Things to Do With Your Dog Before They Die: A Gentle List

The best things to do with your dog before they die are the ones they already love, made small enough for the body they have now: a slow walk where they choose the way, a visit from their favorite person, a long nap in the sun beside you. Record the sounds you will miss, write down a few stories, and ask your vet how to keep them comfortable while you do it.

Start with your dog, and with your vet

When time is short, it is tempting to plan something big. A beach they have never seen, a mountain, a party. For most old or ill dogs, that is more than they want. What they want is what they have always wanted, with less effort.

So start with two lists. What your dog loves, and what your dog can still do comfortably. The things that are on both are your list.

For the second one, talk to your vet early. The American Animal Hospital Association's 2023 Senior Care Guidelines say vets should offer palliative care when a pet has a serious, progressive illness: a plan for pain and symptoms, and for what to do on a bad day. The same guidelines say this kind of care lets families care for their pet, spend quality time with them and deal with grief that arrives early. That is what this page is about: the quality time.

If your dog still has some energy

On a good day, a short outing can still be a real event. Keep it shorter than you would have done a year ago, go in the cooler part of the day, and have a way to head home early. PDSA notes that older dogs cope less well with very hot or very cold weather, and that a dog who lies down on a walk needs to rest.

• Let them choose the walk. At every corner, they pick the direction. When they stop to smell something, wait until they are finished. Ten minutes is enough.
• Go back to a place that is yours. The park from the first summer, the street from the old flat, the field where they first ran flat out.
• Watch a sunrise or a sunset outside together. Bring a blanket for them to lie on and a coat if they feel the cold.
• Have a picnic in the shade, with their own food packed from home.
• Spend an afternoon on their favorite thing. The ball, the water, the brushing. With anything physical, stop while they would still carry on.
• Take the window seat drive. Choose the road with fields or water instead of the fast one, keep their usual harness or crate, and open the window a crack.

These come from the first part of our book, where activity 02 is Give Them Their Perfect Day: build one day only from things your dog has already proved they love. Nothing new, nothing ambitious. For many dogs near the end, that means a short walk, a long nap in the sun and company all afternoon.

Things to do with your dog at home before they die

Many dogs in their last weeks or months have little energy left. You can still fill the days. Bring the world to them.

1. Sit on the floor with them for an hour. No phone, no plan. Be where they are.
2. Brush them slowly for as long as they enjoy it.
3. Open a window near their bed so they can smell the outside.
4. Move their bed into the sun, or to the room where everyone is.
5. Play a scent game lying down: hide a few pieces of their usual food in a rolled towel and let them nose them out, if your vet is happy with treats.
6. Talk to them. Tell them the old stories. They know your voice better than anything.
7. Make their space comfortable. The AAHA guidelines suggest well-padded bedding, rugs on slippery floors and keeping a dog's resting area close to the door, and the RSPCA suggests keeping food, water and bedding within easy reach.

Ask your vet before giving special foods. Some human foods are dangerous for dogs, and the ASPCA lists grapes, raisins, onion, garlic, chocolate and xylitol among them. A dog on a special diet or medication may need even more care.

Special things to do with your dog before they die

Some of the best things on the list involve people.

Invite their favorite person. There is usually someone your dog greets differently: a friend, a neighbour, a grandparent, the dog sitter. Ask them over for an afternoon and tell them why.

Recreate an old photo. Find one of the early pictures and take it again: same sofa, same doorway, same angle. If you would like more ideas for pictures that suit a tired dog, see our guide to a senior dog photoshoot.

Write down their story while they are beside you. The day you met, the first day home, every nickname, the funniest thing they ever did, the trouble they caused. It is easier to write with the dog asleep across the room than later. Our guide to writing a letter to your dog is a gentle place to start.

Things to make with your dog before they die

A few small keepsakes can be made now, while your dog is relaxed and with you.

• A paw print. Use a pet paw-print kit and follow its instructions. Do it when they are half-asleep on the floor, press gently and briefly, and stop if they pull away. Write the date on the back, with their weight and height.
• A nose print, only with a product made for it, keeping well clear of the nostrils and eyes. Plenty of dogs will not sit for it, and that is fine. A close-up photo of the nose is a complete record too.
• A little fur. Next time you brush them, keep a pinch of what comes out of the brush and put it in an envelope with the date. Shed fur only; never cut it for this.
• A photo of the collar and tag, worn patch and all.

These are activities 41 to 44 in One Day, You'll Miss This. If your dog is sore, unsettled or simply not in the mood, skip them. None is worth a struggle.

Sounds to record while you still can

People rarely say they miss the big trip. They say they miss the sound of claws on the kitchen floor. Record these now, each in a minute or two.

• Their footsteps crossing a hard floor, phone held low. Do not call them.
• Their breathing while they sleep: two minutes, phone on the floor beside them, television off.
• The greeting at the door, filmed from your side before the key turns.
• Their voice: the groan as they lie down, the sigh, the bark that means "someone is outside".

There is a practical reason too. The AAHA guidelines suggest owners take videos of older pets moving around at home, because it helps the vet see changes in how they move. Keep all the clips in one folder, named, not scattered through your phone.

A bucket list for a terminally ill dog: keep it small

When a dog is terminally ill, a long list can turn into pressure. Choose three or four things. Do the easiest one first, today or tomorrow, rather than saving it for a better day that may not come.

Plan for good days rather than one perfect day. Keep a short list on the fridge and pick from it when your dog is bright. On a bad day, the list is the floor list above, or nothing at all except company.

Your vet can help you plan the rest: what comfort looks like for your dog, what to watch for and when to call. That conversation can feel impossible to start. It is still worth having early, while there is time to act on it: the AAHA guidelines advise that the first palliative care visit happen early in an illness.

If your dog is old rather than ill, our wider senior dog bucket list has more ideas sorted by energy, and our list of fun things to do with your senior dog covers gentle games.

Looking after yourself in the meantime

Caring for a dog near the end is tiring. The AAHA guidelines say plainly that it takes time, patience, money and emotional and often physical stamina, and they count caregiver support as part of good senior care. Let other people help with walks, vet trips and night-time.

It is also normal to grieve before your dog has gone, sometimes for weeks. That has a name, and our page on anticipatory grief for a dog explains it. The small things on this page will not take that feeling away, but they give the days a shape. If you want to gather what you record and write into one place, our dog memory book ideas show how.