Grieving Dog

[myboytoby]

Hi,

I am posting on behalf of a friend who lost one of her doggies a few weeks ago to a Paralysis Tick.

Since than her other dog has been constantly crying, howling and is generally so sad and lonely.

Are there any tips suggestions you may be able to offer ?

( Getting a companion at the moment is not a suitable option )

Many Thanks,

Tash

[persephone]

Don't fuss over a dog who is displaying such signs ... it's hard, but they need to follow normal routines- get dog out& about, and ONLY pay attention to it when it is looking a bit happy/relaxed- NOT when it is crying/sooking.

Try Rescue remedy - also a D A P diffuser if the dog is indoors ...

Poor dog - is there anything it really enjoys? a certain bone/toy/place/food ? Find something really yummy to chew, or noisy and chewy to play with .... LONG, frequent leash walks(maybe in new areas)? if it is capable- to get it out & sniffing ... and tire it out so it will sleep .Sleep is good, and a tired dog will sleep.

Obedience classes/herding/playdates?

Lots of things to get it thinking/sniffing/moving ....

Sad for everyone, and I hope that soon things are happier

[tdierikx]

One of my dogs did the same thing when my ex left... they used to spend lots of daddy and boy time together, and the poor dog was so lost and confused for a while - not fun when the dog in question is a 47kg Rotti who starts acting out his confusion on your cushions and pillows (tore quite a few of them up), running to all the rooms in the house looking for his daddy, and crying when he can't find him...

There is a happy ending though... after 3 weeks of the dog being a complete nutjob, and me only giving him reassurance when he was calm, he settled just fine into the new routines and became a mummy's boy instead - even growled at the ex when he came back to get the rest of his stuff... *grin*

T.

[sas]

Sam as above, treat the dog as normal, don't over pamper it. If anything, get tougher in NILIF.

You might want to look into Valerian, Vit B, DAP etc.

[Pugmum]

Hi,

Reading this, I seem to have been doing all the wrong things

I had two pugs, Oatie is nearly 11yo and Maggie was 9yo. We got Maggie because Oatie hated to be on his own and howled all day after our old staffy passed away. Maggie recently passed away from cancer. During her treatment we had a cam on in the house whenever I was at work so I could keep an eye on her/them. We noticed then that on her chemo days (when she was away from home) Oatie would just walk about howling all day

Now that she is gone we did not know what to do with him. We also did not want to get another dog (not ready to deal with a puppy right now as I cant get time off work, the dynamics of introducing an older dog to the house, and difficulty in getting two dogs looked after as we would like to travel a bit more etc....) He's really happy - as long as he's not alone. He gets jealous if I pay attention to another dog so I dont know that introducing another dog woudl actually make him happier in general.

So at the moment he goes to my folks place each day while we are at work, and coems with us most other places we go even if it means waiting in the car while we go to dinner etc as he enjoys the car and looking around (not a barker).

He cant go on forever going to my folks place...and we are not sure how to wean him off it. I am organising him a doggy day care place one day a week, and to have my daughters chi's with him at our home on one other day a week. Hopefully getting him used to being there with the Chi's then removing them later on.

He does not seem to get over his need for company easily - when the staffy died it was months and he was still howling each day. I'm scared that he wont just get used to it in a few weeks - and he'll drive the neighbours mad in the meantime.

Of the products some of you have mentioned - is there one that woudl just calm him ? I hate the thought of him being miserable all day if he was at home by himself which at some stage he needs to be.

thanks

Brigitte

[Whippetsmum]

The first thing I did was go to my neighbours and explain what happened so that they didn't call the council on me. The crying subsided after a few weeks, we gave lots of bones to chew and toys to play with if we weren't home.