# When Dogs Grieve



## twyla (Apr 28, 2010)

After Flower lost her littermate sister at 13 1/2, she was out of sorts a bit lost without her constant companion, I did one thing I brought her along when I had to let her sister Cappi go. But in the days after Flower was even more quiet and, not to anthropomorphize, a bit sad. I didn't let her withdraw, I stuck her in the pen with Beatrice and with in a a few days or so they were playing. I think Flower's "grief" started long before her sister died but when her sister started slowly dying from cancer if that makes any sense.


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## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

I had Tina who was old and got Shotsie, Shotsie would take her outside bring her back in wake her up (she could not hear) for about 2 years, then I got Bella as I thought Tina was on her way out. She lived another 3 years. When she passed Shotsie really went down hill. She used to go and socialize with all my friends and sit on laps. After that she just stayed in her crate and never really came back and would not have anything to do with Bella. Never sleep with her or played with her, and 2 years passed, and them I lost her to a stupid neighbor, so it was 2 years and she never became her self prior to losing Tina.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

My current dogs have not lost a dog companion, but when the first two of my three cats passed there were definite changes. When Olivia, my oldest and a Persian passed on, the other two were very out of sorts with each other for months. They were sisters and apparently Olivia had been somewhat of a social buffer or "middle man" between them. Alex who was kittenish until she died clearly was very pesty in the ideas of her sister Jackie. They were litter mate sister Maine **** cats. Jackie and Alex lived to know Lily and Peeves but the cats and dogs never got used to each other. Lily and Peeves were way too bouncy and boisterous for old lady cats. I kept them in separate areas of our house to spare the cats. Once Jackie crossed the bridge I sent Alex to my mom's so she would be the center of attention and have more company than we could give her at that point.

I don't think Jackie and Alex not being around made much of an impression on Lily and Peeves since they did not really ever have much to do with each other.


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## West U (Jul 30, 2014)

I never saw any behavior that I thought was grieving with my Beagles or Corgi. But, when our Dash passed in May, Lola was a sad, sad dog. She moped around, and stayed under the desk. She was depressed. After about 3 weeks of that behavior, we went ahead and got another 3 year old Corgi. She bounced back to her normal outgoing self within a few days. They are inseparable now.


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## Charmed (Aug 4, 2014)

I don't think you can call it grieving, but when our 15 year old female poodle died, our seven year old female Airedale waited for one day to pass. Then, she marched right into the old girl's crate and claimed it as her own. Prior to that day, she never entered that crate even if it was empty. So, maybe our Airedale thought one day of respect was enough??


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## Liz (Oct 2, 2010)

Thanks, everyone. Mia's bouncing back. On the first day, she looked around the house for him a couple of times. That night, she was awakened by a noise that sounded like him getting up off of the couch. She slept a lot for the first week or so, but by the second week she was looking at me like, "let's go have fun." It's been almost four weeks now. Her energy is back up to normal, but just the other day she stopped by one of his favorite sleep spots as if to ask where he is. She's definitely much happier with him out of the house, but she really took on the role of his big sister/mom and misses him, too. Honestly, I feel the same way she does about the whole situation.


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## ericwd9 (Jun 13, 2014)

I once had a mini who had an oops daughter (one puppy at a late age) We kept and loved her. Later her Mom became blind and later deaf. They would run together back to back with the daughter being the guide of the mother. One day the most important sense was lost. Her scent was gone. She curled up in a corner and whimpered. Sensory deprivation! I took the right path and put her down. Not without grief myself. The daughter would not eat. She was not responsive to our love. She became sick and quietly died one night. They were so close they could not be parted. I lost them both and I grieve still.
Eric


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## Silver Lace (May 7, 2012)

How very bittersweet Eric. I can understand your still grieving over that situation. That must have been so hard on you to lose them both like that.That reminds me of just a story on television where a boy bought a brother and sister **** hounds and they were together and close and when the brother was killed by a mountain lion the sister would not eat and would not respond to the boy who loved them so much and one day he found her laying next to the brothers grave and she died right there. And that was just a story. I guess they really do form attachments so close they grieve if one is gone out of their lives.


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## peppersb (Jun 5, 2011)

I have seen two dogs grieve when they lost their dog companion. 

Several years ago, a friend had 2 golden retrievers. When the older one died, the younger one went into a huge depression. She (the remaining golden) had always had a heart murmur, but for the first time, she started to show signs of active heart disease. A cardiologist confirmed that she had serious heart problems. When my friend came home from work, her golden would be up on a couch, but she wouldn't even get up. She would barely lift her head to acknowledge that her owner was home. Everything changed when my friend got a new puppy. The older dog started playing with the puppy and looking happy again. The symptoms of heart disease entirely disappeared. 

Second case was my boy Bob. He was about 10 when my older poodle Sophie died. Bob was really depressed -- very sad and mopey. When I brought Cammie into the house -- an 8 week old puppy -- he was not happy for the first 2 or 3 days. But gradually, she won him over and started crawling all over him. That was exactly what he needed, and it pulled him right out of his depression.


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## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

I had Tina and Shotsie, Tina was old and Shotsie took her outside and layed with her. When Tina passed Shotsie was never the same. I got Bella, she never bothered her just ignored her, Shotsie live 3 years after Tina but was never the same


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## TrixieTreasure (May 24, 2015)

Liz said:


> Just wondering what grieving looks like in dogs, how long it lasts, etc. It seems to involve a lot of sleeping followed by gradually regaining an interest in the world. Anyone have any stories?



With Trina and Kaydee, because they were pretty close and slept near each other so much, I did notice a small change in Trina, when Kaydee passed away. Nothing really that significant , but she did seem to look around the rooms for a couple of days. Kind of like she was looking for Kaydee. When we saw that, we got her interested in something else, and then she was fine.

As for a lot of sleeping, I didn't notice anything different, out of her normal sleeping habits. She still seemed happy when she went outside, and when we went for walks.


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## kontiki (Apr 6, 2013)

I am just now reading this thread. I am so grateful to see all of these different perspectives. My sisters cat died and suddenly her 10 year old dog, who never had been irritable before, got very irritable and snappy. We could not figure out where it came from. Grief makes perfect sense. Thanks to everyone for sharing.


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## TrixieTreasure (May 24, 2015)

kontiki said:


> I am just now reading this thread. I am so grateful to see all of these different perspectives. My sisters cat died and suddenly her 10 year old dog, who never had been irritable before, got very irritable and snappy. We could not figure out where it came from. Grief makes perfect sense. Thanks to everyone for sharing.



I'm so sorry about your sister's cat. :-( Grief comes in many forms. I do hope though that her dog is doing better now.


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## jediempress (Sep 28, 2016)

My story is a bit different, it's about grieving for a human. 
My aunt had two Golden Retrievers. Sammy was 14 and suffering greatly with hip dysplasia and arthritis. Timber was still young. 
They were just getting ready to put the older one down when my uncle was diagnosed with cancer. In six weeks he was dead. Quick and at home. Sammy had stayed by his side the whole time. 
When he died Sammy was in a terrible state, wouldn't eat or sleep or take his meds. On the day of the funeral my dad and I suggested we take the dogs to see my Uncles body. The old boy managed to walk into the funeral home and went right to the casket. He sniffed for a bit, then turned around and left. The young one didn't bother much. 
He ate as soon as he got home and had a nice long sleep. It was like he needed to see the body and know his man was gone. 
A week later Sammy was put down, he went so easily. Finally in no pain. Timber was brought in to see his body so that he would know Sammy wouldn't be coming home. 
Timber gave a quick sniff and was done. After that he never had any problems adjusting to being a single dog. But he would never sleep on Sammy's old bed. 



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Silver Lace (May 7, 2012)

That was a beautiful story! Thank you for telling it to us. How dear and sweet.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

jediempress said:


> My story is a bit different, it's about grieving for a human.
> My aunt had two Golden Retrievers. Sammy was 14 and suffering greatly with hip dysplasia and arthritis. Timber was still young.
> They were just getting ready to put the older one down when my uncle was diagnosed with cancer. In six weeks he was dead. Quick and at home. Sammy had stayed by his side the whole time.
> When he died Sammy was in a terrible state, wouldn't eat or sleep or take his meds. On the day of the funeral my dad and I suggested we take the dogs to see my Uncles body. The old boy managed to walk into the funeral home and went right to the casket. He sniffed for a bit, then turned around and left. The young one didn't bother much.
> ...



That is such a sad story. I'm sorry. It was like this story of the Argentinean dog I've read a few years back. Here is an old link:

Loyal dog sits by master's grave for 6 YEARS - NY Daily News


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

kontiki said:


> I am just now reading this thread. I am so grateful to see all of these different perspectives. My sisters cat died and suddenly her 10 year old dog, who never had been irritable before, got very irritable and snappy. We could not figure out where it came from. Grief makes perfect sense. Thanks to everyone for sharing.


My dog died in the end of July. Ironically, the only one who really missed her original buddy-the cat. My persian cat Spunky. The rest of the animals didn't really like her due to her aggression issues. Spunky never had a problem despite that Sahara was sometimes mean to him. He has been yowling every night for weeks. I've also noticed he has been in a terrible mood and picking fights with our other cat. He hates the new poodle mix puppy and hisses whenever he looks at him. This comes from a cat that never hissed at all before this. I think he is the only one in the family who is having as much of a hard time as I am. 

Spunky was a kitten got while I was in college. A Harvard law school student bred his Persians and had a litter of kittens. I helped take care of the litter because the guy didn't know what he was doing and accidently killed one of the kittens with the door. When he went for his interviews in NYC, I promised to look after them if I could keep Spunky. So I've had Spunky since he was 4 weeks old and he acts like a dog and fetches. 

I never showed a photo of Spunky in my other post about my zoo. Here is a photo of my original dynamic duo.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

jediempress that is a beautiful story. I certainly agree that dogs can grieve for humans. My mom's dog still looks for her next door neighbor who passed in February very suddenly. If he wasn't at home or out with my mom, he was at this neighbor's home. I think he liked her more than me (and I co own him!). 

I have one more story about a dog training friend who was on her way to the vet with her very ill dog and the dog died in the car. Rather than continuing to the vet she went back home and brought the dog's body in the house and put it on a blanket on the living room floor. Each of the other dogs came over and sniffed their dead friend got some pets from mom and then moved off. She is very convinced that doing so helped the other dogs understand their old friend's disappearance.


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