RIP Sweet Girl. Please, advice needed

[mytwofriends]

Last night one of my dogs was run over by a motorcyclist and killed. We are absolutely devastated.

Our darling black labrador, a very sprightly 12 year old who lived every moment to the full, got out of our garden when we let our two dogs out around 10.15pm, and even though my husband was out there with them, she must have snook through the hedge and onto the road.

It was instantaneous by all accounts, which is of some comfort, but what is making my heart ache now is our remaining labrador, who used to idolise his big sister. He's nearly 11 and has never been an only dog. He definitely knows something isn't right.

When is it appropriate to get him a new friend? He has his two cats and five people here, and a horse he loves at the yard, but I know how much he loved her.

It's all too sad at the moment but we want the best for our boy. I took him out riding today, and it was heartbreaking. The dogs used to run together and have such fun.

Does anyone have any advice? Do dogs really pine? I'm sure ours is ...

Thank you for reading this long post.

 

[SecretSquirrell379]

We used to have Sophie (Mum) and Amber (daughter) both Cockers. Amber obviously had never been on her own and were never seperated, they even had to go to the vets together. When we lost Sophie suddenly Amber was for the first few weeks very quiet and obviously pineing. We made sure we didn't leave her on her own for a few weeks and spent extra time with her. The a very strange thing happened. Amber had a whole new personality that we never knew existed, she came to life and totally came into her own.She was very happy being an only dog and totally spoilt. Don't rush into anything, some dogs do not do well on their own, others thrive...it will take a little time for it to show which way your boy will go.

Huge hugs for the tragic loss of your gorgeous girl last night xxx

 

[Angelbones]

No advice really, other than spend as much time with your remaining dog as possible, and give him time to readjust before thinking of bringing another friend in for him.

Sorry to hear you lost your dear lab, a very tragic accident. x

 

[ladyt25]

Oh god, how awful. i feel your pain as I have been there and all you want to do is turn back time to change those few vital seconds. So sorry for your loss.

With regards to another dog, that depends on the situation and your dog i guess. Does he mix with other dogs well? I would not rush in to anything because you feel you have to. We got another rescue when our lady was knocked down as our male dog seemed very depressed and she had been with him 5 years. He wouldn't 'speak' to the new dog for a while but it wasn't long before he perked up and actually he is very attached to her and she has brought out the puppy in him and keeps him active - he's 13 now, we got her 4 or so years ago.

Do what feels right fro you when it feels right, that's what i say.

 

[mytwofriends]

Thanks so much for the kind comments. Yes I think I'll wait for a little bit before making any new doggie decisions. He'll get plenty of TLC and we'll keep a close eye on him.

It's early days and obviously everything is still very raw. None of us will ever forget our lovely girl.

 

[Bearsmum]

So sorry for your loss. As others have said give it time and see how he goes. When we lost our Lab I though we should get another to keep the Cocker company, but she's really taken to being an only child and if I'm honest probably gets more attention.

Hugs.

JDx

 

[Native Speaker]

Can't really add to what ther others have said, other than to say how very sorry I am to hear how you lost your lovely girl.

Sending some (((((hugs))) in the hope that they will go some way to consoling you at this tragic time.

Thinking of you all.

C xx

 

[MurphysMinder]

So sorry to hear about your old girl.
When my Buffy lost her mum she really pined, although we did have another dog they hadn't really ever got on. There was no way I could face another just then so i spent a lot of time doing different things with Buffy, and she did come out of it.
Don't rush into another dog just for the sake of your boy, as others have said spend lots of time with him and try and do something a bit different, maybe teach a few tricks.

 

[ofcourseyoucan]

sorry for your loss. your other one will be a litle lost for the next few weeks, you just need to give him time and lots of attention. you will never replace your dog. and you should never try to!. in time for you and your dog another dog may be a help. but please dont rush into anything. please give yourself time to grieve. in a few months time when you think you are ready please consider a rescue dog. your remaining dog is 11 so might not appreciate a young full on pup, but might welcome a young rescue. i got a lovely rescue from manytears.co.uk. he is fab. and worth the drive to wales for. my thoughts are with you and go buy him a big bone to occupy him!

 

[nikicb]

So sad to hear about your lovely girl. I have a black lab and it made me feel very sad to hear your news. I am fairly new to dog ownership but have had cats for years. A little while back my lovely old cat died (of natural causes). My other cat, who totally idolised my older cat was quite nervous at the time. Without being insensitive, it was the making of him. We now call him 'The Boss'. I think animals learn to adjust and sometimes their real characters are supressed by other pack members. Give it a few weeks and you may find your boy starts to change and readjust. Hugs. xx

 

[Goya]

So sorry to hear of your loss. Absolutely heartbreaking.
We lost our lab in September and the other 2 definitely pined for her for a while, but then adjusted. We did get another dog and they took a while to "accept" him.
They have also had to sort out thier pack order, as Beau (Lab) was the top dog.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Sorry for your loss x

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Lots of sympathy: how awful for you.

I'm the worst person to give advice, having gone out a week later and got 2 puppies to replace my big dog's brother. Being sensible, I think you should wait and decide if he really is pining or is just confused about what the heck is going on. If you do decide he needs a companion, think long and hard about age and type of companion to get.

It's taken my big dog a while to accept the puppies and even now, he is quite happy to ignore them. We stupidly thought he needed company but he would have been fine without them and the stress we had and he had trying to adjust was not pleasant.

 

[jasmine]

So sorry for your loss.

Huge ((hugs)) xx

 

[zarablue]

Prince had never been an only dog, he came from his mum and dad at 10 weeks to live with our other GSD Zara who was 2. When Zara died he spent weeks looking for her, everytime we came in he would look round us to see if she was following, after a few days in the house he settled, the toilet accidents at night almost stopped (I dont think he was ever fully house trained )walking him on lead he was calmer we had not let him off lead since he was about 2 because he chased but we tried with the new calmer dog and he didnt spot dogs from the other end of the deild although we still had to be careful, he traveled better he wasnt sick and didnt tag team cry for 200 miles he just complained for the first 10 miles.
In short he was a diffrent dog, a pleasure to be with instead of a pain. We never considered another dog because we felt although prince was only 8 when we lost zara he seemed a very old 8 and wwe didnt think he would like a pup running around.
Good luck with whatever you decide, but maybe give it some time first

 

[mytwofriends]

You guys are great. Thank you for all your kind words, it really helps. It's very noticeable that our boy is hanging around us more. He seems to appreciate the company and it appears he's trying to avoid being alone. That's ok with me as I love having him around

We'll definitely wait and see how things pan out. I work at a yard where there are other doggie friends to play with and hopefully they'll help him too. As for getting another we won't rush into anything.

Again, thank you all. It's helpful getting first hand advice and makes things clearer to me.

 

[jendie]

I'm so sorry for your loss. My first dog died in a road accident and I've never forgotten it. I would advise getting another dog asap. A puppy would be best as that would avoid dominance issues - an adult dog might not appreciate another strange adult joining his pack but would happily accept a 'lowly' puppy. Dogs do best when they have company of their own kind.

 

[Delta99]

Very sorry for your loss.

It's only been just over 2 weeks since I've lost my old boy which has left my 10 yr old bitch on her own.
She was looking for him for a few days, she'd run through all the rooms in the house when we got home, or if she was home, she'd come outside to check the car when I arrived...
Seems to have settled now, she's still a lot quieter than before but we're making a real effort to take her to places where she'll meet lots of other dogs and she's made friends with the cat.
Neighbour said she was whining quite a bit when we first went back to work but seems ok now.
Luckily she's quite an independent person.

Still undecided what to do though, would very much prefer to get another dog but will give it a bit longer.

 

[Ranyhyn]

Sorry for the loss of your beloved dog xxx