How to tell a 3 y/o that the dog is being put down?

[Firefighter Z]

So how do you tell a 3 year old that your dog is being put down today?

My Daughter is really attavhed to him.

[PureSound15]

So how do you tell a 3 year old that your dog is being put down today?

My Daughter is really attavhed to him.

1 of the 3928 FW emails my lady will send me today...


A Dog's Purpose? (from a 6-year-old).

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker 's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.

The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's Death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives.
Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, ''I know why.''

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation. It has changed the way I try and live..

He said,''People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?'' The Six-year-old continued, ''Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.''


Seemed pretty good, actually.

[Moparjim]

I am usually not one to advocate lying/sugarcoating things for the kids since they need to learn to deal with life's troubles but 3 is pretty darn young. I would give her the "he's going to live on a farm" story or something like that.

[Slow Joe]

When I was 4 my dog got hit by a car, while I was watching. I watched my Dad (who was extremely attached to the dog) hold him in his arms as he died. We burried him in the back yard (which I think is illegal today) and gave him a little vigil. Sad, yes. But it helped 10 years down the road when another dog we had died.

[juicedimpss]

I feel for you ,I will be having the same conversation real soon,my dog was diagnosed with bone cancer this week.

[Slow Joe]

I was just telling Kristie about this, her being a Psychology major said that in her Death and Dying class they spoke of how you have to address the situation and not sugar coat it. It will be worse in the long run if you don't use words like "passed on" and "died" and if you don't explain the situation.

[Crawlin]

I feel for you ,I will be having the same conversation real soon,my dog was diagnosed with bone cancer this week.

Awww no....

Honestly, there is no right or wrong way. I think 3 is pretty young for them to understand what's happening if you bring them in on the procedure.

If you do decide to involve them, maybe an explanation of "the pup needs to go home to take care of its parents" or something.

Chris

[OxmanWI]

A 3 year old might not understand what's going on, but try the best you can to explain it to them. Doggy heaven?


Death will someday be a part of our children's lives, weather it's at a younger age or later in life. I think we have to teach it to our children so that they understand it and respect it at a young age (not at 3) so that they are ready for it later in life. Makes them stronger, builds character. You see these parents shielding their children away from the reality of death and when they grow up they're not even ready for it, hurts even more.

[gottwins?]

Im not sure if I want to be a child psychologist or a social worker yet but I am in the field...

A 3 year old is to young of an age to try to spoon feed the idea of death, period. If anything it will have negative impacts. Every child develops differently so the age of when you should let them know about it is really up to the parent. In most cases though it should be done around the time when the concepts of life are being taught to them...sometime around the 2nd, 3rd grade maybe?

As for your situation, like someone stated....the farm idea, or that the dog is moving away to california :rolf

But seriously, just make something up thats somewhat credible....kids, even that young can sense extreme bullshit lol.

[Firefighter Z]

Well I ended up going myself, Jess stayed behind with my Daughter...

The Vet said that he was in bad shape and may have had a couple days left cause he had very low blood pressure etc, etc.

We probably won't get another dog until we get a house.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys!

[Yooformula]

my 3 year old knew damm well what was going on! we told him she was sick and that she was going to sleep up in dog heaven. that day and the next day the kids drew pictures of our dog and made cards for her and we made some picture collages of her and the kids. we were all at the vet and let the kids say goodbye. it will hurt for them for a while no way around it but we tried to make it as pleasant as it could be. we had her cremated and they helped picked the urn holder and the kids got to pick where it went.

[michelle]

I'm sorry to hear you had to put your dog down. ):

[TraceDaddy]

Our 3 year old handled it very well. We didn't have to put her down though. She got free from the electronic fence and someone brought her home and layed her by the garage where we found her. We talked about "Doggie Heaven" and that she could now play with Kamei (A cat we had that passed away the year before.) Trace layed one of his blankets over her head before we buried her so "Dirt wouldn't get in her eyes". We marked the spot with a couple stones. 2 years ago when we had to put Margaret down we had her cremated and planted her ashes with a tree in the yard so he could give her a hug whenever he wanted.