Does a dog feel pain during euthanasia?

Question

I had to perform euthanasia on my dog after he was diagnosed with lung cancer, when the vet was inejcting him he screamed very loud. The vet said he did not suffer and that about 50% of the dogs would scream. I have put another dog to sleep in the past but this one did not scream. Is it normal for them to scream during euthanasia or did he feel any pain?

Thanks everybody for their answers and support. Yes, it is a very difficult time for me, so it really mean a lot to me your kind response. The dog was injected in the leg, and he did not receive Morphine before the injection. It really broke my heart to hear him scream so loud, but I trust to God that he did not suffer.
Thanks to all.

Answer 1

The only pain the dog feels is the skin prick when the needle enters the skin....no different than if we're drawing blood or inducing anesthesia for a surgical procedure.

Have you ever been given a general anesthetic and they told you to count backwards from 100? You know how you only get to 99 or 98, then the next thing you know you're awake again and the surgery is over? You felt no pain during that countdown did you? We give the same drugs to dogs that work the same way. Except instead of letting them wake up, we give them an overdose that quickly (usually less than 60 seconds) stops their heart, their breathing, and their brain.

Some dogs 'scream' after they have lost consciousness, and that's a result of the body not wanting to let go. It's a neurological thing. But they're not aware that they're doing it. (People undergoing anesthesia occasionally do the same thing, but have no memeory of it.)
EDIT: Chetco's "pushing a scream button" analogy is an excellent explanation.

It is unpredictable in dogs. Some do it, others don't. In my experience, it's not as high as 50%, however. Maybe 20-30%. When I euthanize pets, I'll often give a very heavy sedative in advance, so they can gradually go to sleep and lose consciousness (but still be alive and breathing peacefully) in their owners' arms. That way, the owners can have have as their last memory a few minutes of peaceful sleep by their pet (as long as they want), rather than the pain of whatever condition they had that caused the euthanasia to be necessary. When done that way, they almost never give that last neurological/vocalization reflex. (But that doesn't mean the other way is wrong, either.)

You might want to request that if you ever have to have another pet euthanized. None of us will ever know for *sure* until we die ourselves, but I feel confident that your pet felt no pain.

My heartfelt condolences on your loss. May memories of happier times help heal the hole in your heart.

Answer 2

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RE:
Does a dog feel pain during euthanasia?
I had to perform euthanasia on my dog after he was diagnosed with lung cancer, when the vet was inejcting him he screamed very loud. The vet said he did not suffer and that about 50% of the dogs would scream. I have put another dog to sleep in the past but this one did not scream. Is it normal...

Answer 3

How Does Euthanasia Work

Answer 4

I am so sorry for your loss. I've been through this many times myself, for dogs and cats, and it's never easy. Don't even try. A good vet will understand and you don't have to be embarrassed about crying or sobbing. The most important thing is that you be there for your friend to the very last breath. Talk to her during her last moments and tell her that you love her and that you'll see her again someday. You will find yourself trying to hold back the tears "for her" and then you'll probably really let go after it's over, and that's PERFECTLY OKAY. There is no reason why you have to be strong, because anyone who overhears you will totally understand, and if they don't, TOO BAD!!! Good luck, and remember to let yourself grieve afterwards as much as you want and whenever it's needed. Know that SHE KNOWS that you are doing what is best for her. Again, I am so sorry for your loss.

Answer 5

How do we really know for sure? We can only surmise from the physical aspects the animal experiences during euthanasia. Since I work in a shelter I have performed euthanasia too many times, but I have never had an animal scream. The dog should have been given a pre-euthanasia drug in which case the dog wouldn't have felt any thing because it would have been under anesthetic. So I don't know what your vet was using or doing.

Answer 6

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After I started training my dog, he became very attached to me and loves to stay by side as long as he can. But just going to them won't help. You have to practice what they teach you outside of the class and you need to keep up with it at least every now and then after the class ends otherwise they'll just go back to previous habits. This course is a really good place to go for dog obedience classes. It get's your dog around other people and dogs to socialize while getting the training you need. As for electric collars, I would say to not get one. In my experience, they're only a negative effect on your dog. I mean of course you're going to need to correct your dog, but being positive and encouraging your dog works a lot faster and easier.

Every dog is different, so unless you have a german shepherd or a really smart dog, it might take a while to train her. You might get frustrated with her, but go easy. She's still a puppy and has a lot of energy. A backyard or somewhere to run will help her get rid of a lot of energy that might cause her to misbehave from boredom.

Answer 7

Dogs are one of the most common pets world wide. Because of this, it makes sense that there are many different dog training methods out there. Unfortunately, most of these training methods are less than ideal to use for your pet.

Because of all of these differing dog training methods out there, many new pet owners get confused which to follow and even start using methods that are highly inaccurate or counter-productive for their pets. This article will show you the top three dog training methods that you should avoid like the plague!

Method 1: Using Punishment as Training

You'd be surprised how many pet owners use punishment as their "bread and butter" for obedience training. Unfortunately, as with bread and butter, this is one of those dog training methods that is very "unhealthy" for both you and your pet.

Think about it. When you punish anything, whether it's a dog or a human being, you're using negative energy. It's like you're a dictator and your pet is your slave. This is a very negative relationship between both and will only lead to problems in the future.

You want to establish a positive, loving relationship with your dog. Punishment is NOT how to do it. There are much more effective training approaches out there that work much better.

Method 2: The "One Person in the House Trains the Dog" Method

I couldn't think of a more creative title so I just named it the most descriptive title! Basically this is one of those common dog training methods that people follow without even realizing it! Here's a common scenario:

There is one dog and multiple people in the house that play with, feed, and take care of the dog. Out of those many people, only one actually trains the dog to listen and obey them. The others merely play with the dog.

This dynamic is highly ineffective if you are serious about training your dog. The reason is that only one person training a dog, no matter how great their training skills are, will not get the dog to listen to everybody. The dog will realize that it needs to behave around one person, but know that the other people don't care. Dogs are smart! They know who the "dominant" people are and who they can get away with more "mischief" with.

I've seen this problem happen with many pet owners where they try really hard to train their pet but cannot achieve any results. The reason is often that while one person is trying to train their pet to not do one thing, the other people in the house are actually rewarding the very thing!

An example of this is when dogs jump on people. This is not good behavior and one person could be training them to stop this. At the same time, another family member may think it's cute and pet and cuddle them after they do this. What's a dog to think when different reactions happen with different people?

Method 3: Following No Dog Training Methods - Using Intuition

I know many pet owners that think that because they have children and successfully raised them that they can get their dog to listen to them as well! Aside from the big ego, this approach assumes that dogs learn exactly the same way that humans learn.

While this is true to some extent, dogs are dogs and people are people. Different approaches are needed for different animals. While they may be more subtle than training a giraffe, they are still there and have a big impact on the results you'll see.

It is important to understand exactly what you are teaching your pets to do and not to do. If you don't, you may very well end up doing things counter-productive.

The best solution to this is to pick up a book or go find some training course out there that has a depth of coverage on the topic.

Other Poor Methods of Approach

If you've been trying to train your dog for a few weeks now and haven't seen any real results then I'm pretty sure that you're following a "Method to Avoid" approach. While I only listed three methods, there are thousands of other approaches that don't work. Take the results that you are getting as a signal if you are using a good method or a poor one. If you haven't seen any good results from your approach, move on and try another one.

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Answer 8

My dog felt the pain and was terrorized before her death she had that frightened look on her face! she didn t even know the vet was there at my home, she was blind and peacefully sleeping on my chest till they stuck the needle in. They told me at couple of hours before that she didn t need a sedative because she was mostly out! yet in the back of my mind I felt like I should do it anyway, but I was so distraught I just went on trust but she yelled and she was in pain!! I will never get that out of my head and feel guilty for the rest of my life.

Answer 9

I have assisted in several euthanasias and never had a dog scream....but a couple cats did yowl. Most of the time it is a very calm, quiet procedure, but different animals react differently. I don't think your dog felt any great pain...perhaps he was reacting to the needle piercing his skin. Was your dog pre-anesthetized? Sometimes people do this to calm the animal beforehand so they are kind of out of it during the whole process. Someone mentioned morphine???? Never heard of a vet giving that to an animal in my life even though worked as a vet tech for 12 years! For people maybe...but not animals.

Answer 10

My parents dog, during the dying process , yelped over and over.. This was NOT during injection but after. I was unprepared for that and the tears streamed harder. I dont think there is a way to know for sure that the dog feels no pain but I do know she was suffering before that difficult choice, so we tried to do what was best.

Answer 11

Sometimes dogs vocalize when they are being put down. Euthanasia is a painless experience similar to being put under sedation. If you have ever been put under(I have) sometimes there is a stinging in your wrist that causes pain for a split second, but then its lights out.

I assisted in many of these in the past, and I would say that maybe 5% screamed or vocalized when they were put down. But your vet didn't do anything wrong. And don't beat yourself up about this. Believe me, this death was way better than the alternative...

There are many things that animals do when they are euthanized. The vet that I worked for recommended that the owners not be in the room for this reason. But if they insisted, we always warned them of the possibilities. This is a common problem...