I'm starting to wonder how to know if it's "time".  My lovely lambchop Layla is 14ish.  Maybe 13.5, maybe 14.5.  She's a border collie cross, or maybe a Karelian Bear Dog... Over the last two years her world has shrunk immensely.  She had a Geriatric vestibular syndrome attack a year and a half ago and she's plummeted since then.  Her balance never came back and her immune system doesn't seem to work like it used to.  She has allergies to something which results in non-stop skin itch.  She's been prone to some sort of cyst (the name escapes me now but the vet says their benign), they're kind of like an ingrown hair/pimple and where she used to have one or two, they are now common all over her neck and back and they are itchy/sensitive.  She's always been a fussy eater but now it's next level.  Unless the food is novel or special she won't eat 7/10 times.  For example we cooked steak last friday.  Made one for her so she could have it with her normal food.  By Monday morning she wouldn't touch beef.  We had to switch to something else.

Her allergies that cause the skin itch we're treating with Apoquel, but the last few days the Apoquel doesn't seem to be cutting it.  The vet wants us to go on hypoallergenic food, and I have no problem spending the money but the problem is her appetite.  If we have to bribe her with new and special food all the time then it will never be hypoallergenic.  We've tried anti-biotics but they make her throw up.  Like on day one of the dosing and she is so skinny now.  She's dropped 10 lbs in the last 18 months (she was 58lbs at her peak.  Now she's barely 42)

She used to climb mountains with me, now she can barely make it a km and only seems to enjoy the walk/sniff a couple of times a week.  Lots of times she doesn't want to go out at all.

We took her to our cabin last week and for the first day she was happy to get out and smell the smells and sleep by the fire.  After that her enthusiasm faded and she spent lots of time just looking listless.

That said - when she enjoys her special treats she seems genuinely happy.  The days she wants to walk she's engaged and excited to be outside - at least for a little bit.  She loves to go to her "grandparents" for the day while we work - they spoil her and she naps in the sunroom by the fire.  She seems to have a set of good days and then pays for it, or spends time recovering.  In her recovery time she's very anti-social.  She'll sneak off to our bedroom and sleep instead of being with us in the family room.  She's always been private but this feels extra.

I rescued her as an 8 month old, and then she rescued me during my divorce.  I'm nowhere near emotionally ready to say goodbye, but I desperately want whats best for her.

Knowing when it's time :(