My Black Lab who is 16 at least, is in her final days. I must put her down...do I show my chocolate lab she is dead?

We did when we lost a cat; I'm not sure it's the same for dogs though. I think it helped but I might be anthropomorphizing a bit.

It doesn't matter. Animals arent sentimental or emotional like humans.
If they don't see somebody or another animal they don't give a crap.
Their little brains run on a short loop with very little gigabytes.
Dumb meat robots, essentially.

That's such a sad time, I feel for you buddy.

Personally, I don't think you should show the choc lab, not that you should necessarily go to great pains to avoid it.

Dogs are keenly aware of human emotions. Your dog will pick up on it, if it hasn't happened already.

If you do please jeep us posted on how your chocolate is doing. I'm am fearing this for my two best friends as well.

I understand your loss as well..!

[link to i.imgur.com]

oh no, that is heartbreaking. I lost 2 golden retrievers when I was a teen. they somehow know if you don't show them. it might bring some closure, but who knows, it might traumatize them and make them sadder.

I'm so sorry.

Put it down in front of the other, make a party out of it...give out treats

^^^^^^^^^
This is a show of the psychopathic nature of our society and how when a group wants to feed positive energy to one it is needed to be broken by a useful idiot that attempts to steel the energy by turning it negative.


Cheers...!

There is no need...Trust me your living dog will just know...A few weeks ago our black lab had to be put to sleep he was 14....Our other younger black lab just knew he was gone and never coming home. Labs are incredibly smart and intuitive. He was sad for a few days but he didn't once go looking for the other dog who was his best friend.

You are so mistaken...if you have a brain and are able to use it - which I doubt - you would not write such nonsense. Modern science has proven the opposite of what you claim and people who respect animals know about their intelligence and empathy.

You seem completely out of touch with reality, are you a troll?

I've only had the situation happen once in my life. I used to only have 1 dog, but 10 yrs ago I had 2 when one of them died.

I did show the one to the other. I was assuming she'd be wondering where the other one was/looking around for her unless she knew she was gone.

Maybe not necc, but I figured why not.

We have always allowed our surviving dogs to see their deceased buddies. I don't know whether or not it really helps, but we do it anyway.

If they have a close bond, expect some real suffering from the survivor. We had a bonded pair once and when one died, the other essentially changed from a happy-go-lucky, playful dude to one glum pup. He would lay near her grave, but he'd also gaze out at the woods where they loved to play as though watching for her. He never really recovered though he lived another six years.

My sympathies to you. Our dogs are family and losing one hurts like hell.

Hugs to OP. the loss of a pet is dreadful.

MY experience is only with cats, but yes Animal psychologists suggests that animals do experience a grieving process [as they do sense our human emotions and react from them] among their own kind. I have lost three cats in my household and each time have laid them out for the others to "pay their respects." And, they did. And, just like us humans each reacted in a different way.

One sat close by and remained quietly for several minutes, another came up hesitantly, sniffed, hissed and stalked away. Still another walked up, gazed down briefly and then went on.

So: yes, animals do need to process such things. Especially in a closed household environment. Outdoor animals or ferals [all of my cats began life as ferals and later adopted my lifestyle for themselves] process death in a much different way as it's a daily -and often violent- fact of life in their world.

hachiko comes to mind...

several servicemen away for at least a year got extreme reactions from their pets upon coming home.

Sorry OP. We had to put our 10yo black lab down about 5 months ago because of a tumor. Was devastating. We just got an 8 week old chocolate lab a couple of weeks ago.

Probably best to show the other lab. Sorry OP.

Op....I'm so sorry to hear about having to let go of your pet. One of the hardest parts of life is saying good bye. But I would suggest you do what's most comfortable for you. I believe animals read us so well that your other dog will instinctively know what's going on.

Maybe...just maybe our pets live on in spirit and stay with us....and your other dog will know he's there.

Actually they do notice. When one of cats got killed in accident, the others looked for her for days. Cries were different. They were mourning. To be keenly aware of emotion they also understand and feel emotion.

Ahhhh tired eyes mashed two read posts into one. Sorry. But yeah. Know for fact animals are much more intelligent emotional creatures than we give them credit for. I agree with those who say no need. Other animals in house will know. Let them comfort you.

They've been together for 13 years. Whenever they got out, they were always found together. When I take my black lab anywhere in the car, or for a walk with just her, my chocolate lab goes nuts..I know he'll miss her...he'll be all alone now..

Were they brother sister?

I say yes, at least he will be able to sense she is dead and will know what happened to her.

My vet told me that it was good to let your other dogs understand what was going on. She told me to wrap the deceased dog in a blanket and allow them to smell her.
Otherwise, the other dogs don't have any type of closure on what happened.

We just had to put down our Newfi-Lab right before Christmas. Our other doggie (an Australian Cattle Dog)was around her as she went into kidney failure. We had her cremated, so the other dog did not see her after she passed, but he seemed to know she was dying. He seems lonely without her but has not wandered around looking for her.

This was just her experience, but if your doggie is really sick, the other dog likely knows time is short. They are far more intuitive than we often think.

Hugs.

Brief, OP is very sad about his dog. Now is not the time to make light of such things.

So sad, and I am sorry for your loss.

Your chocolate lab will grieve for awhile.


(I have a friend that is going through this RIGHT now.) The other dog just disappeared, and now the one left is constantly looking for her pal. She will not eat and lays in her doggie bed all day.

Cruel idea.

Just tell the dog yes in words, that the other one has died and help them grieve.

Dogs understand subtle emotion much better than we give them credit for.

This is so painful ...they become so interwovewn in our lives . 16 is a long , good life for a lab .
I kept a yellow male from a litter that I bred . When it came time to put the mother down years later , I did not show him .
He seemed fine . He had to be aware of her aging and struggling . In nature many animals go off and die .
However after that as long as he lived , whenever I would say her name he would wag his tail .
He became the center of attention and I think he liked that a lot .