Lost littermate-now won't eat

[jandjmc]

My 17 year old male dog lost his sister, his littermate, last Monday. They had always been together. He did OK til Friday. Now Joey (my dog) has quit eating, seems lethargic and depressed. Does anyone else have experience with this situation in dogs?

Thanks!

JMc

 

[2minis4us]

Oh my gosh, that is so sad ! I hope he feels better soon.

 

[Hosscrazy]

We just went through this with our dog Ralph, when he lost his brother Bear (age 15). It's sad to watch - we just gave Ralph lots of extra attention, and cooked some special meals for him (chicken, cottage cheese, pretty much anything he wanted). Hope he feels better soon.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

I think it is not uncommon for dogs to grieve just as we do when a loved one passes. Did he get a chance to say goodbye, to know she had passed? It may seem silly but when I lost my much loved female Bullmastiff her son wandered about like he was lost for days. I finally took him to her grave site sat and talked to him about what had happened and how sorry I was. He visited her grave daily for about a week, he would just go and sit beside it for a minute and then go about his business. It really seemed to help him to accept what had happened. Even if you don't have a grave site I would sit and talk to you old guy about his sister and see if that helps him. Also you might want to consider that he is an older dog and may have something entirely unrelated going on and needs to see a vet. Good luck,give the old guy a hug from me... its hard to loose family.

 

[jandjmc]

When we had his sister put to sleep, at home, I took the body over to him and showed it to him and let him smell her. He was alright for several days, then I went to visit my sister (fly to CA) and that's when he went off his feed. He slept in bed with me last night and is still refusing food, but I'm going to Costco to get his favorite, rotisserie chicken, hoping that he won't be able to resist. We do have other dogs, one female has been with him for 7-8 years, so I'm hoping that will help. And I haven't ruled out that something else could be wrong. We've never raised litter mates before.

Reignmaker, I too have had a Bullmastiff, wonderful dog. This guy is a chihuahua mix.

Thanks for the advise.

 

[Hosscrazy]

I'll bet between you being back home and having some yummy rotisserie chicken, he's going to feel better pretty quickly!

Liz N.

 

[Mona]

There may be an underlying cause for him not eating and I would take him to the vet to have him checked out, because even though it seems coincidental toi the loss of his sister, it also could possibly be a physical health problem making him go off his feed. Best of luck to you and sorry for the recent loss of his sister.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

When we had his sister put to sleep, at home, I took the body over to him and showed it to him and let him smell her. He was alright for several days, then I went to visit my sister (fly to CA) and that's when he went off his feed. He slept in bed with me last night and is still refusing food, but I'm going to Costco to get his favorite, rotisserie chicken, hoping that he won't be able to resist. We do have other dogs, one female has been with him for 7-8 years, so I'm hoping that will help. And I haven't ruled out that something else could be wrong. We've never raised litter mates before.

Reignmaker, I too have had a Bullmastiff, wonderful dog. This guy is a chihuahua mix.

Thanks for the advise.

Yes, they are, absolutely amazing dogs. I lost our second one (the son I referred to in my previous post) in June of last year and still want to weep when I look at his picture. I will have another some day but I must first let go of my grief for him so it does not colour my expectations for the new one (and raise the slightly wild 10 month old rotti we have now)

I do hope you can coax your little guy to eat and it is just grief over first loosing his sister and then having you go away suddenly.

 

[minisch]

Probably not it, but just heard today that Purina Beneful dog food has been killing dogs

 

[misty'smom]

First I am so sorry you lost one of your dogs, that must have been hard on you too. We have owned dachshunds for 25 years and have lost 3 over the years, it is always hard on the others when 1 dies. This past September we lost our little wire-haired Rylee she was10. We have her daughter Grace who is 7 years old. Grace is paralyzed in her hind end but a very happy girl most days, she was a little depressed for about a week or so but came around and was back to her happy self!! Bosco who is 8 always slept under our bed at night with Rylee, after she died he would not even come in our bedroom at night. He slept all by himself out in our family room for about a month. I got a new bed for him and put it in our bedroom, that is where he now sleeps. If there are no underlying health issues Joey will probably come around after a week or so. I still would have your vet take a look at him. I am sure he is happy you are back at home! How did he like his special chicken??

 

[Charlene]

it really sounds like joey is grieving. when i lost my husband, our female corgi went into a very deep depression. she was so devoted to him and his death was very hard on her. she would not eat for days and she would go outside, lay down, and stare down the lane for hours waiting for him to come home. it was the saddest thing ever. i worried about her because normally, she was such a chow hound. i finally started offering her boiled chicken and ground beef and anything else i could think of. she gradually started eating again but honestly, she was never the same dog.

if you and your vet rule out any health issues, i would say just give joey lots and lots of love and attention and rotisserie chicken!

 

[anoki]

I agree with Charlene. It sounds very much like he's grieving. Just like people, animals all grieve in different ways. My first corgi was a mess for about 6 months when her bff had to be euthanized. He did not live here, but we saw him every day since Moxie came home with me. It was very sad....and I didn't know what to do. She didn't want to show (she LOVED showing), she moped around. Finally I had her in for a chiropractic treatment and mentioned something about her being soo down. My vet put her on a Chinese herb...and wow, the change in her was amazing. I wished I'd thought of taking her in sooner.

As for letting them see the body or not, I am very torn on this.....I did this when Moxie's friend passed, and she was very agitated when she saw him and afterwards...the look on her face broke my heart. When we had to put down 2 of her house mates, I didn't let everyone see them. Yes, they looked for them every morning when they got up for a week, but they seemed to get over it a lot more quickly. I know every dog and every situation is different, but this is what I found.

~kathryn

 

[jandjmc]

Thank you all for the ideas and stories. I went to Costco and the rotisserie was closed, I've never had that happen before, it was being remodeled, so I got sirloin and turkey burgers. Last night, he ate several bites of sirloin and was drinking well. He got lots of hugs and petting and seemed to brighten up. Joey slept through the night, which he hadn't the night before. This morning, he is still a little subdued but ate more sirloin and a couple of treats. This afternoon, he trotted outside to help me feed and ate a little. His eyes are brighter.

Tempting him with favorite foods and added attention has really helped. He was sleeping on the couch (can you say "spoiled rotten!") with one of my other dogs, just now.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

I'm glad to hear he is starting to come around some. We all know getting past our grief can be a gradual thing. He's lucky to have such an observant and caring owner willing to spoil him a little when he needs extra love.

 

[misty'smom]

Happy to hear Joey is starting feel better! You are a good Mom, giving him exra attention, love and treats!!

 

[Hosscrazy]

Glad to hear he's feeling better!!!! Any pictures?

Liz N.