I'm so sorry. My German Shepherd is 14 now and having a difficult time. I am facing the same thing. Having the vet come to the house is a good idea. I am just putting it off. She has a large tumor on her side and I am afraid it is incroaching on the lungs. I should make an appt to get her xrayed. I am just putting it off. She has been a part of our family for so long. It will devaste my kids. They are all grown but they have grown up with her.
the above was from BadPammie. I thought I would tell you what our vet said about Jenny. She was a 15 year old German Shepherd/Husky mix. (Her mother was a pedigreed GS, who jumped the fence one night. ) Anyway, Jenny had a large tumor on her back and he said there is a particular kind of cancer that Shepherds get and he was pretty sure she had it, because of that tumor and how it felt to him. She whined a lot, (I mean A LOT) and was drinking large amounts of water, which he said indicated a kidney issue, which would explain her foul body odor. She also had advanced arthritis, hip displaysia and was blind in at least one eye. She had fallen several times on our deck stairs, both going up and going down, in the past six months.
He said 15 is an extremely long life for a GS, and 14 is just one year less. It takes getting used to, to put them down, but in the end, you do feel better when you realize the pain and suffering they've had. Today, I wish we hadn't waited so long.