If your dog has just died, the first thing to do is phone your vet. If it is the middle of the night, ring the practice number anyway: most surgeries pass calls to an out-of-hours vet, who can tell you what to do next. After that, nothing has to happen quickly. You can sit with your dog for a while. The rest of this page is the practical side, one step at a time, for when you are ready to read it.
If you are not sure they have gone
Watch the chest for a full minute for any breathing. If you can't tell, or your dog has just had a seizure, phone the vet straight away and say so. A vet can confirm it, and it is not a silly question to ask.
Phone your vet
Your vet is the right first call whether your dog died at home, in the car or in the garden. They can confirm the death, keep your dog at the surgery for you, and arrange a cremation if you want one. Some will come to the house. If your dog died at the surgery, the same choices are open; you don't have to make them in the room.
It helps to have a pen nearby. You will be asked whether you want your dog's ashes back, and you can say you need a day to think.
Keeping your dog at home for a few hours
Many families want their dog at home for a little while, so that everyone can say goodbye, including children who are out at school. Pet Crematorium Services, a UK crematorium group, advises keeping the body in a cool room for no longer than 24 hours, and says the body usually starts to stiffen within three to four hours.
- Lay them on their side, on an old towel or blanket, with the legs drawn in a little, as if asleep. It is easier to do this in the first hour or two, and easier to carry them later.
- Put something underneath. A body can release fluid after death. That is normal, and a towel or puppy pad under them deals with it.
- Choose the coolest room in the house, away from radiators and sunny windows. Turn the heating down in there.
- Let the other animals see them, if you have another dog or a cat. Some owners find it helps; there's no rule either way.
Burial or cremation
These are the two choices, and you can take a day over them.
Burying your dog at home is legal across the UK on land you own. England's official guidance is plain that a pet needs no permission. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each put it their own way, and our guide to burying a pet at home quotes all four, along with what they say about depth.
Cremation is usually arranged by your vet, or you can ring a pet crematorium yourself; many will collect from your home. In an individual cremation your dog is cremated alone and the ashes come back to you. In a communal one they are cremated with other animals and the ashes are not returned. Ask the crematorium how long the ashes take, because it varies. Our pet cremation cost guide has two UK crematoria's published prices, and what to do with the ashes is there for later. There is no deadline for that part.
Two things to do before the cremation or burial
These are the only things on this page you can't do later. If you think you might want a clipping of fur or a paw print, take it now, or ask the vet or crematorium to do it; many offer both. Our page on pet memorial keepsakes covers both. Keep the collar and tag as well, even if you don't feel ready to look at them.
The records and the reminders
None of this is urgent, and it can wait until next week. It is still worth doing, because the reminders keep coming otherwise.
- The microchip. Tell the database your dog's chip is registered with. On Petlog, the Kennel Club's database, you log in and choose "Mark Pet as Deceased". If you don't know which database it is, your vet can tell you from the chip number.
- Your vet's reminders. If your dog died somewhere else, ask the practice to close the record, so the vaccination and check-up letters stop.
- Insurance. Let your insurer know, and ask whether any recent vet bills can still be claimed.
- Repeat deliveries. Food subscriptions, flea and worming parcels, a dog walker, a booked kennel. A short list on the fridge saves a hard surprise when the next box arrives.
If you need someone to talk to
The Blue Cross Pet Bereavement Support line costs nothing to call on 0800 096 6606. Someone answers between 8.30am and 8.30pm, seven days a week. You don't need a reason to ring, and it doesn't matter how long ago it happened. If there are children in the house, how to explain a pet's death to a child suggests words that fit each age.
Later on, when you want to think about remembering them, our pet memorial ideas page covers the whole range, and dog memorial portraits is where we make a painted portrait from a favourite photo of them. There's no rush for either.