What happens when a dog passes away naturally?
Many of the changes that happen after death are the same whether a dog passes away naturally, or is euthanased by a vet. However, the experience of nearing and passing into death will be different for a natural death than it will be for euthanasia.
The exact experience will depend on the reason for the dog passing away. Sometimes this can be very quick – similar to euthanasia – but other times it can take hours or even days to happen. Towards the end, your dog may become weak and may pass in and out of consciousness. Their breathing may become irregular, and they may have muscle spasms, similar to those that occur after death. If you feel for their heartbeat, you may find that it gradually slows down before it stops.
Longer experiences like these are often distressing for both you and your dog. Once it is clear that your dog is suffering, it is kinder to opt for euthanasia rather than a “natural” death.
Eyes staying open
If a dog’s eyes are open as they pass away (for example, if they are looking at you) then their eyes often stay slightly open afterwards, though their upper eyelids may droop slightly. This is quite normal, although it can appear unsettling. To understand why a dog’s eyes stay open after they die, we must look at how their body opens or closes the eyes.
There are lots of different muscles around the dog’s eye that control the movement of their eyelid. In order to close the eye, some of these muscles must relax, and others must contract (tense up). Relaxing occurs naturally after a dog passes away, but contraction does not. This means that although the eyelids may droop, they often do not close completely, as your dog no longer orders those muscles to contract.
Sometimes it is possible to gently close your dog’s eyes for them after they have passed away by using two fingers to gently stroke downwards and pull them closed. However, this will not work for all dogs.
Do Dogs Know When They’re Going to Die?
We might think we know whats going on in a dogs mind simply because of the way they return our affection—or slather us with theirs! Scientists continue to be fascinated by the possibilities to enhance our relationship with our canine companions, and theres interesting research on the subject.
For example, in a detailed article for the Dana Foundation, neuroscientist Gregory Berns, author of What Its Like to Be a Dog, pointed out that while some dogs are more eager to play fetch, others are not. Does that mean they dont understand the cue—or understand but just dont want to play? Berns writes, “Its all too tempting to project a human explanation onto the dog, to anthropomorphize. We must be careful in generalizing about dog findings, as there is no such thing as a generic dog. Just like there isnt a generic human.” Since dogs cant speak, Berns says, their behavior tells us a lot about what theyre feeling.
Haylee Bergeland, CPDT-KA, CBCC-KA, RBT, is the founder and executive director of the Iowa Human-Animal Bond Society and Daily Paws health and behavior expert. She says its tough to know how much a dog understands or is feeling near the end of their life, but some behaviors might be more apparent. “Many dogs appear to be more clingy or attached, following you around consistently and remaining close,” Bergeland says. “Other dogs seem to distance themselves and want to be alone more than they normally would.”
Shes also noticed some dogs whining and barking more, along with moments of almost hyperactivity, “then suddenly becoming quiet and still—as if they have a desire to expend some energy, have a bit more fun, but just cant quite do it.”
Other researchers and veterinarians rely on “citizen science”, which is a collaborative effort between the general public and professional scientists to study the natural world, to determine how dogs know theyre dying. Naturally, as in-tuned as we are to our pups needs, this leads us to believe they comprehend whats happening to them.
Credit: Bigandt_Photography / Getty
10 Critical Signs that Indicates Your Dog is Dying
Theres a subtle difference in a dogs behavior when they are past the point of struggling to overcome illness or injury and are about to die. Learning what happens to a dogs body when they die and how to tell when those final moments have arrived can help you prepare and provide your dog with love, comfort, and dignity as they leave this earth.