Do dogs mourn the loss of a companion

[estweyn]

I know Josh was very quiet for a week or so after Shadow died in February this year. Almost shell shocked really. He has come back into being his normal silly self but sometimes I just look at him and think he is missing his dad. Feeling a bit guilty here as I have decided not to get another dog, my health isnt too good and walking two dogs during the week would be a problem. We have really gone out of our way to spend more time playing games etc with Josh to try and replace the time he spent rowdying on the garden with his dad. But I do feel he is missing a canine companion. And strangely enough Tinks the cat has taken to making a great deal of fuss of Josh, perhaps he is more aware of how Josh is feeling:sad:

[Moonbird]

I know Josh was very quiet for a week or so after Shadow died in February this year. Almost shell shocked really. He has come back into being his normal silly self but sometimes I just look at him and think he is missing his dad. Feeling a bit guilty here as I have decided not to get another dog, my health isnt too good and walking two dogs during the week would be a problem. We have really gone out of our way to spend more time playing games etc with Josh to try and replace the time he spent rowdying on the garden with his dad. But I do feel he is missing a canine companion. And strangely enough Tinks the cat has taken to making a great deal of fuss of Josh, perhaps he is more aware of how Josh is feeling:sad:

 

Aww poor Josh, I think that dogs do mourn yes, my old girl Meg has not been quite the same since her little friend Lucy died just over a month ago even though I have her and 2 more dogs it seems its not the same for her.

I think that your doing all you can by giving him extra play and attention, and only time will settle him down.

I also think that your being really responsible by not getting another dog to keep him company when you know that it will be hard for you to cope

Is Josh friendly with other dogs? if so have you thought of perhaps dog sitting for someone while they work? company for Josh and maybe the spin off could be that the person could take Josh a walk with their dog in return.

[savbaby]

I know Josh was very quiet for a week or so after Shadow died in February this year. Almost shell shocked really. He has come back into being his normal silly self but sometimes I just look at him and think he is missing his dad. Feeling a bit guilty here as I have decided not to get another dog, my health isnt too good and walking two dogs during the week would be a problem. We have really gone out of our way to spend more time playing games etc with Josh to try and replace the time he spent rowdying on the garden with his dad. But I do feel he is missing a canine companion. And strangely enough Tinks the cat has taken to making a great deal of fuss of Josh, perhaps he is more aware of how Josh is feeling:sad:

 

yes i think they do, although not exactly the same circumstances, my dogs seem to miss each other when they are seperated. If i go away its too much for my mum & sister to have both together as they have a dog each so they take one each for the time i am away. Although the dogs have company and love my mum and sisters dogs they still pine for each other

[vivaoliva]

We lost one of our Westies 7 weeks ago & my second Westie has changed completely, They had been together for 12 years & although they didn’t seem really close, Mac is definitely missing Misty. She was always the boss, so he doesn’t seem to know what his roll is now. It’s not just us who sees the change, people calling at the house have commented on how he has altered as well. We are able to give him so much more time now, as Misty was quite ill for a long time & needed lots of looking after. We now have lots of long walk, also we have friends who we visit with dogs he gets along with, so he has plenty of company.

 

Our other big problem is if we should get a new dog & if Mac would cope with a puppy at his age, he is a very young 13, but we don’t know what to do for the best.

[estweyn]

Quote - 'We are able to give him so much more time now, as Misty was quite ill for a long time & needed lots of looking after. We now have lots of long walk'

 

This is exactly the same as us, Shadow was not too good and couldnt go long walks so we went shorter walks, I couldnt bear to leave Shadow at home and just take Josh so unfortunately Josh did suffer the consequences, I am lucky in that my son took Josh for 2 hour hikes at the weekend while we gave Shadow a bit of quality time on his own.

 

Josh is not too good with other dogs, really friendly with people but I think its more of he is unsure of other dogs and this comes out as aggression. His dad was fine with other dogs so dont know why he is so different.

 

I suppose they are companions for 24 hours of the day and its forced to be a big difference for them. I just wish I could know what he is thinking