Is it true that dogs like to be "on their own" when they pass?

[KatsMuse]

I've never heard of it but, I imagine it is possible?
I've owned several dogs and never had one go off by themselves to die.

Every dog I've ever owned took their last breath in my arms.

Kat

[Kyleigh]

I've heard of it, more with wild animals, than with pets.

With the exception of two, I've had all my pets die in my arms at the vet.
The other two were a ferret and a cat who waited until I got home, and then died in my arms on the way to the vet. Both passings were very quick and "appeared" painless. Neither of them had "appeared" to be ill before. Very active and up and running that morning when I'd left for work.

[Lilie]

I think it depends on how the dog dies. If the dog passes peacefully, it'll seek the love of it's family because that is what it has known.

If the dog has a sudden onset of something, like a heart attack, it might wander off away from it's family due to it's confusion caused by the illness.

I had a rescued doxie (she was used as a breeder and never left her kennel - no social skills etc.) that slept under the covers at my feet. We were sound asleep when I heard her yelp. She had crawled up to my head, yelped in my face and died, her head across my face. It was her heart.

I had an old aussie who went out to go potty, laid down in the yard and passed.

I had an old barn cat who crawled into the bed of my truck during the night and passed. It was as if she was worried she wouldn't be found.

I think it is a personal thing for each animal. I think some animals take their job as a family member very seriously and will fight death, even if it's for the best. I think that is when we have to help them over the bridge.

[msvette2u]

Most the dogs here have aged and gotten ill, and because we're so 'in tune' we saw symptoms and let them go @ the clinic.
I do think people tend to wait too long, often, and prolong a dog's suffering inadvertently, and I understand this, as humans we do not want to let them go.
But a dog psychic told me a while back...and I still think of this...dogs do not fear death like we do.
They see death as a transition into the next life.
And that's stuck with me this whole time.
It's human nature to fear the unknown, dogs live in the moment, and don't fear the future.

[lkellen]

Originally Posted by Magwart

When our old girl died this past April, we brought her home for her final night. She stayed close to us all night, next to the bed, in the same place she always slept. We heard her breathing change around 4 AM, and my husband lay with her and held her in his arms. She nuzzled into him as he whispered to her. Each member of our family, including the canine members, thanked her for the gift of her friendship. Then she took her last breath and left us. She was surrounded by love as she left this world.

Originally Posted by RebelGSD

I have the opposite experience. I had two fosters die natural death. One had congestive heart failure, the other was thrown out of a car and probably developed a blood clot. They both waited for me to come home from work and passed away minutes within me stopping by to take care of them. They waited for me...

Originally Posted by KatsMuse

I've never heard of it but, I imagine it is possible?
I've owned several dogs and never had one go off by themselves to die.

Every dog I've ever owned took their last breath in my arms.

Kat

Originally Posted by Kyleigh

I've heard of it, more with wild animals, than with pets.

With the exception of two, I've had all my pets die in my arms at the vet.
The other two were a ferret and a cat who waited until I got home, and then died in my arms on the way to the vet. Both passings were very quick and "appeared" painless. Neither of them had "appeared" to be ill before. Very active and up and running that morning when I'd left for work.

Originally Posted by Lilie

I think it depends on how the dog dies. If the dog passes peacefully, it'll seek the love of it's family because that is what it has known.

If the dog has a sudden onset of something, like a heart attack, it might wander off away from it's family due to it's confusion caused by the illness.

I had a rescued doxie (she was used as a breeder and never left her kennel - no social skills etc.) that slept under the covers at my feet. We were sound asleep when I heard her yelp. She had crawled up to my head, yelped in my face and died, her head across my face. It was her heart.

I had an old aussie who went out to go potty, laid down in the yard and passed.

I had an old barn cat who crawled into the bed of my truck during the night and passed. It was as if she was worried she wouldn't be found.

I think it is a personal thing for each animal. I think some animals take their job as a family member very seriously and will fight death, even if it's for the best. I think that is when we have to help them over the bridge.

Originally Posted by msvette2u

Most the dogs here have aged and gotten ill, and because we're so 'in tune' we saw symptoms and let them go @ the clinic.
I do think people tend to wait too long, often, and prolong a dog's suffering inadvertently, and I understand this, as humans we do not want to let them go.
But a dog psychic told me a while back...and I still think of this...dogs do not fear death like we do.
They see death as a transition into the next life.
And that's stuck with me this whole time.
It's human nature to fear the unknown, dogs live in the moment, and don't fear the future.

Those are sweet stories. I hope when the time comes, Remy can pass peacefully, and know she was loved very much! Thankfully, we've got a LOONNNGG life ahead of us


Tinker is the only dog I've had that has died. So, I was just curious to see if what happened to her was "normal."

[readaboutdogs]

We had a little poodle when I was growing up that she had died in the nite under my moms bed, that's where she slept most of the time so maybe not really going off by herself.

[wolfy dog]

This is the story from a dog I knew from my teens. He was a farm dog where I had boarded my horse. The farm was located next to a highway. The dog never, ever in his whole life came close to the road. At 15 years old he got sick, wandered onto the road and was killed by a car. I don't know why he did that; it always has been a mystery.

[Daisy]

A cat did that. My cats never go outside. The first cat I owned as an adult somehow got out of the house and we never saw her again. She was old and declining. To this day, I think she snuck out to die.

With the dogs, one (old) died at home during the night, stretched out between my husband and I. Another, I put to sleep. He got sick suddenly and the vet couldn't fix him, and he had been basically unresponsive for 2 says, but when I went to the vet to be with him as they put him to sleep, he raised his his head to me. He was at least 10, which the vet said was ancient for a collie.

[LoveSea]

our dog got sick so fast. easter weekend we were all saying how young our 10& 1/2 year old dog was & that week he got sick out of nowhere. cancer of the spleen & nothing we could do. we were devastated. out of nowhere. we did not know when he would go. we agreed we would not let him suffer though. a few weeks later in the middle of the night he had an awful night. he ran around falling & bumping into things, terrified. he could hardly walk. we stayed up with him comforting him all night. we knew then that he had to be put down. my kids were completely devastated. the next day he was just ready to go. not himself. no tail wag, which for him was unusual.

since he loved us so much & was especially close to our kids, we made the choice to all be with him when he went. at one point in the vet, when they were getting him ready with the IV, i had the kids leave the room, because that part was hard. well, rocky sprung back into life as if nothing was wrong - he needed those kids in his sight. he tried to open the door with his nose. i was tempted to take him home right then - he seemed all right. but the truth was, he was suffering & would have had a worst night if we did not make that choice. the kids came back in & we surrounded him with love & petting as the vet administered the medicine to put him down. i cannot explain the sadness we felt as we watched him slowly lay his head down and take his last breath. we all cried, but had to be there. i do know that he would not have wanted to be alone without all of us surrounding him. i will never forget that & it still brings me to tears thinking about it. my kids were 10 & 13 at the time. i gave them the choice whether to be there or not. they were very sad but wanted to be there. he was a kids dog & it meant a lot to him to have them there.