Do they understand?

[APBTLove]

Death, do you think a dog understands it?

I've heard people say they let their dogs check out the other's body when it passed, and even people wanting their dogs to be able to see them dead...

I do not believe dogs have a grasp of what death is. They know something is seriously wrong with the other dog, but do they recognize they're gone forever? I doubt it, don't don't think ahead, they don't plan out the future.

My GSD bitch, for his comfort, sat with me and her mate while he was euthanized on the front porch, when he died she sniffed at him and paced around. She got frantic and sniffed him out where we buried him... she tried to dig, and even two years later she still hung around his grave because she knew where he was. She was bonded to him, they have never been apart for over a decade. She also had separation anxiety when it came to him, if he'd leave the yard without her she's make a huge deal of it.

I inherited my grandfather's Schnauzer... He did not grieve, didn't slow down a bit when his owner died and he was in the house with him. He ran about like a moron wanting the nurse to pet him while she made sure he was dead.

I've watched dogs viciously protect dead mates, companions or puppies.. If they realized they were gone and dead, why would they lay over them and guard them so? They stare at them, lay with them, and try to wake them... They wait for them to wake up.

This one is a bit graphic, but it shows what I mean well.

YouTube - Loyal Dog stays by deceased owner's side

YouTube - Loyal Dog stays by deceased owner's side

YouTube - Impressive! Humans Are Animals, Not Dogs

YouTube - Impressive! Humans Are Animals, Not Dogs

YouTube - 3-Legged Dog Keeps Vigil Over Dead Mom

YouTube - 3-Legged Dog Keeps Vigil Over Dead Mom

I truly don't think they understand and I think it's best that they are not allowed to inspect a body... The last thing they see of you would be them worrying over you because they think you're injured or ill. This is only my opinion... What do you guys think? Should a dog be let to inspect the body of a companion? Do you think they would understand they are gone then?

[ken k]

i think they understand to a certain degree, i even have my 2 close friends, letting my pack sniff my body or the ash`s, just so they know i wont be coming back

[Lilie]

I think once they have witnessed death, they understand. They question the smell, the stillness and emotions that come from us humans.

When a horse dies, and is buried on our property, the rest of the horses will stay near the burial site for a few days. Always going back to check out the fresh ground. There is no playing or even alphas chasing away others. It's like they have a wake for them. When a horse dies off property (like at the vet) there isn't any difference in the behavior of the herd.

[chicagojosh]

interesting...makes me think of the movie Hatchi

[ken k]

I forgot to mention, my last 2 GSD`s before these 3, when the female died, i brought her ash`s home and put her on the mantle, every time I let the male in he would go and sit by the mantle where she was, he did this for about a week

[Melina]

Dog Stays With Dead Owner for Six Weeks :: EDGE Providence

[sagelfn]

I believe they do


interesting reads
Can You Explain a Pet's Death to Another Pet?

Do Dogs Know Death? | Psychology Today

[KZoppa]

i believe they do understand death but because dogs tend to bond so strongly with those they care about, its hard for them to fully understand whats happened. They mourn their loss just as we mourn ours only we have an understanding that death means the end, its final. animals dont always have that knowledge. I believe they have to have experienced death before to understand the finality of it but they do get it to a degree.

[APBTLove]

In my experience... with letting Dutch view her dead mate, she got truly frantic.... When she herself passed. J was just a pup but he did smell her coffin and watch while we buried it, his reaction was to play in the dirt pile by her grave. When Tink was put down, none of the other dogs were allowed near, I put them up. I was hurting too bad myself and didn't want them to feed off me... They checked her grave out, and none of them were affected. None of them liked her at all.

Why, if a dog understands to some degree, would Dutch continually try to dig her mate up, and bring toys to his grave as though expecting him to pop up?

[kiya]

They know something. I can't say any of my dogs made me think so but my horse laid by my husbands mare when she died all morning till I came home. When I got home he got up, looked at me and whinnied. It was truely heartbreaking. I was going to take him out while they picked her up so he didn't watch, but decided to leave him in the barn. He didn't run around whinnying franticly, like he did when a stable mate was taken away.
I do want my dogs to sniff me so they know I didn't leave them. My husband tells me they (Kiya mostly) starts waiting for me by the door around 4pm.