I had two Dachshunds and one passed away in May.
Over the last two months since Oliver is gone,
I’ve noticed that Pepper isn’t acting the same.
He is sleeping more, doesn’t eat as much, and is
generally not as excited and fun as usual. I have
heard pets can go through depression, and I am
assuming he misses his “brother”. I try to take
him out more often, but it’s not
enough. What can I do and will he ever be normal
again?
Michele
Orlando, FL
Dogs and cats are renowned for their ability to bond with humans–and with each other. Clearly Oliver and Pepper were very close. It is not surprising that Pepper’s behavior has changed since Oliver passed away.
Although pets may experience periods in which they exhibit behavior similar to humans in mourning, these periods generally do not last for very long. Dogs and cats are quite good at living in the moment.
Therefore, if Pepper’s depression has lasted longer than a week or two, you should investigate to make sure that nothing else could be causing the abnormal behavior. Two major possibilities come to mind.
First, there is the chance that the stress of losing a friend has uncovered a pre-existing medical condition in Pepper. I recommend that you have a veterinarian assess him to rule this out.
Second, Pepper may be responding to your grief over the loss of Oliver. It is natural for people to be depressed after the loss of a pet, and that depression can last a very long time. Dogs are phenomenally good at reading our emotions. And they often reflect those emotions back to us.
Your grief over Oliver’s passing is natural. If a veterinarian gives Pepper a clean bill of health, then I recommend that you continue to work on developing new routines with him. Over time, the situation should improve for both of you.
See related Vet Blog entries:
The Iditarod dog sled race is an Alaskan and American institution, in which teams of dogs and people race over 1000 miles in the course of several days. It is considered a supreme challenge in endurance racing.
Most dogs I know love to work. Cattle dogs enjoy rounding up cattle. Shepherds enjoy herding sheep. My pal Buster enjoys playing fetch (which is the closest thing to work he experiences). I have always assumed that sled dogs involved in the Iditarod enjoy running the race. And perhaps most of them do.
However, two recent papers in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association have made made it clear that some dogs are not benefiting from their participation in the race. The first paper discusses autopsy results of 23 dogs that died while running the race between 1994-2006.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance–Unexpected death is a rare event among conditioned sled dogs during competition in endurance races. Potentially life-threatening conditions of dogs that are associated with periods of long-distance physical exertion include aspiration pneumonia, gastric mucosal lesions, and severe rhabdomyolysis. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2008;232:564-573)
Translated into English, the last sentence implies that prolonged heavy breathing may cause dogs to inhale foreign matter and develop pneumonia; stress from endurance running leads to stomach ulcers; and extreme prolonged exercise may cause muscles to break down.
I should emphasize that the vast majority of dogs that compete in the Iditarod do not suffer such serious consequences. (Although if 23 humans were to die in a dozen years during a similar sized sporting event, the event would certainly be banned.) However, the second paper points out that the stress of intense training may lead to stomach ulcers and reduced red blood cell counts in a much larger number of dogs.
[A]cute blood loss secondary to gastrointestinal tract bleeding was likely responsible for the decrease in [red blood cell count] associated with acute exercise. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2008;232:873-878)
Some people believe that running dogs in the Iditarod constitutes cruelty. I am not ready to go that far. But these articles have certainly given me something to think about.
See related Vet Blog entries:
I had two Dachshunds and one passed away in May.
You have questions. 