Death by Natural Causes

Don't know about dogs, but I know cats try to wander off and hide somewhere when they're ready to die.

I've been around a couple of dogs that died mostly of old age (but, like humans, there are usually some health issues as well when a dog gets old). As I recall, the dogs mostly look like they're sleeping, but there is usually something that indicts they're not (for example, the dog's head might be turned at a slightly odd angle or drooping or the tongue hanging out).

In my experience, dogs and cats on the verge of dying go relatively quietly. It's hard to know how much pain they are in, but it's probably significant. It almost seems to be a natural function for them to "'shut down" (mentally and physically); like they are vaguely aware of what is happening but are able to get in to some kind of mental state where they don't feel as much pain and are "ready to go". This is just from my limited experience; a vet might have better information on this. So, when they die, their bodes are not contorted or look too much difference than if they were sleeping. A person just glancing might think they're sleeping, but anyone really looking can tell they're not.

I had a dog who got stuck in the car on a hot day and he died. I'm not sure how he looked when found.

Another dog was really old and just died of old age, I think. She was bothered by flies for days before she died... oh how I hate flies, those harbingers of death. She was just laying out on her side when she died, not curled up.

One dog I had died at a young age because he couldn't keep any food down. He would eat and then throw up and in a few hours he would be so hungry that he would gorge himself and end up throwing that up too. We took him to the vet who said he was fine, but one night he was just dead in the garage. It was really really obvious. He was on his side with his legs sticking straight out, almost like he was standing and fell straight over. Also, something that happens to most dead things (as far as I know) is their bowels void. I think that would be a pretty big give away in most situations.

My nan had a very old dog who died around five years ago (I think she was around 18 when she died) She became progressively more and more tired...I remember she could barely walk anymore. Anyway, one day she practically collapsed in her basket. Her legs completely gave out. She was laying on her side, breathing quite shallowly. After a short time - maybe five minutes - she clearly wasn't breathing anymore. It was very quick and very quiet.

My parents have had three dogs die at home naturally and all three looked like they were sleeping. Cause of death if they dies at home and have lived a long healthy life is almost always considered dying of old age. Most people accept that as the cause, unlike in humans where there is almost always a much more specific cause if someone dies.

CaroGirl said:

Has anyone had a dog that died at home of natural causes (rather than needing to be euthanized)? What did the dog die of, how did the dog look when he was found (curled as if sleeping, splayed out)?

I don't want to be callous, but I have a need to describe this scenario in a novel.

Click to expand...

Our dog was 16 and totally blind when she died.

We knew she was going for a while, and in the last couple of weeks she really wasn;t herself. She got very clingy and a bit mopey. She messed herself a couple of times, and didn't seem to have any energy for anything.

I took her to the vet, thinking she was ill, and he checked her over, did all sorts of tests and then told me that, aside from being blind (which she had been for about four years) that she was completely healthy for a dog her age, she was, and these are his very words, 'just old as fuck'

He offered to put her down, but said that she wasn't in any pain, so I just took her home to allow her to die there.

It was another couple of weeks before she did die, and by that point she wasn't really eating much, and she just looked very...dull.

She slept through the night, and then she got up, dad had to help her down the steps to go to the toilet, and then she came back into the kitchen, lay down on her side, stretched her legs out, sighed and that was it.

She looked for all teh world like she was sleeping, her eyes were mostly closed, and her mouth was a little open, her tongue hanging out. If I didn't know she was dead I would have thought she'd come if called.

Okay - I am a vet. Just to clear one thing up first - old age is not a disease. The only people who consider old age to be a common cause of death in dogs just don't know any better. It is true that, as you get older, more things start to go wrong, as in people.

As far as letting your dog die at home from 'natural causes' (as opposed to gunshots or getting hit by cars, I suppose), the outward appearances are pretty similar to what's been described, although the bladder also frequently empties. In some cases, I've also seen bloody discharge from various orifices and vomit.

As far as what the dog feels, it's rarely peaceful, no matter the outward signs. Even if there's no overt pain, he or she feels like crap. If you've ever had a bad flu, lying in bed and getting nauseous whenever you move or try to get up, you know what it's like.

They feel like this until they die. Sometimes, if the lungs or heart are involved, they die desperately trying to breathe, not understanding why they can't.

No matter what a human onlooker might imagine, it's rarely peaceful.

I had a cat that died on my bed. Under her body was a wet patch from her bladder letting go. She was curled up like sleeping.

Been a bit busy doing actual vet-type stuff.

I'm going to put this in very simple terms. Anyway, there are two major effects from tumors. On is from the tumor cells themselves, which produce something which makes the individual feel sick.

The second effect depends on what type of tumor is involved and where it's located. For example, a mass in the kidneys (destroying renal tissue) will have different effects than one in the liver or one in the lungs or one in the brain or one in the adrenal glands or one in the bones and/or muscles of the leg or one in the lymph nodes or one spread throughout the body. Pain can range from very little to excruciating. The dog can die in a stupor or die suffering horribly. The good news, as far as you're concerned, is that you can order up whatever type of tumor you wish to produce whatever symptoms you prefer.

By the way, the dog being on pain medication makes a huge difference and adds another factor you can manipulate. You can have the effects of the medication range from minimal to totally blitzing your dog out - just the types of variations that exist in real life.

My mother's miniature poodle curled up under the table like he did every day and went to sleep. When we tried to wake him, we couldn't. He was neatly curled up in a ball like he did when sleeping.

I had a mixed german shepherd/collie (those mixes are the most heavenly dogs, btw) and she died sprawled out. Because she had been vomiting, I put her in the cellar (nice cellar, very warm, with blankets to lie on) and went to check on her in the morning. She was stretched out, dead.

Both dogs were of advanced age, for dogs. Neither had a health condition, disorder or other problem before their death.

jaksen said:

My mother's miniature poodle curled up under the table like he did every day and went to sleep. When we tried to wake him, we couldn't. He was neatly curled up in a ball like he did when sleeping.

I had a mixed german shepherd/collie (those mixes are the most heavenly dogs, btw) and she died sprawled out. Because she had been vomiting, I put her in the cellar (nice cellar, very warm, with blankets to lie on) and went to check on her in the morning. She was stretched out, dead.

Both dogs were of advanced age, for dogs. Neither had a health condition, disorder or other problem before their death.

Click to expand...

I'm going to apologize in advance if I sound harsh, but I have have two major problems with this post.

Firstly, you must have misspoken. You state that "Neither had a health condition, disorder or other problem before their death". You must have meant to say that neither had a known health condition. Nobody, whether human, dog, cat, or gerbil, dies from nothing. There is always a cause, whether you know what it is or not.

Secondly, significant vomiting, to the point where you put the dog in the basement (to save the carpet, I suppose), is considered a symptom of an underlying problem in virtually every country, state, province, or municipality I'm aware of. That invalidates your point of there being no sign of any health issues. The fact that you did nothing about it, other than to lock the dog in the basement to die alone and in pain, is a separate issue.

(I considered banging my head against the wall, but the recent data concerning multiple low-level head trauma causing microbleeds and death of brain cells, is compelling. On the other hand, maybe the only way I can avoid reacting to this kind of thing is a little bit of neuronal death.)

*bang* *bang* (gently)