My Dog Died Suddenly With Their Tongue Out

Some dog deaths occur when they are in old age or after a long illness, others may be the result of a sudden accident. Sometimes a dog's death is so sudden it appears to have no obvious cause. For this reason, we need to look at the evidence. The state of the dog's body postmortem is one of the most important factors.

For the most accurate cause of death, we need to seek veterinary advice. They may be able to diagnose the cause of death via examination of their clinical presentation and assessing their medical history. If they cannot determine this using these methods, they may be able to carry out a necropsy. This is the same as an autopsy for humans and sometimes the terms are used interchangeably.

While a necropsy is the most effective way to determine the cause of a dog's death, it can remain inconclusive. It can also be a costly expense. This is a prohibitive expense for many guardians. In the US, only around 21.4% of dogs are necropsied in veterinary teaching hospitals^[1]. This will be much lower in small animal practices.

If a necropsy is not feasible, their postmortem presentation may help to provide an answer. This can be the dog dying with their eyes open, having released feces and/or urine, or dying suddenly with their tongue out. If your dog has died with their tongue sticking out, it may be due to one of the following reasons:

• Trauma: traffic collisions are a common cause of sudden death in dogs, as are trauma sustained from animal attacks^[2]. Such trauma can affect the body in a multitude of ways, whether placing them in an awkward position or even damaging their tissues until they are barely recognizable. In these cases, we are likely able to see other signs of trauma in addition to their tongue sticking out.
• Flaccidity: when the dog dies, their muscles may become relaxed and flaccid. This can result in their tongue protruding from their mouths. This is even more likely in dogs which have a tendency to have their tongue hanging out, something which is influenced by breed.
• Death position: whatever the cause of death, a dog's tongue sticking out may simply be due to the awkward position they find themselves in when they die.
• Nervous system damage: whether due to trauma, disease or other causes, it is possible the dog's nervous system may be damaged at the point of death. This can result in the animal sticking out their tongue because their brain is malfunctioning and sending incorrect signals.
• Neurological damage: similar to a loss of control over the nervous system, there are neurological conditions which can result in the dog sticking their tongue out. A common example is when a dog experiences seizures due to epilepsy.

It is important to remember that a tongue sticking out is a common sign in postmortem presentation in dogs. This can make it difficult to determine the exact cause, so it is important to look at other signs which may indicate a cause of death.

Learn about the signs a dog is going to die with our related article.

If your dog dies suddenly with their tongue hanging out, there is no medical reason to force it back in. Their death is irreversible and doing so will not provide any help. If the dog has died some time ago, rigor mortis will have set in. This is a stiffening of the muscles which makes them difficult to manipulate. Trying to force their tongue back in could be a traumatic experience at this point.

There may be aesthetic reasons why you would want to place the tongue back into the dog's mouth. As part of your grieving process, you will likely look at the animal to say goodbye. Placing the tongue back into the mouth might help you to better remember them.

Whether a dog died suddenly with their tongue out, their mouth open or in any physical state, it can he helpful to determine the cause. It will not bring them back to life. For this reason, we will need to start the grieving process. Too many people minimize the death of a beloved animal. Managing your grief in this context can be difficult, so there are some important steps to help you:

• Seek to understand what happened: determining the cause can provide some peace of mind. It can help us answer questions such as whether their death could have been avoided and how we handled the situation. It can also help to provide useful advice when caring for our dogs in the future. Not doing so can hinder the grieving process because we focus on unanswered questions. Even if we cannot determine the reason our dog died with their tongue hanging out or their eyes open, knowing we tried all we could can provide solace.
• Allow yourself to grieve: once we have determined to the best of our ability the cause of death, we can begin to overcome this sad period. Grief is a pain which everyone can only navigate using the tools at their disposal. Take advantage and allow yourself to grieve.
• Find your way to say goodbye: how a person recovers from the death of a dog depend on the individual. Some will need some time before they can welcome in another animal to their lives, others may want to adopt immediately. Some may want to have some sort of ceremony, such as scattering their ashes somewhere which was meaningful to you and your dog.
• Seek professional help: while grieving can be difficult, it is a natural process and you will eventually need to move on. This doesn't mean forgetting the animal, but it does mean accepting they are no longer with us. If you are struggling to reach this stage, contacting a mental health professional may be the best course of action.

If we know our dog is about to die, making them feel secure in their last moments is paramount. Learn more about this process with our guide to palliative care in dogs.

If you want to read similar articles to My Dog Died Suddenly With Their Tongue Out, we recommend you visit our Basic care category.