phenomenon Sudden Death in Dogs

The tragic unexpected loss of a dog is always painful. Most of us don’t think of our dogs suddenly dying with no warning, but it does occur. Understanding what happened and how it happened are a significant part of closure to our loss.

• In a study of autopsies performed at Purdue University Small Animal Diagnostic Laboratory¹ over a five-year period, nearly 10 percent (112 cases) had been associated with sudden unexpected death. None of these dogs had a history of existing disease.
  Dog owners often jump to conclusions in these cases -- “Somebody poisoned my dog!” -- when in reality malicious poisonings are extremely uncommon and most of those suspected are inadvertent exposures. The causes found by pathologists involved:
  • Cardiac disease
  • Gastrointestinal disease
  • Unobserved trauma
  • Poisoning and infection (less common)
  A similar survey had been published in Canada and resulted in similar figures².
  Causes of Death
  Unfortunately, in spite of all efforts, some causes of death remain undetermined. However, it is always good to pursue a cause of death for your own peace of mind and to protect other pets.
  General causes of sudden death can be grouped according to the organ system involved:
  • Heart diseases
  • Cancer
  • Respiratory failure
  • Trauma
  • Acute infections
  Toxins may also be involved but no one toxin is more likely to have caused a dogs death than others.
  Purdue University Survey
  Here is a deeper look into some of the results from the Purdue University study.
  • Heart disease: Cardiovascular diseases including primary myocardial or heart muscle degeneration, necrosis, hypertrophy, fibrosis cardiac vascular disease, heart tumors, valvular/congenital anomalies and cardiomyopathies can lead to sudden death. Cardiac associated tumors include hemangiosarcomas but other cancers may be less apparent and can also be a cause. Primary cardiomyopathies represented about 6% of cases in the study and sudden deterioration of valvular disease that has been present for some time can lead to rapid death.
  • Gastrointestinal disease: Most gastrointestinal diseases result in death over a short amount of time, but are rarely sudden. Sudden cases of parvovirus with no clinical signs, intestinal torsion or volvulus all can result in a rapid deterioration and ultimate death.
  • Trauma: There were 9 out of 112 dogs that were found to have died from unobserved trauma. Even dogs confined to a fenced area might find their way to the street or fall from a height.
  • Respiratory diseases: Pneumonia, pyothorax and infiltrative diseases may

Read More