When a dog dies - Page 1

If you have multiple dogs, do you allow them to see the one who died?

I was at a friend's when the vet came and put down one of her five dogs....  the other dogs were loose and did not seem to care about going near the dog after it was euthanized or about any of the activity at all.  they went about their own play.  It seemed kind of weird.

iIam dealing with this soon as well.  If it works that my vet can come here, i will have one of my males get to see her if he wants, after it is done.  The two of them are very close.  I have two males and one female and the boys don't seem to  even know she is dying? 

Darcy

I guess out in the wild it's a fend for themselves kind of deal. The dying one is weak and not useful for the pack so I assume they leave the dying behind to die.

Dogs and Death. Do They Really Mourn?

here is a viewpoint. Not sure of the correctness

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/109087/dogs_and_death_do_they_really_mourn.html

I haven't had the opportunity to let my dogs see one of my dogs after they have passed - it just hasn't happened that way.  But I dont' think they would understand.  However, I do see the dogs "looking around" for the missing one for days, sometimes longer, after they died.  But I think they are missing the normal presence, not mourning their death.

Much different with horses though, we lost the foal last year at 3 days old - mares are extremely connected to their foals, very very protective and attuned to them - a mare that loses their foal is really going to have problems if they are not helped through the process (by allowing them to see the dead foal and get used to the idea before taking it away).  This happened to me and my mare last year, and the dead foal was left with my mare for an hour or two after it was euthanized - I'm positive that had this not been done for her sake, she would have been a basket case looking and calling for her foal - she would have had to be sedated and it may have taken her weeks to recover from the trauma.  Because of the hour she was allowed to be with her dead foal, she was absolutely fine, calm and her normal self.  I was very grateful to the vets who cared that much about my mare, when it was the foal that was the one they were trying to care for.

molly

We've always had multiple dogs and every time one of them has died, one or the other of the remaining pack would get depressed, depending on the relationship he had with the departed one.  Our vet comes to the house and we take the body to his office later that day for cremation, after we've done our death rituals. We've kept the other dogs in the kennel during the euthanasia. It was only with the last dog who died some years ago that w allowed the remaining one to see the body. He sniffed him but didn't seem anxious in any particular way. Which is good because it fits with our personal philosophy that dead is dead.

I agree with Molly. I think remaining dogs miss the presence and they definitely see the change in our normal routine. The story about your mare and her foal is interesting, something to think about.

I must have some cold-hearted dogs.  MIne don't seem to give a spit.  They seem like it is another day.  Funny thing though. When my wife and kids went away for a week,  the dog really reacted.   Maybe my dogs don't get enough bonding time since they don't run loose unless I am there.  My dogs are bonded to humans. I am the pack leader, Bitches! 

No wonder your wife and kids go away for a week  :)

Aye! so one day me was sailin' t' sloppy seas with me GSD, Jack. Atop me shoulder me parrot named Biscuit. Thar be some heavy waves that day an t' boat was arockin. T' wind whistlin in me ears and Bisquit screamin' profanity like Two Moons with "turrets". Jack leapin' and playin' in t' breeze. T' rockin got worse as time went on and Jack lost his footin', knocked me cane out o' me hand and me fell t' t' side.  Biscuit went whirrlin' into t' air and ye could faintly hear him ",,cacaw....cacaw....cacaw" His feathered body hit t' ground hard splashin' water into t' air. Jack sat in fore o' him tears awellin in his eaye as Bisquits eaye began t' close. Jack's paw went fore and layed atop t' bird as he began t' whimper. Biscuit's body girated and jerked until he finally flared his wings t' t' side and took his last breath. Jack threw his body atop t' bird and began t' cry hysterically. me had t' push him off o' t' body after a few hours so that me could throw t' bird into t' sea. Jack ran t' t' other side o' me boat and me went into me cabin t' rest. Me layed down on me bed and went t' pull me curtains shut aye. But when me reached thar was no rope. Me looked around t' bed and t' room and found nothin'. Me went up on deck t' look for a rope for me window when me saw t' site no Captain should ever see. Jack had hung himself on t' sails with me very own lamp rope. Arrrgh!