What can we do for a grieving dog?

Question

Mum lost 1 of her 2 dogs, the other has since gone mad! She's about 9yrs old, a German Pointer. Whenever she's left alone she runs about the house poohing and peeing everywhere, she jumps in a bay window howling to get out, she's torn muscles in her shoulder, which has cost mum loads of money getting right. She's a hazard to herself, but mum has to still go to work, she can't put her life on hold for a dog.
She can't really afford to get another dog, she's called a behavioral therapist who quoted £75 just to come round, which she simply just can't afford,,, any ideas???

Answer 1

When you are home, giving her lots of love and affection, a favourite toy that your other dog used to play with and a t-shirt that you wore for comfort while you are out. You could also get a DAP diffuser which spreads pheromones around the room to help calm her. Any more advice please email me on [e-mail]

Answer 2

Hi Laurensmum2000!!
Life can change drastically for a dog who loses the companionship of another dog. We don't know how much dogs understand about death, but many dog lovers have experienced a dog who became lethargic, upset, or even ill after a dog companion dies.

You will need to help your dog find the way to a healthy new position in the social order.

Get some help, either from a class that uses positive methods or from a private trainer, to learn the training skills yourself..

Take the grieving dog on more outings, if the dog enjoys outings. Maybe it's just a walk to the mailbox. It could be a ride along in the car to a drive-through window at the bank or fast food place. Maybe it's a stroll in a pleasant park, or down the block to chat with neighbors. Outings deepen the dog's bond to you, and make the dog's life more interesting.

Create rituals the dog can look forward to each day. Spend 15 minutes grooming the dog.

Feed some of the dog's daily calories through some kind of active process. You could put the food into a food-dispensing toy. You could hide pieces of the food around the house or yard. Or you could use food during training for tricks or other skills.

If it's not the right time for you to get another dog, don't get one. Your dog can almost certainly adjust to being without a canine companion in the home, and might even be happier.

Strengthening your relationship with your dog and helping the dog make a transition to a new stage in life and perhaps even a whole new personality is healthy for you, too.
Also Look article:When Your Dog Mourns The Loss Of Another Dog - http://www.askedweb.com/askedweb/When_Your_Dog_Mourns_The_Loss_Of_Another_Dog/

Jason Homan

Answer 3

That's rough!

Perhaps a local animal society can help your mum? And at the very least, the dog shouldn't be left alone.

The behavior therapist would have been the dog's best bet. But I agree that L75 is a lot just to come see. Is there a chance that the therapist will work out a payment plan with your mum? I've done that with vets over on this side of the Atlantic, but I'm not sure this is the same sort of situation.

Good luck!

Answer 4

All the advices about crates are good, although she shouldn't leave her dog shut in for more than 3 hours in a row, especially a german pointer as they are active dogs, even at 9. Having a dog walker or pet sitter coming during the day to give company to the dog for a while may be a good idea.
Having a behaviourist coming would be great, but do shop around, there are cheaper professionals out there, and ask for qualifications, experience...
Wish your mum all the best

Answer 5

Sure, ctarting the dog will keep it from thrasing the house, but will add to the saddness of the behavior. This is my cheap and proven to work suggestion. Turn on the radio, kinda up loud enough to be heard from entire house. Or have mum make a tape of her voice. This is worked inthe past. But know that by crating the dog, could cause a larger problem in the weeks to come. Your mom is the alpha dog, this is why the dog is comforted when she is home, but when she is gone, the dog is not looking for her, it is looking for the other dog. Dogs mourn just as we do, and needs to run through its gamit of emotions. Try the radio, or tv see if it helps, and if not then you may need to think about other options listed above. Godd luck.

Answer 6

Hello, sorry for your loss so hope this helps you?

A surviving dog may become restless, anxious and depressed after the loss of a friend. There may also be deep sighing, along with restless sleep patterns, and eating disturbances.
Often, grieving pets will search for their dead companions and crave more attention from their owners.

It’s important to give your friend all the necessary support, care and tenderness he needs to get over the loss. Stick to your normal routine as much as possible, and try offering tasty treats to encourage your dog to resume his normal eating habits.
In other words, do everything you can to help doggie take his mind away from the object of his grief.

Cheer up your pooch by taking him on a few extra outings. Maybe it's a quick trip to the mailbox, a walk down the block, or a ride around the neighborhood.
Outings deepen the dog's bond to you, and make his life more interesting.

Create rituals your dog can look forward to each day. Spend 15 minutes grooming your dog, or if he has short hair, give him a rub-down. Teach your canine pal a new trick, or-even-better, a task he can do for you in your daily routine.
The genuine pleasure will come through clearly to your grieving friend.

If it's not the right time for you to get another dog, don't get one. Your dog can almost certainly adjust to being without a pack-mate in the home, and might even be happier.
You could provide companionship for your dog by finding someone else with a dog that would enjoy meeting your dog for play-dates. But truly, many dogs live perfectly happy lives with humans as their only pack mates.

Strengthening your relationship with your dog, and helping him transition to a new stage in life is healthy for you, too. It takes time to work through grief. What you do to help your dog adjust to the life changes of losing a canine companion can be wonderfully healing for you.

All the best to you

Answer 7

How is the dog when she's crated? Confining the dog for her safety and your sanity will certianly help. This behavior sounds like separation anxiety, and if you Google that as a search term, you could try following those guidelines. And the price that the behaviorist quoted would certainly be cheaper than having to replace things that she'd damage when tearing around the house.
There are herbal calming products that are available too - which will hopefully help in making your dog more comfortable. Good luck -

Answer 8

Well first of all you need to get a crate for the dog to stay in while your mom is gone. That will completely eliminate the problems she's having with the dog goign crazy when she's gone. She can give the dog kongs with food inside......cow hooves......raw animal bones....nylabones....etc. to keep the dog happy while she's gone. The dog isn't used to being alone obviously and is having seperation anxiety. Also, is your mom still acting sad about the dog? Dogs can read our behavior faster than we even know what we are feeling ourselves. If your mom is still grieving the dead dog, then the other dog will pick up on that and think something terrible is wrong. My dog I have now had a best friend who got hit by a car in front of his eyes and he grieved for a while right along with my family, but he was over it in 2 days.......mainly b/c the rest of us moved on with life. It's not that we didn't love Hank (who died), we just knew that crying ove rhim everyday wasn't going to bring him back. Good Luck.

Answer 9

First of all, this dog needs to be crated for her own safety while your mom's out. Dogs grieve for the loss of a companion just like people do and this dog's acting out because she's lonely and missing her companion. Could your mom get a neighbour (like a teenager) to come in to walk this dog during the day. She'll recover faster if she gets out, she needs companionship.

Getting another dog will help this pointer, but for now, what she needs is time and more companionship during the day.

Answer 10

How about getting another dog to keep her company. Failing that My sister crates her dog when she is out so it can't hurt itself.
I thought crating was cruel but the vet said to us its a cage to them its a den. Animals rarely make their den's dirty so it should solve the pee and poo problem I have checked it out for you and apparently the crate should just be big enough for the dog to stand up and turn around in, any bigger and they sometimes use half for sleeping and half for toilet.
You can get crates very cheaply on eBay or maybe second hand from your local paper.
Hope your Mums dog settles down soon, she is probably feeling lost and lonely without her friend.
All the best

Answer 11

Thats so sad. Remember that dogs grieve too and when we lost one of ours the other would sit in his place and hated being left. It can take up to 6 months for them to get over the loss of a companion but dont worry she will. What she needs is consistancy. Maybe she feels now that she has to be the protecter and that could be putting alot of resonsibility on her. try and maintain a calm and secure surrounding and leave a tv or radio on when she is left. It takes time but time will heal.