Do you think dogs grieve after a death in the inter family?

Answer 1

maybe not grieve but i know they can remeber and they miss them.

Answer 2

Here I go again with a personal experience but it is the only way I can answer your question.

I have a female mutt. She is really mine and no one else's, under my feet at all times. I have a recliner in my bedroom and spend many evenings there watching TV with Missy at my side. One day, while working in my wood shop, I suffered an amputation of my left index finger. One of my daughters took me to the hospital and one of the others stayed home to contact my wife and do the other things she thought should be done. There was no fixing the finger but they managed to clean it up and sew it up even though it was a bit shorter than it started. Anyway, the daughter who stayed home told me a few days later that Missy went into the house with her, went straight to my bedroom and whined until my daughter opened the door. She then went straight to my chair where she laid her head on the seat right where it would be if I were petting her. My daughter said she never moved from that spot until she heard my voice when I arrived back home. Now is that grieving? I honestly don't know but that animal KNEW something was wrong and she also knew that all she could do was be sad about it.

The way it looks right now, she will die before I do. I hope that is the case because I doubt she would survive my death anyway. At least I will know why I'm crying...She might but with me it is a definet.

Answer 3

Yes they do. The sense that the person is gone, and if they were close to them, you might see a personality change in the dog. They will even grieve when a fellow dog dies. They do have an understanding of life and death. Just volunteer at your local animal control, and watch the changes in the ones that are being taken to a back room to be destroyed. They will start the walk out happy go lucky, and when they feel that impending doom, you have to drag them through the door. I've seen it, and I know they understand death

Answer 4

Emily and Surfer_Girl are on the right track. Dogs are pack animals and the loss of any member, from the alpha on down, changes the dynamic of that pack. So it probably isn't grieving in the sense that we know it, but they definitely understand that a significant change has occurred and act accordingly. I think its possible that the relationship to the lost individual also dictates the degree of the "grieving" behavior.

Answer 5

I had a 2 ferrets named Pepper & Chipper & a rat named Little Gurl. When Chipper went missing the other 2 wouldn't touch/go near anything that had Chipper's sent on it. They would merely lay in bed all the time. After a few months Little Gurl died and Pepper withdrew from everything. He eventually ran away about 4 months ago.

So YES, I would say that all animals mourn. It makes no difference what breed or kind of animal the are! All living creatures feel!!!

Answer 6

Absolutely! Even wolves go through a grieving process if a pack member dies. You need to be as understanding as possible during that time if your dog acts out. He may do obvious things like sulking, sleeping a lot, or losing his appetite. He may also do things like chew, bark, whine due to anxiety. Finally, he may start to challenge people and other dogs for the role of head of the household, as dogs would do in a pack in the wild. They may do that anytime their social structure is changed.

Answer 7

Absolutely. The dynamics of their pack have been changed and this takes time for them to process. They may not grieve in the sense we think of, but they do reflect over the loss and how that has changed those that are left behind.

Answer 8

yes they most definitely do. dogs are very social and the family grouping is more important to them than even their own individual lives. a dog can be sad and grieve for a loved one for all the rest of his or her doggy days. and like us they can also find ways to get over it and move on, and continue to love.
I don't know or understand exactly what goes on in the hearts and minds of dogs, but they care for their loved ones and they certainly know their names. if you have a dog who is grieving, then you should talk to your dog about it. sit (or lie) down with your dog and make physical contact and tell him or her that you understand how he feels, that you sympathize. maybe even tell the dog a little bit about what you think might happen to our loved ones after death. or just enjoy a moment of silence while you both think about the missing person.
it's hard to say exactly how much animals understand, but with dogs I can tell you from my own experience that they often understand MUCH more than we give them credit for. maybe words. maybe an emotional connection. maybe even a psychic one; I wouldn't rule anything out. but they are animals with deep and very real feelings, and you can help your dog to grieve, and if you are also grieving for someone your dog can help you too.

Answer 9

Definitely. My family had two dogs from the same litter, Sherman and Tucker. Tucker died at about two years old. Sherman morned him. He was extremely active before Tucker's death. Afterwords he would lay around most of the time, very inactive. He would go around looking for him. He also put on a substantial amount of weight.

Also, my parents had three dogs. One of them died a couple of years ago. The night one of them died, she was inside dying, the other two dogs were on the screen porch watching through the window howling like they were saying goodbye. As soon as she actually passed on, they stopped.

Answer 10

Absolutely. Even if it's just losing a friend they know well. When my dog passed away, his little buddy would come over and look for him. When he couldn't find him he would sulk and curl-up, he was depressed for a while. It seemed to help when we gave him some of Bruce's toys and pillow. After a while he adjusted, when I got a new puppy, he became immediately attached to her - and he doesn't generally like any puppies.

Answer 11

I know they are definitely aware of the fact that the family is sad, and of course they love to comfort sad people. They might also be aware that a family member is missing and become anxious as to what happened to that person... so in a sense yes.