If someone dies, is your dog sad?
poor sad dog
We all know that grief is a very difficult emotion. When we lose someone we love, it is usually a very difficult time in our lives and we may express our grief in many different ways. Some people become quiet and depressed. Others become more vocal and try to hide their pain. The way we all deal with grief is as individual and varied as we are.
Dogs too experience the loss of loved ones, whether it is the loss of another pet in the household or the loss of a human they are close to. In 1996, the ASPCA conducted a Companion Animal Mourning Project where they monitored dogs behavior in two different ways. When the dog lost a canine companion, it affected the dog’s appetite, their activity level, their vocalization and the quantity and location of their sleep habits. Many of these same behaviors are mirrored when the dog loses their owner and caregiver. Remember, they don’t logically understand death the way we do, but they know that the person is no longer there and I believe they understand the permanency.
If your dog is mourning the loss of a pet or human family member, they may need more of your time, love and attention to deal with the loss. Sometimes the dog will become more vocal, by barking or howling. According to Dr. Jon of petplace.com, by trying to distract your dog or giving it too much attention, you might really be reinforcing this behavior. Dr. Jon feels it is better to acknowledge and reward the good behavior and try to ignore the bad behavior and without reinforcement, it may disappear. It may also disappear with time, because like with humans, time does help to heal the wounds.
We had a cat who had grown up with our dog and when our dog passed away, the cat took it very hard. She stopped eating and lost about 3 pounds. That was alot, since she only weighed about 11 pounds to begin with. After a period of time, she adjusted, but it was evident that she truly missed her buddy and did so until many years later when she joined him and they could play together again.
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