Grieving

[AbbeyGirl88]

What can I do help my grieving 3 year chocolate lab? A week ago today out 12 year old pitbull passed away and out 3 year chocolate lab is very sad and does not want to be left alone, we take almost everywhere, any advice?

[skyedog]

When we lost our blind husky, her seeing eye dog, Zona was left alone he did fairly well being the only one in the house and getting all the attention but you could tell he was very lonely.  We adopted 2 great pyr pups about a year after our husky passed and of course Zona couldn't stand them, but after he realized they weren't going away he got used to them and now they play and eat and sleep together.  So getting another dog was a good thing for us.
Now we just lost one of the pups to kidney failure at 17 months old, now we are dealing with a littermate loss as well as another loss for Zona.  We have been trying to keep lots of company around for them other dogs and people which is keeping them occupied for the time being, but now our house is empty and I am very afraid of what is going to happen to especially the littermate, she is sooooo sad she lost her life partner and playmate they have never been seperated since birth.
So I feel for you Abbygirl. It is hard and it is a big decision to make.
I look forward to all the suggestions and greiving processes everyone went thru.

[nashsmom]

Poor thing. My neighbor has 2 great danes that are such good pals, one is older and they do not know how the other will be affected by a loss. I only have one dog, but I agree with getting another dog. if you don't have time for a puppy, they say there are so many dogs at shelters right now, maybe one is use to being with other dogs. Search your local shelter you can usually view full details of the dogs up for adoption. I am sorry for your loss and I hope things get better.

[Jaybay]

While your dog is certainly missing his old friend, there may be something else at work here.  You and your family members are all still grieving.  Your lab may be reacting more to your grief and the changed emotional atmosphere of the home.  In other words, your lab is trying to comfort you rather than himself.  :-)

By all means, pay some extra attention to your lab, but make it positive attention.  If you all are moping around and using your dog as a "crying post", it's time to stop.  Start playing with him and taking him on regular walks.  The more you give him attention and try to soothe away what you see as grief, the more you will reinforce the clinging behavior.

We had to put down our old dog on Jan. 4 of this year due to renal failure, and the younger dog left behind did fairly well the first couple of days.  As long as we kept her busy, she was fine, but at night she would start looking for her old playmate.  We fully intended to rescue another dog, but didn't expect it to happen in 2 weeks!  Both dogs are getting along great, and Maggie is once again her smiling, happy self.

If you're interested, I wrote about our experiences with losing Chica and adopting our new dog in several journal entries on my profile here at Med Help.  Maybe you'll glean some ideas from reading them.  I hope so!  It's fine to wait to adopt another dog until you're past grieving for the lost one, the trick is to let the grief go and move on.  That applies to you, your family members, and your 4-legged family members.  :-)

[mom@homenow]

Your vet can prescribe medication for depression. When it happened to us, I believe our vet told us it should take less than 6 weeks for the surviving dog to get over the loss. If your dog is that upset I'd get her some medication temporarily to help her through.

Our surviving dog, who was a senior but had until then been healthy, suddenly developed a serious heart murmur about 2 months after our other dog passed away. Within 6 months of the murmur being detected, her heart failed. I'm not saying she might not have developed heart issues anyway, but I truly think she died early, of a broken heart. I doubt a 3 year old dog would do anything of the sort, but my point is that I believe that depression can affect the dogs' physical health, same as humans. Just like people, some dogs deal with grief & separation better than others.

[AbbeyGirl88]

Yes, I have heard that getting another dog is the best way to deal with a loss, I am just not sure what kind of dog to get, Thanks!

[suzi-q]

I am sure people with more than one dog will post.  I was never in your situation, but I have heard that getting another dog is the best thing to do.  I am not sure if this is right for you at this time, but it is a suggestion.  I wish you the best.  I had to put my dog down a month ago and I know how hard it is...Blessings to you.