Backyard Burial Tip: When burying a pet, don't do so in a shallow grave. Be sure to have at least two feet of soil on top of the body. You want the grave deep enough so that other animals cannot smell the pet's scent.
The general rule of thumb is to bury your dog at a depth of at least three feet or 1 meter below ground, which helps prevent scavengers from digging up the grave and also helps prevent the odor from reaching the surface.
The strong smell comes from the dead tissue, as a result of being particularly unpleasant and toxic. If an animal is not buried under proper conditions, it is very likely that the smell will affect the residents' quality of life near the burial site.
While some pet owners will bury their pet in a wood or metal box, it is recommended that you place the body in a biodegradable burial container. A wood pet casket is fine as long as it is made with more biodegradable materials. A cardboard coffin is an environmentally friendly option for burying a pet.
It is a good idea to wait 2-3 hours after death before burying your pet, to be sure of their demise. Once rigor mortis has set in you can go ahead with the burial. Sometimes the burial can't take place right away. Maybe you are waiting for a family member to come home or for a coffin to arrive.
It is legal to bury a pet in the backyard of the owner's property. However, in other states, it may be illegal. In fact, in some states, it is illegal to bury any animal— this includes pets and pet burials on private property.
Wrap Your Pup's Body
Wrap your dog's remains in a sheet, blanket, or other disposable item for burial. Some pup parents opt for using their dog's favorite blanket with a toy tucked inside, but this is entirely up to you.
DON'T leave your pet on carpet or a sofa.
Their body may begin to expel fluids as the muscles relax, which may cause stains. Move your pet's body to a cold stone floor, in a garage or utility room, as this will keep it cool.
The first person you should call is your vet. If they don't have the facilities to handle your dog's body as you wish they will be able to direct you to someone who does. If there is a Pet cemetery in your area, they are also usually able to make collections.
Considerations for Burying Your Pet
Cremains are much safer to bury, and they will not contaminate the environment or harm other animals. Depth: Make sure you bury your pet deep enough that other animals and floodwaters cannot unearth them. If you have not cremated your pet, plan to bury them at least 3 feet deep.
This means that odors will eventually seep through the material through tiny microscopic holes, allowing your pooch to catch a scent. But containers made from metal or glass are non-porous and will keep all odors inside when vacuum sealed.
Ultimately, we don't really have a way of knowing if dogs understand death or what they sense near their humans' graves. We can't just ask them, and it's very difficult to come up with a reliable way to experiment and quantify their grief scientifically, much less comprehend how intricate it may be.
The body will start to decompose fairly quickly, usually within a day, so you want to bury the body as soon as possible. If you need to keep the body in your home, you can take a few steps to keep it from decomposing. You can wrap the body and put in the refrigerator, though you still want to take action within a day.
The team then studied the dogs' return journeys to their owners—and it might be no surprise to learn that many dogs used their powerful noses to navigate, with almost 60 percent of them following their outbound route by tracing their own scent.
How deep should the hole be? The rule of thumb is to have at least 3 feet of dirt covering the top of the body. For a large dog, a 4 foot deep hole should suffice. Too shallow a grave will allow animals to dig up the remains and these remains are toxic to them.
Don't say “Now you can get a new pet!” Any version of “When are you getting a new puppy?” or “Let's get you another kitten” is in very poor taste (and timing). Grief is normal and needs to happen before people can heal enough to invest their time, love and energy into another pet.
But does your dog understand the depth of love you have for him or her? According to Dr. Brian Hare, a canine cognition specialist, our dogs do know we love them. Dogs and humans have the ability to form a special neural connection.
When your pet passes away and you choose cremation for processing their remains, the microchip will remain in their bodies throughout the process and be incinerated during the cremation.
According to numerous studies in the field of spiritual psychology, dogs do certainly have souls. Once they form a relationship with a person, the dog's soul joins that person's soul and, after death, follows that person there.
Your dog will hardly know what happened and will simply start to feel pleasantly drowsy. You will notice that I said “Your vet will hopefully prepare an anaesthetic or sedative injection for your dog”. Some do not. Having seen it done both ways, the “two injection” method is definitely my preference.
If you decide to bury your pet, wrap their body in a biodegradable material, like a cotton pillowcase, towel or wool rug before placing them in a hole at least one metre deep.