Mans best friend - shooting vs euthanasia

[Iowafarmer]

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.

I lost my best friend Oliver yesterday. I couldn’t read your entire post. We were fortunate I guess we killed our last pheasant January 7th this year. Oliver went for our normal 2 mile walk Friday. Saturday he didn’t want to go. Sunday he wouldn’t eat. Monday morning I carried him in the vet clinic dam cancer he never even let on he was sick. We left the clinic about 11:00 stopped at a couple of our hunting spots on the way home but it was all he wanted to do to sit up and look. I sat with him in his bed until the vet came at 4:45 his head was on my lap as the vet gave him the shot his head never moved. I’ve shot animals in the head that haven’t died instantly even if I was strong enough I could never take that chance. I felt like I was betraying his trust letting the vet do it but I couldn’t stand to see his pain

 

[Pony Soldier]

This is an interesting thread if for no other reason, the number of options presented. Some choices depend on where you are in life and your experiences.

I have a bit unique situation being old and rural with an extensive experience in killig things. The first pet you have to put down is the toughest. You also have to consider what to do with the carcass afterwards. Being rural I maintain a pet cemetary for my dogs and cats. In the city you might want to consider having them cremated.

The first one I had was 13 and had had a stroke. Like many of you have said, he hated going to the vet. The trauma of the vet as well as putting him on the table was as bad of an experience as I can remember. After that I studied where to place the shot and did my own. I take them out on a leash and let the do what they like and shoot them in the back of the head when they aren't looking. Instant death and minimal trauma for all participants. You had better be sure you can shoot and where. Having raised dogs for over 50 years, you can get very conditioned to dealing with it. I have had a number of them that I paid a small fortune for that had very bad genes that I had to put down as they had no traits I wanted to pass on and nothing worth keeping as a pet - for me or anyone else.

I have had to kill a nuber of horses over the years which I found harder to kill than dogs. I usually give them some grain to occupy them and shoot them at the base of the skull. If you aren't good at it you run the risk of them falling over on you. Most just run out of teeth and the choice is to put them down or watch them starve. I have seen some people extend their lives with senior feed. It's expensive and it takes a lot of money and time to wait for them to die. In some states you run the risk of being charged with animal abuse because you have skin and bones 35 year old gummer in the yard.

As a couple of you have said - if you you shoot them don't tell anyone. We have devolved into a society that can't imagine killing anything. I don't even take pictures of any game I kill. It just opens you up to ridicule by the loonies. As a farmer or rancher it is part of life but to many of the city folks it's unimaginable.
What you choose to do will be dictated by your skills and experience. I have found it somewhat lessened the separation anxiety by getting a replacement before you have to do the deed.

Good luck!

 

[Pdzoller]

Not going to sugar coat this.
My first dog was my best friend, protector and child all in one.

The time came when he had to go. I took him out to our favorite logging road and went for a walk. I dug a huge hole. We ate a pizza. I told him to sit. I looked him in the eyes and then shot him in the head. Half his face blew off and then he started screaming and ran between my legs. I had to grab him and put another three shots into his head before he stopped screaming.

Worst thing is that he knew exactly who caused it.

Personally I don’t understand the monetary perspective. We spent tens of thousands on junk and other useless things throughout our lives. A couple hundred on a best friends comfort is too steep?

There are also many different ways to cause a painless death other than a bullet.

If possible, have the vet come take your dog with a shot.

 

[Petwa]

I've owned a lot of dogs over the years. I've seen and done a lot. I have no issues with someone humanely putting their own animals down. For me personally, as I get older and times change, I would be calling the vet. Everybody's different and only you can decide whats right for you.

 

[ToolMann]

When I was a teenager I couldn't understand why my dad wouldn't just put our dog down himself. In the last 5 years I've had to make that decision for two of them, the third died on her bed. Holding them through a peaceful death is my choice. I thought creating pets was ridiculous. All three are cremated and on our mantle with their collars and balls. I still talk to the last one. Even as a hunter my choice would never be shooting my dog unless it was the only option.

 

[ThisIsMyHandle]

My father put down our dogs when I was a kid. My fiancée and I had our vet euthanize our dog Charlie in January and they’re coming back today for my dog Leon. I could never handle it myself. I cant even handle the loss of Leon, let alone trying to put him down myself.


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[dtrkyman]

I always thought I wanted to do it with my dog, when the time came, no effn way.

To the vet we went!


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[Lordnel]

For me I would pay the vet to do it as I would hate to not have an instant death.

 

[paguy]

Vet and the shot is the way to go.

 

[EastHumboldt]

I’ve euthanized a horse that I liked, and a dog that I loved. So this is not a what if question for me. The horse cuz he was in agony with twisted gut, and we couldn’t find a vet who could come before he died of shock. The dog because we couldn’t afford a vet at the time.

The manner of death did not lessen the grief I felt in either case, but I’m convinced it left a scar more so than having a vet do it. I say this because I’ve seen many animals euthanized and it’s mostly a blur in my memory. The two times I dyi’d it are very sharp memories, and pretty unpleasant for me.

Both animals and humans when near death are often so turned inward, focused on the pain, or so far gone they are past pain but it’s not easy to tell with an animal. So I don’t know that they care whether they get shot or get a shot. But death is obviously a relief in those cases.

 

[KsRancher]

My Wife is under strict orders to put a bullet in between my ears once I'm no longer an asset to the family, but a hinderance. If she lets me get to the point that I'm drooling on myself we've got problems.

I wouldn't mind my wife putting me down if I wasn't able to anything for myself. But NO WAY I let her do it when I am a hindrance. I wouldn't be here to type this.

 

[Vaultman]

I wrestled with this myself when I had to put my first dog down. I had little kids and that played a factor in my decision. I just didn't want to have to tell them that I "shot their dog". I really struggled with the "Do I do it, or take him to the vet" question. Once I decided, we told the kids and my son was asking me a bunch of questions. He was probably 10 y/o. Eventually I told him that he could come with me to the vet if he wanted, because I knew he would decline... I was wrong!

The day it was scheduled, I came home from work and opened the front door, and there was my son with the dog on the leash ready to go. I nearly started bawling right there. He went with, and I think he is glad he did. We both sat with the old dog while he got the iv and passed. I bawled... again.

Looking back, I am glad I did it that way. 100% the right decision.

 

[DuckDogDr]

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.

This .. being an outdoorsman sometimes crazy unpredictable things happen with bullets and live tissue.

Euthanasia in a controlled peaceful environment is the best way to do it. With an IV Cather and sedation prior. Can be done in home / familiar surroundings. Not that I’m suicidal in any means but when my time comes… wish I could go like a lot of my patients ..

Yes unfortunately as @LoggerDan pointed out it does cost.. especially if done at home for your vet to drive, cost of drugs is unfortunately the highest portion of that… blame the ever regulating alphabet soup agency of your choice .. but it is what it is. But if cost is all that matters to the above individual, dog likely isn’t getting baseline care it needs anyway.

Side note an off topic when I was in day practice used to piss me off the number of clients that would decline heartworm / flea and tick prevention because it “costs too much” then beg for help when they overdosed the dog on some google remedy … The lb of treatment and hospitalization and 10 meds needed to fix the pet was 10x as much… those “too expensive preventatives “ averaged (2) $ 12 packs of cokes a month


Buddy of 12-13 years deserves to go out sleeping , with his owner by his side …not watching his trusted companion point a gun at his head.

 

[NB7]

But if cost is all that matters to the above individual, dog likely isn’t getting baseline care it needs anyway.

Side note an off topic when I was in day practice used to piss me off the number of clients that would decline heartworm / flea and tick prevention because it “costs too much” then beg for help when they overdosed the dog on some google remedy … The lb of treatment and hospitalization and 10 meds needed to fix the pet was 10x as much… those “too expensive preventatives “ averaged (2) $ 12 packs of cokes a month

My wife manages a large vet practice. This is so true.

 

[grfox92]

While I don't look down on anyone for putting down their own dog, I personally could never shoot my own dog, if a vet was an option.



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[Coldtrail]

I recall one of the old timers I hunted with as a kid making the comment "the bullet is best for the dog, but the needle is what's best for us" meaning that as humans watching them go to sleep is easier on our brains than killing them ourselves with a gun.

A couple factors to keep in mind, if you have family the image of you putting a barrel to the head of your dog and pulling the trigger will be stuck in their brains as well as your own even if they didn't see it. For me personally as I get older I find that everything I kill, even a damn duck, stays in my brain a bit longer than it did at 20yrs old. I also through my job have put down hundreds of injured wild animals & have had a fair amount that were not an instant death and those resurface from time to time.

I don't look down on people that choose to do the deed themselves, but these days I'm just not there, and not sure I would want to take the chance of something going sideways & needing a second or third shot & having to have that reel resurface in my brain from time to time.

 

[ridgefire]

I just went thru this with my best buddy and I had him put down at the vet. It was very peaceful and I was able to hold him until his last breath. It is amazing how attached I was to him and miss I him daily.

 

[nnkboykin]

I've done both. Shot a dog to put him down (not my dog, but an injured and dying one) and I've taken them to the vet for the shot. Let me tell you. If it's a dog you care about, 1000 times my vote is for the vet. So much more peaceful. He dies with you holding him and telling him he's a good boy.... Great now someones cutting onions in here...

 

[rtaylor]

We just had our cat put down at the vet and I promised my wife we would never do that again. It was basically a half an hour of torture for the cat. My next one I'll make it quick and painless the way they deserve.

 

[grossklw]

I won't be able to do it, mine is only 7 but I know that we're probably past the halfway point of his life and I have thought about it some. He hates the vet, but I have no problem shelling out a few hundred bucks for the vet to come to our house to do it. I don't want my last memory of my friend putting a .22 round into the back of his head. I want him to see me and only me in his last moments on this earth. Christ- I spend more time with him than I do my kids or my wife and we've spent thousands of hours chasing pheasants together, I'm going to give him a peaceful death when the time comes and it isn't going to be violent.