Putting to sleep - question

Hello folks,

I'm new and I would like a bit of input if anyone has the time to chip in with some help/advice please.

I had my gorgeous girl put to sleep at home because she hated the vets. Anyway, the vet that arrived and said that she would just 'go to sleep and not wake up',which is what my wife and I expected as well.

So what happened was that as he injected and took off the tourniquet, my doggy dropped her head almost immediately, but instead of going to sleep, in the next few seconds, she went into a massive convulsion arching her back for about five seconds - crapped diarrhea all over our expensive rug, then her diaphragm started involuntarily convulsing - the vet said that she had already gone to sleep by then, but she finally stopped moving a good 15 seconds later.

She had also bitten her lip, which caused blood to stain the carpet too.

Oh my God. My wife and I were inconsolable, what we had witnessed has haunted us, and I'm only able to write about this after two weeks. The vet let himself out.

Is this normal? I feel that it was the duty of the vet to tell us of the potential of this, we needed to do it, but at least we could have been prepared physically and mentally, my wife said she would have left the room for it. We were expecting her to literally go to sleep and that be it.

Anyway, do you guys think that I should have a stiff word now that we've got over the emotion of it, what would you do? I feel that even if it saves someone elses carpet, then its worth it.
Thanks in advance

Andy

Hi Andy, sorry to hear about your experience with euthanasia of your dog.

There is a thread in our Gone But Not Forgotten section that you might want to read: Having dogs pts, the things we don't want to talk about.

Unfortunately, sometimes a dog can react badly to the injection, but I would expect a vet to tell me beforehand so I am fully prepared.

Hopefully others will chime in as I've never had to go through it myself (my dog died a couple of years ago while fitting).

Sorry for your loss, and welcome to Dogsey - I hope you can find some solace here with fellow dog lovers.

Oh you poor thing I'm sorry you had to go through this

Euthanasia is never an easy decision for us to make and when we are unprepared for what can happen it can often leave us wondering if we made the right choice.

The one thing I can assure you is that your beautiful girl would not have been in any pain, stress or discomfort. Your vet is quite right that by the time these 'reactions' happened, she would have been unconscious.

Often after passing, animals (and humans) will often give large 'gasps' which is characterised by the movement of their whole chest and abdomen - also known as agonal breathing, and can happen for a few minutes afterwards. This is a reflex that happens after the heart has stopped.

The passing of urine and faeces is also a normal event after passing, as all of the sphincter muscles relax.

So in answer to your question, yes these reactions are normal, but should your vet have pre warned you that these things can happen? Yes I feel they should have done. As I said before, letting our beloved pets go is hard enough as it is, and being unprepared for these reactions will only make the experience more distressing.

As has been said already the passing of urine and faeces is normal, not only in animals but in humans as well, have never experienced the convulsions, all my girls did go to sleep, although Tawney did do the gasping, this is the body shutting down, I held her in my arms till she was still, thats all I could do for her at that stage, if she was 'there' at all, I was there with her, with my face against hers talking to her.
You've been very fortunate never to have experienced any of this before. I've had new born puppies die in my arms, I've had puppies born dead, I've fought for some to survive, and they have, I've lost horses as well and although the grief you feel is no different, you are more prepared having been through it before and knowing what to expect.
I have always had old sheets etc under them if they've passed at home, because I know the muscles go, if it has been at the vets then it is easily cleaned up. Couldn't care less about the carpet to be honest, that can always clean up, your best friend can never come back

Hello Andy , what a terrible experience it must have been for you and not the way to remember your lovely girl

I have seen a number of dogs put to sleep over the years (some in my arms) and each time it has involved an intravenous injection of barbiturate into the leg and instant peaceful unconsciousness.

However, I am aware that there are occasionally instances when dogs can react in different ways to the drugs used although they will have been unconscious and oblivious to any reaction.

My current vet actually uses a sedative first before administering the final injection and I understand this reduces the chance of an unpleasant reaction

I hope you can put this incident behind you in time and remember better days with you little dog.

Welcome to Dogsey Andy.
I'm sorry your first post is such a heartbreaking one Haven't been through it myself and Untill I joined Dogsey I wasn't aware that any of these reactions were possible.I always thought a dog just drifted off peacefully and in the majority of cases they probably do.I cried reading about your experience with your lovely girl but I'm also glad you shared it.I think we all should know what CAN happen,so we're prepared,not left in a state of shock,and can go on to grieve.Thankyou for sharing(( hugs))
Run free sweet girl xx

When my captain was put down, the vet administered what he believed to be the fatal dose, but my captain hung on and wouldn't let go. He injected him again and it still took about 10 minutes for him to finally pass away. He passed out instantly from the first injection though, it just took ages for his heart to stop, he didn't suffer to death.

I have heard of horrible reactions before, though. These reactions can happen, as can panic when the dog feels himself dying. If that happens, the dog will become terrified and panic. If the vet does not administer it in the proper doses and time frame or doesn't get it right into the vein, the dog will feel himself dying.

Sorry about this, my dog did release tons of gas upon dying, it is very normal.

Dear G-d, I'm so sorry you had to go through that. As a loving dog owner and American I would have already started the motion to sue the vet. It's against the law to let criminals suffer for pity's sake. Letting a beloved pet suffer is negligence.

We always ask for a sedative injection first, after a terrible experience many years ago. It means the dog is almost asleep before the bigger injection is given. We also always go to the vet as they have everything to hand should anything go wrong. For us it's a bit like home births they sound good in theory but if something goes wrong you really appreciate the hospital.

I am sorry you went through this but believe me it could have been worse I still 20 years later can't talk about Trixie's experience it was so horrific.

I've never had a bad experience with a dog being put to sleep, I've read plenty of horror stories but that's never how it's been for us. I always have it done at the vets, never at home, even though one was done at 10.30 pm. It's just easier all round as Julie says the vet has everything to hand should anything untoward happen and as my dogs are cremated the vet would have to take the body anyway. I can understand you may have been mortified at the way it happened but seriously carpets and rugs can be cleaned or replaced so hardly worth a mention.