death of a companion dog

I think you are doing the right thing.  Expect him to be anxious or to mourn her.  Allowing him to sniff her may be fine, but I would not have him in the room during the euthanasia.  Have someone hold him outside and bring him in with no other humans in the room.  Act as though you "discovered" her dead while out on a hunting trip.  That way, he will be less likely to associate death with the vet or technician, and will see your "surprise" and grief, too.  He will be with you, which will be comforting.  Once you are home, don't fuss over him, and try to keep his routine.  Dogs are comforted by routine also.  I'm glad you are willing to open your heart to another dog at some point - many of us here understand that we never ever "replace" our beloved heart dogs, but we also want to give another dog a great home.  I agree with not rushing that decision, though - you want to ultimately make sure that your younger dog gets a pack mate that he will enjoy and that won't stress him out.  It sounds to me as though you are trying to make the best choices for your dogs' best interests and I'm sorry that you have to do it under these circumstances.  May your older dog have little pain and a peaceful crossing over the Rainbow Bridge.  <<>>

If it is possible, let him die at home with the vet coming there.  I have struggled with ending pain and found great relief and comfort for all of us when we planned to transition at home.

anewdog

What else should we be doing and what sort of reaction from him should we be prepare for?  I am planning on taking him with us if we need to euthanize her so he can sniff her body afterward.  Another dog is not out of the question, I just don’t want to rush into it.

You're doing all the right things.  TALK about it.  Remember - this is a **DOG**.  I.e., a better nose than you or I could ever dream of having.  Shoot -- they smell thigs we don't even know have a smell TO them.  Like ... *cancer*.

Do you know where the tumor is?  Does the 2d dog sniff near there? If so reinforce it.  "Yep, you're right - that's where Poochie's cancer is.  Dr. ___ knows about it.  It's gonna make Poochie not feel good -- so we have to watch and make sure he's not hurting too bad.  If you smell more of it **tell me** ok?"

Let the younger dog help you know what the older dog's quality of life is.  Yeah -- they really *can* help with that.  For the most part just be mega aware if the 2d dog is sniffing new places or acts worried.  But it's ok to let the younger dog *tell* you when something is wrong.  Often they are astute judges of it.

I do what you mentioned -- I always take the other dog with me -- I don't let them see the euthanasia drug administered.  But I want them to realize I didn't just ditch my dog and not bring it home. 

Word to the wise -- it can be helpful to let the vet put in a catheter first.  **then** ask for valium.  That will simply let the dog go into a deep sleep.  Then the euthanasia drug isn't scarey. (otherwise it can cause some scarey vocalizations or panicky scrambling that can be hard on all of you.)

But I always let my surviving dogs see the deceased.  It transitions it easier. 

I talk about Rainbow Bridge -- I do it all the time - not just when somebuddy is dying.  But when we speak of those who are gone it is an easier reference.  I may be unusual but to me it is real -- and I've talked to dogs at length about "going to see ___".  Kee Shu is close.  Bless her little heart it's only her determination keeping her going.  She eats well, and we just haven't "gotten there" yet.  But it *is* close.  But I talk to her about the fact that she's going to go see Mee Shu (sibling she was with until he passed about 5 years ago just before she came to us) and Foxy the MOstlie Sheltie who was her feller after she came here.  Man, I'd had him 19 years and he'd NEVER been interested in girl dogs (he wasn't a "dog's dog" anyway).  But he liked HER. 

I likely won't take Billy and Luna when we take her for her journey.  But I *will* take Tinkerbell.  She and the "old Grammy dog" have had a unique relationship ... and it will be a big lesson (and a hard one) for Tink because she will miss Kee greatly.

But I think what you're planning is the kind way to transition it. 

One thing I have found **very** helpful in the past -- a couple of days 'after' start something new.  A new class in obedience, a new **something** to involve the younger dog in.  Something to break the pattern of the days -- to give a new focus.  It can help a great deal.  And *then* a new dog - but let the one who remains help pick.  It has, at least for us, made it a much much easier transition.

I think you are doing the right things.  Try not to grieve for the sick dog now - they pick up on it and it makes them feel worse.  Grieve later, at the proper time.  Let the other dog see and sniff the one who has passed away, acknowledge it and don't be surprised if she does seem to "mourn" her for a little while afterwards.... Keep in mind that dogs don't grieve the same way we do.  They don't hang on to the past like we do.  They live in the "now".  I think sometimes when a dog appears to mourn for an extended period of time, they are actually picking up on the human's grief/anxiety for them, rather than mourning for their friend in their own right.  If they lose condition or start refusing to eat or anything like that, don't assume it is grief - get them checked for a physical problem asap. 

Thanks everyone, for now our older dog is doing well.  The first vet predicted it would be weeks but so far it's been almost 3 months since her initial diagnosis.  She has a tumor in her salivary gland, supposedly it's a very type of rare cancer in dogs so they don't have much experience with it.   Our younger dog has gotten a little more bossy with her, maybe because he senses her slowing down.  They both still leave food for each other in their dishes when they eat though.  He may enjoy being an only dog and getting all the attention.  We will just have to wait and see.

Our dog Cadbury was diagnosed with Secondary Melanoma in his rear Leg at the age of 13 years and 7 months old. The lump was removed and we checked to see what might happen. The main fear was fruther secondary growths occuring elsewhere. At the time it was thought that he might see out another 6 to 12 months.

Luci (the next dog on the list , a poodle) did take over a bit. He was also deaf and she kept him out of trouble. She also let other dogs know that he was her dog and to leave him alone.

 He died on his 15 th birthday (old for a lab) form non cancer causes. He also had partial paraylisis of the laranx and it got to the point where his breathing was very laboured.

I started looking around a couple of months after he died for another dog. Luci is quite a self contained dog but seemed a bit lonely. I was mostly looking for a suitable puppy, but Sam who was already a show champion had not settled into his new home. He was so bouncy and full of life and such a brat that we couldn't resist. Luci and Sam get along really well and play well with each other.

Cadbury was an awesome dog. he started out like Marley in the book and film, got his fair dose of trad training, got expelled from one dog school for humping the Instructor's big brave GSD, but introduced me to so much that was good and new. As you can see he did well in tracking and obedience after we learned that reward based training was a great way of getting him to understand what we wanted

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