feet and lands) she hasn't jumped up in 2 years. Other than limping (way she's walked since she was ~10 months old) and transfering weight to her front she doesn't "appear" to be in pain.

We have pretty much decided that when she doesn't show interest in her favorite things anymore then we won't prolong her life. She LOVES to eat or work for food. If that changes at any point or the way her eyes look changes (she shows pain in her eyes...hard to explain they get kind of dull and sad looking) and reasonable treatments are no longer effective I will let her go.

Does this sound like a reasonable plan? She is 4 years old and while she may benefit from surgery, I don't have the resources for that and I can't justify putting her through the pain or spending that much to get 3-5 more years.

Am I being fair to my dog?

I have never had a dog with HD. I don't have a good idea of how fast it may progress. Hers is severe and she has been having symptoms since she was about 6 months old.

I would appreciate opinions and thoughts, this isn't an urgent decision at all, just an issue I will have to eventualy deal with. Thanks!