[nagdu] Do Dogs Get Lonely?

[Tami Jarvis]

Larry,

I'm so sorry about Pez.

I think yes, they do. They are pack animals, very social, so the loss of 
a pack member affects them. You can see from the behavior that they are 
aware something is missing and order is not what it should be. Whether 
the emotional experience is truly like what we call loneliness can be 
debated all day long, since they can't explain it in a way we can 
understand.

When we had Daisy put down, with Mitzi in attendance, it was interesting 
to watch her reaction. While Wayne was paying, Mitzi seemed to just want 
to sniff around the waiting area, which she always wants to do, but she 
was more intent about it. I wondered if she got that Daisy went to sleep 
and was gone and knew what all the tears were about or not.

When we got home, she started acting like Daisy. It was like she *was* 
Daisy in poodle form. She was also being very diligent about being Mitzi 
and nearly exhausted herself trying to fill both roles for her weepy 
humans. Very strange. Getting her out for some work and to the park to 
re-establish her role reassured her, and she remained attentive to my 
husband as he grieved but settled down into being an only dog. Then we 
brought home a puppy a few weeks later, so there went all of that 
individual attention Mitzi was getting used to.

My thoughts are with your family after the loss of such an important member.

Tami

On 07/24/2014 07:47 AM, Larry D Keeler via nagdu wrote:
> Not anthroporphizing here but do dogs get lonely when other dogs are gone? I had to put down my little dog Pez Sunday after having him for almost 15 yeqars. Although, Pez didn't play much, they did get along well. This week, Holly does eat, drink and work normally. However, she is much quieter than usual and isn't playing much. She is really acting normally for the most part but you can tell something is different. Its an interesting speculation because for the most part dogs live in the moment. So, does she miss Pez because he is not here or because he was sick and knows he is gone?
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