Mans best friend - shooting vs euthanasia

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Figured we'd take the "do you hit your dog" to the next level.

When it's time to say goodbye to your best friend, have any of you thought about doing it yourself? I got my German shorthaired pointer (Trigger) 12 years ago when I was young and dumb (21 years old). I was new to hunting, as new as you could get to bird dogs and still an immature pup myself. My mother told me a needed that dog like I needed a hole in my head, ha! Fast forward to 2023, Trigger is 12 years old, the best dog any of us could ask for and is on the decline. He is a good bird dog (not perfect due to my insufficient knowledge in bird dog training in his younger days but se still get after it), a great guard dog, a great family dog and a great life companion. He has been with me on the majority of my big game scouting trips, hundreds of bird hunts, multiple hikes and camping trips and has just seen more wild land than the majority of people I know and even more than most of my hunting buddies. He now has a few health conditions that has made me come to the realization his life isn't endless. I'm estimating 1-3 years left with Trigger and the lower number is probably more realistic than the higher number. As of now, euthanasia in home (or possibly in the field on a camping trip if that's possible) is the way to go for multiple reasons. I am 33 years old so I am by no means an "old timer" but I have thought about possibly shooting him myself. I'm not sure if anything a single person says in a reply to this post will sway me in either direction but a conversation with a close friend made me feel that I at least wasn't crazy but part of me feels like I should be the one to do it. Maybe not a stranger or his vet. Saying I will do it is a whole lot different that actually pulling the trigger on your dog though. I don't know how to classify my relationship with Trigger, whether that would make your guys reply's any different. I don't have kids, I have spent more time with my dog over the past 12 years outside of home than any one person. I don't necessarily view him as my child like a lot of younger folks view their dog but I don't view him as just a dog as most older folks and adults with kids and a family view a typical dog.

So just to get a different prospective on things, I figured on this forum I may find some people with a similar relationship with mans best friend. Maybe get some opinions or some pros and cons of going either way. This should be interesting none the less.
 

bsnedeker

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This is your best friend you are talking about here in theory. How do you want your last moments with your best friend to go down? Do you want to end with an act of extreme violence? I've put down a few sheep in my day and strange stuff happens with bullets to the head sometimes. You don't want that to happen to your best friend.

We have a local vet here that will come to our house with an injection, they will do everything while the dog is surrounded by the people who love him and who he loves more than anything. It costs a few hundred bucks for this service.
 

2531usmc

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If the dog reaches the end (and only you can decide that) and is in no pain, I would take my 13 yr old golden retriever to the vet to be put down peacefully. But if the dog was in pain (broken bones, hit by a car) I would put her down to end her suffering
 

bsnedeker

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If I had access to the necessary drugs to put an animal down painlessly and the medical knowledge required to ensure that he doesn't suffer in any way I would administer the shot myself. But I don't, and I'm guessing you don't either. You can act as tough as you want, this isn't about how tough YOU are, it's about the last moments of your dogs life. If you want to risk his last moments being a horror show of seizures and blood and bodily fluids coming out of your animal so that you can show how tough you are....well, that says a lot.
 

Hoghead

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I hunt hogs with my dogs and have lost a few in the field. To me, that is easier than taking them to the vet to be put down. My dogs live in the house and are family. I could possibly put a friend's dog down for them but could never do my own dog unless they were suffering, like a previous poster said.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk
 

KurtR

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I have had to take two of my dogs in and sit with them while they fell asleep. There is no way in hell i would be able to shoot them hell i could barley see i was crying so much. I sat there for some time after they were gone. Hell just thinking about it i get choked up.
 

Jethro

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Have the vet do it. It isn't anything like a stranger being with your dog in its last moments. Yes the vet handles the IV. But you will be right there. Holding, hugging, and talking to your dog. He will be looking at you when he closes his eyes and takes his last breath. I speak from experience. I would never even consider shooting my dog and do not care at all if that somehow makes me less of a man.
 

505Wapiti

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As stated above, there are a lot of things that can go wrong with doing it yourself. I grew up on a farm and have had to do the dirty work on several animals, some went smoothly and some were a disaster that I still think about. Now at 50 years of age, my beloved pets will go pain free and peacefully at the vet, unless as stated above something tragic happened and they were suffering at which point I would do it myself immediately.
 

Scoot

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Not at all. Man ought to be able to do the hard things in life without pawning it off to someone else. But do whatever is easiest for you.
I respect your opinion on the matter. However, I see it somewhat differently. The language you use suggests that those who see it differently "don't get it" or are somehow less of a man than you (e.g., "pawning it off", "whatever is easiest for you"). That's ok- you see it how you see it.

I see it much more similar to 2531usmc than I do you, LoggerDan. ...and it's certainly not about me being too much of a pussy to do a difficult task. You said, "We should be able to do the hard things in life" and I totally agree. But because something is hard doesn't mean it's the right way to do it. What you consider "right" is apparently different than what I consider "right". I'm perfectly comfortable with that.
 

Beendare

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Its an individual decision

I just spent $700 on euthanizing our 16 yr old cat….and the crazy part was since we never took that cat to a vet…it took me awhile to find a vet to do it.

I’m not going to knock a guy that spends fifty cents on his dog or cat…and the $699 on food and clothes for his kids.
 

Rich M

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I think I can see both sides of the story - do you want to remember putting old Barky down, or do you want someone to inject the dog while it is on your lap? Some feel that a bullet to the brain is the solution, others want the vet. Do anything once or twice and you don't have the unknown to contend with. Yes, you are sad your buddy is gonna be dead in a few minutes. That doesn't change.

I have a deal w my wife, we can have pets until they get sick - cancer, run over by car, significantly tore up in animal fight, then they get put down. I'm not spending $thousands$ on a pet. I've had some really good doggy friends. They are still "just dogs" and that's how I see it.

No tough guy syndrome. My dad never would, I don't have any issue with it. The end result is the same. Dead dog, time to dig a hole, say a few nice things and mope for a little while.
 

CaliWoodsman

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The song “Mercy Bark” by Benjamin Tod addresses this. Not gonna answer your question, but I viewed this topic differently after listening to it. Power of music, I guess.

“And oh, how the mothers speak
Of strangers taking burdens that are hard
But I have no choice, you see
For I am he and he is me
And I will follow him into the dark
With all my heart
A mercy bark”

 

sacklunch

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Tough to hug your pup and give them the comfort they deserve in their final moments when you're holding a pistol to the back of their head.

To each his own, but I think our buds deserve better, with the exception of extreme situations like the aforementioned major car accident/injuryand it's best to put them down immediately.

Even small-town vets will come to your house if requested...let them pass in the comfort of your own home if able, they deserve it.
 
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Marbles

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It depends. If the dog hates the vet, a shot to the head is kinder in my opinion. If the dog hates car rides, a bullet to the head is kinder. If the dog is scared of guns, it could be the other way around.

Personally, I think giving the dog a pile of steak and putting one through the head is probably best for the dog. Do it correctly, and the brain will never process a negative moment. Prepare yourself and the dog by dry firing the gun at the dogs head the day leading up to it, you don't want to get the shakes are start crying and scare the dog in the moment. After it is done is the appropriate time to get emotional.

To me, euthanasia is for the person, it makes us feel better. I think it is very rarely kinder to the animal. If, for your own mental well being, you need to have someone else do it, euthanasia is the best option. I shore as hell would not trust anyone else to properly end it clean with a bullet an my own dog.
 
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