My 13 yr old mixed cocker spaniel is not doing so well. I feel like he is not living his best life. He has developed several issues in the past couple years that impact his QoL. I’m worried how to deal with his buddy an 11-12 year old mixed shih tzu. I do not want him to get depressed nor do I want to get a new dog just to replace him. I’m open for suggestions. Thank you. I also told my older sister to not get me a new dog as she has a habit of doing so lol.
How to help a grieving dog
The biggest piece will be reinforcing (or possibly rebuilding) the routines that keep your shih tzu feeling stable. Behavioral changes are likely, since there are likely a number of routines that will change out of necessity, but keeping to the schedule they’re used to will help immensely.
As @AttackBunny and @Cipher said, I’d encourage you to look into mobile vet services that can perform euthanasia at your home if that’s the decision you and your vet have come to. It would allow the shih tzu to “say goodbye”, as it were, and reduce the amount of anxiety and stress that the cocker spaniel will experience