This may sound like a stupid question but I have to ask it. How long does a dog mourn for the loss of another? My GSD pup has been mourning the loss of my other dog for almost 2 weeks now and even though I have lost dogs before and certainly know that the others go through this, to me it seems as if it is continuing longer than I remember. She has been jumpy and timid since this happened and just down right depressed. We go about or daily activities as if nothing transpired, and I do not acknowledge any of her fears. She carrys a toy around that the two of them use to play with together and whines. I took it away from her thinking it would help but she just picked up another and started it again. Is there anything else I can do to help her through this or do I just wait it out? I bumped up her training sessions and she's fine with that but it's the off time where she seems to still be quite mournful of him. Any suggestions would be helpful. I was told getting another dog right away would solve this but we are not ready for that. This was a tragic and unexpected situation that happened to my Sibe and we too need time to get over it and get past it. I know she is sensing the emotion level in the house but believe me we do try to keep it as level and upbeat as possible. So like I said any insight on this would be appreciated <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I would be upping the FUN stuff in the house, not necessarily the training. More ball, frisbee and tug. More fun walks in the woods. More visits to your friends homes with dogs. More visits to your friends. Maybe think of taking some fun courses like flyball? Herding?

Think you need to take BOTH your minds off the loss and it will help if you get OUT of the house with all the memories there. And doing something crazy fun will help you both heal.

Ann,
My beagle went through a brief mourning period after we lost our 13y/o Golden-Collie in June. They grew up together like siblings and he wandered the house looking for her constantly. We started his transition by picking up all her old toys and putting them away. What finally brought him out of it was getting another Golden (through a local Rescue). I know you said it is too soon for you, but it helped us all by giving us a new, positive, happy focus instead of the loss that we could do nothing about. My thought was that we still had a lot of love and happiness to give and there were plenty of dogs out there who really needed it.

I'll still have my breakdown moments, and I'm sure our beagle probably still wonders where she is from time to time, but he also enjoys having a new playmate in the house, someone to boss around and take toys away from again.

I am so sorry for your loss and hope that time will ease your sadness.