Found one of our dogs dead

irishlady29

Looking for a bit of advice. Other half came home from work yesterday to find one of our dogs had died unexpectedly. Had a post mortem to rule out poisoning or anything sinister as we were concerned about our second dog getting sick. Turns out he died from a twisted gut. We are heartbroken.
I am wondering about our second dog. She has had him all her life, she's nearly 4. Wondering how will she cope without him and the company, Are there any do's or dont's.

cocker5

Im so so sorry to hear that OP what a dreadful shock to come home too :mad:

Thats just awful.

With regard to the twisted gut was the dog showing any signs of illness? usually they can vomit, cant sit down due to pain, stop eating, bloated torso etc

irishlady29

He was off form last week but nothing to cause concern.
No real signs. He was playing with his toys Sunday night. He did develop a cough similar to kennel cough on Sunday and was passing a bit of wind. Nothing out of the ordinary for him.
Yesterday morning he wasn't too interested in his breakfast, they are fed twice a day. He eventually ate it.
Vet suspects he was dead a good few hours. So I would think it was yesterday morning.
All very sudden and shocking. We are just heartbroken as he was such a great pet. He helped me through so much over the years. I'll miss him.

Meant to add a veterinary nurse looked him over Friday and thought he was fine. Very alert etc

Graces7

irishlady29 wrote: »

Looking for a bit of advice. Other half came home from work yesterday to find one of our dogs had died unexpectedly. Had a post mortem to rule out poisoning or anything sinister as we were concerned about our second dog getting sick. Turns out he died from a twisted gut. We are heartbroken.
I am wondering about our second dog. She has had him all her life, she's nearly 4. Wondering how will she cope without him and the company, Are there any do's or dont's.

Keep a close watch on the surviving dog and make a great fuss of her.

I was lucky when the collie died, with my other dog. Grief is a very real thing.

Big mac and fries

I am very sorry for your loss OP, something very similar happened to us last year and it broke our hearts. We decided to get a new puppy pretty much straight away as we were terrified that the other dog would not cope on her own. Thankfully it has worked out for her and for us, but looking back I think we were too quick to act. So all I would say is make a fuss with your dog and keep a close eye on her behavior but if you feel that she needs a new playmate, don't rush into it like we did

cocker5

irishlady29 wrote: »

He was off form last week but nothing to cause concern.
No real signs. He was playing with his toys Sunday night. He did develop a cough similar to kennel cough on Sunday and was passing a bit of wind. Nothing out of the ordinary for him.
Yesterday morning he wasn't too interested in his breakfast, they are fed twice a day. He eventually ate it.
Vet suspects he was dead a good few hours. So I would think it was yesterday morning.
All very sudden and shocking. We are just heartbroken as he was such a great pet. He helped me through so much over the years. I'll miss him.

Meant to add a veterinary nurse looked him over Friday and thought he was fine. Very alert etc

God thats shocking OP really sorry for your loss. fills me full of dread to be honest!

I hope your other dog is ok X

SillyMangoX

So sorry to hear about your dog Unfortunately with a twisting gut it can happen lightning quick, and sometimes even experienced owners have trouble spotting the signs, especially if it's subtle or if the dog is good at hiding their pain. Some breeds are prone to it, and sometimes it's just 'one of those things'.

Not that it's much help OP but I've attached a reference guide of symptoms for anyone interested.

I hope you and your other pup are okay

irishlady29

SillyMangoX wrote:

So sorry to hear about your dog Unfortunately with a twisting gut it can happen lightning quick, and sometimes even experienced owners have trouble spotting the signs, especially if it's subtle or if the dog is good at hiding their pain. Some breeds are prone to it, and sometimes it's just 'one of those things'.

SillyMangoX wrote:

Not that it's much help OP but I've attached a reference guide of symptoms for anyone interested.

SillyMangoX wrote:

I hope you and your other pup are okay

Thanks for info. It's good to highlight it. Unfortunately our guy didn't show many if any of the symptoms. Bit of a cough on Sunday, similar to kennel cough and a bit windy but that wouldn't be out of character.
Just wondering when would you think it'll "hit" the other dog? There's no bother on her at the moment. I took a half day from work so she wouldn't have had to spend the full day by herself. Was greeted by the happiest dog when I came home. She doesn't appear to be stressed or missing him.

DBB

irishlady29 wrote: »

Thanks for info. It's good to highlight it. Unfortunately our guy didn't show many if any of the symptoms. Bit of a cough on Sunday, similar to kennel cough and a bit windy but that wouldn't be out of character.
Just wondering when would you think it'll "hit" the other dog? There's no bother on her at the moment. I took a half day from work so she wouldn't have had to spend the full day by herself. Was greeted by the happiest dog when I came home. She doesn't appear to be stressed or missing him.

Take it as it comes OP... you might be surprised that she deals with it all really well. But there's no way to tell when it will hit her, if it hits her at all. Just keep a close eye over the coming days and try to keep her days as full as you can :0
I'm so sorry to learn what happened to your other dog. How awful for you. I'm sure you're feeling quite shell-shocked yourself

Dial Hard

DBB wrote:

Take it as it comes OP... you might be surprised that she deals with it all really well. But there's no way to tell when it will hit her, if it hits her at all. Just keep a close eye over the coming days and try to keep her days as full as you can :0 I'm so sorry to learn what happened to your other dog. How awful for you. I'm sure you're feeling quite shell-shocked yourself

I'm so sorry to hear that OP.

Was your other dog at home when it happened? My vet told us under circumstances that dogs cope and understand a lot better if they were there when it happened as opposed to the other dog just leaving the house one day and never coming back (as with a sick dog going to the vet to be put to sleep).

As others have said, just keep an eye on her and love her to bits and if you want to think about getting another dog, do it when you guys are ready as well as her.

Hope you're all ok.

Dial Hard

*Under similar circumstances

Sorry, can't edit on the app.

irishlady29

Thanks you all for your replies.
Yes they were both out in the garden and she would have been with him when he died.
When my OH came home yesterday and found him, she just picked up the ball to play! She didn't appear to be stressed or upset. Even today she seems OK. She isn't as playful, she had lost her buddy to play with. But she engages with us when we play with her.
We still have his bed and collar out and there's his hair all over the place. Maybe she feels he is still here from his scent.
I'm only guessing. Will keep my eye on her. Very sad house here tonight.....

So sorry Irishlady.

careful_now

So sorry for your loss 😔