©Scott Sheaffer, CDBC, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, USA Dog Behavior, LLC

Deciding to euthanize your dog is always filled with anxiety over whether you’re doing the right thing at the right time. I’ve had to euthanize some of my personal dogs for health problems and it was very difficult.

Prepare Yourself for the Journey

Before you euthanize your dog, please read my article When should I euthanize my dog? in order to feel more confident about your decision and the timing. After going through this myself and working with many clients as they make this hard decision, I can tell you that you’ll never be 100% confident you’re doing the right thing at exactly the right time.

“You need to do this with your children, not to them.”

As tough as it is, there ultimately is going to be a time when the right thing to do is to allow your beloved dog to move from their pain, whether physical or behavior related, to a place of peace. Please read my article The Rainbow Bridge, A Sad Thought, A Happy Hope to help prepare you for this last journey your dog is about to begin with you.

Losing a family dog causes a tremendous amount of grief that can last for weeks or months. You can’t ignore this aspect of euthanizing your dog. I always counsel dog owners to ensure they have someone in their life to talk openly with about their grief. In other words, you need to have someone who will understand your tears without judgement.

Prepare Your Family

Your family, especially your children, need to be involved in the process from start to finish. I like to say, “You need to do this with your children, not to them.” If your children are old enough to understand, bring them into the decision-making process and speak honestly with them. Children who are not part of the process can oftentimes feel they were tricked or misled by their parents.

Important Details to Consider when Scheduling

Once you and your family feel that euthanizing your dog is the best course of action, you’ll need to schedule a date. My advice after living through this myself and holding the hands of many people going through the process is to schedule it sooner rather than later. Waiting only causes you and your dog to suffer longer.

Where you euthanize your dog is extremely important. Most people take their dog to a trusted veterinarian’s office to be euthanized. Most veterinarians have a lot of experience with this and are sensitive to the whole experience for you and your dog. An alternative to taking your dog to the vet’s office is an at-home euthanasia. There are a number of veterinarians who specialize in this and some vets will do this as a courtesy for their regular clients. I’m a big fan of at-home euthanasia as it lets your dog fall asleep in a place they know and love. Why add any undue stress at this very critical time?

If your dog has a significant fear or anxiety related behavior issue, you might want to talk with the veterinarian who is going to euthanize your dog about pretreatment. Pretreating simply means that you provide medication an hour or two before they are euthanized to relax them thus making the process less stressful.

What Happens to Your Dog After They are Euthanized?

The veterinarian will need to know what you want to do with your dog’s remains. Options include cremation with the remains returned to you or cremation with the remains not returned to you. Another option is burial in a pet cemetery although these are becoming increasingly rare. If you select to use a pet cemetery, please visit the cemetery first to see if it is well cared for and ask them about their maintenance fund.

After your dog has been euthanized, your vet will handle your dog’s remains in the way that you choose. You have the option of arranging to have the remains sent to a third-party pet cremation facility or pet cemetery, although having your vet take care of the details for you is significantly easier.

Most vet offices will cast an impression of one of your dog’s front paws for you to keep. They can also provide you with an urn for your dog’s remains if you elect to keep them.

The Aftermath

After everything is done, you will feel some relief, but you will also feel a great deal of sorrow and guilt. This is completely normal and will be much more intense than you imagined - even if you’ve had to euthanize dogs before. Be prepared for this by having a trusted friend at the ready as noted above.

After the loss of a dog, I’ve found that people tend to fall into two groups. One group says they will never get another dog because the sorrow they feel over their animal’s loss is too much to go through again. With enough time, many of these people will bring another dog into their home again.

The second group of people rush out and get a new puppy or find a rescue to replace their lost friend. I’ve observed more than one instance where the dog the grieving owner selects looks almost exactly like the dog they just lost - an unconscious act in many instances. I highly recommend that you give yourself some grieving time to process the loss of your dog in order to make a better decision. How much time is enough to wait? It’s different for every person but you’ll know when it’s not based on raw emotion.

If you are personally going through this, please know that you are doing this for your dog as a last loving gift to them. It’s hard, I know, but it will ultimately be one of the kindest things you’ll ever do for your friend.