Preparing A Hound For A Loss

[Guest mcsheltie]

Reading this breaks my heart. I can tell you it will be alright. Animals live in the moment and their grief lasts for a shorter time than ours. All I can do to help is send cyber hugs. I've been where you are now. And believe me, I am sending you quite a few (hugs).

[Batmom]

As long as he's drinking, give him a couple days yet. Zema was pretty low for a good week - 10 days after Batman died, and they weren't anywhere near as close as your boys.

 

Hugs.

[Guest pwsopk]

I hope I can offer you some support. Lets hope that time will heal your heart and also your Wally's. My thoughts are with you.

[Guest 2greygirls]

I'm so sorry for your loss..when Leda went, Stretch went into a deep depression.Not eating, aggression towards other dogs (more than normal) timing worked out that the Denver track closed, and his sister needed a home two weeks after Leda left. It was way too early for me. I missed my old ladies, but I took Ebonney into the house, and Stretch brightened up right away, and his joy in having a friend again helped me heal. Hugs to you and your hound.

[Guest Annie]

Firstly, I am so very sorry for your loss of Hobbes...

 

Is there a hound requiring fostering nearby that you could bring home?

[Guest sheila]

I'm so sorry for your and Walters loss of Hobbes. I've BTDT and watched my remaining dog mourn. I too was at a place where I couldn't bring another dog in right away. I would suggest to just keep doing everything you are doing and let time and nature take it's course.

Not to sound like a nut-job, but one thing I found that seemed to comfort Sammy was when I sang her a certain lullaby. This is the song I would sing to her when she seemed really anxious. She would hear me start to sing it she would curl up with me on the couch and eventually heave a heavy sigh and fall asleep on my lap.

 

[RobinM]

Reading this is breaking my heart and other than welcoming another hound into your hearts and home (which I do understand is not doable right now) I don;t know what to say.

 

My Chloe and Teddy are so ridiculoulsy close that even though we have 3 others- I truely beleive it will be a nightmare for the surviving one when the "time" comes. The others may buffer the situation but nothing can take the place of a beloved partner. I hope Wally is OK.

[TheFullHouse]

Even with all the other dogs in the house, Andy mourned Emmy something awful. It's hard to watch but there is an end in sight. All you can do is go with it, Wally will come out of it. It breaks your heart though because you want to fix it for Wally. Like people, they grieve in their own time.

[Guest eaglflyt]

This is definitely causing tears to fall, but just a few ideas ... maybe have a greyhound friend bring their grey over a few times just for a visit, maybe a really thorough massage for Wally, maybe a special car ride (if he enjoys them) with a trip through his favorite drive-thru for ice cream or chicken, maybe a trip to Petsmart to pick out a toy (if it doesn't stress him), etc. Also, do you leave the TV on during the 30 min. period when nobody's home? It helps our pack... especially Ady Bea.

 

Hugs and prayers for Wally and you.

[Rustyroo]

I am very sorry for your loss. We were there just a few months ago. Solo has never been by himself. We lost Rusty very quickly, within hours of coming home from work one night. Solo didn't know what was going on and never had the chance to say good-bye. I literally threw a handful of treats at Solo and ran out the door with Rusty. Rusty did not come home that night. Solo had no idea what happened. That was on a Tuesday. Solo did not eat until Saturday while he was at the dogsitter since we were going out of town. Being with them and there greys seemed to have helped. But when we got back, he was very sad. He was not himself and I would find him laying on Rusty's pillow a lot. Eventually, he got through it and he is fine now. It just took time for him to realize he was alone and adjust to that. Solo too had never been alone, even when he lived with another family previous to us. But he has adjusted and he is doing fine. I hope Wally feels better soon. I'm sure he knew Hobbs was sick. He's mourning in his own way.

[Guest kydie]

I am sorry about your friend, I don't know how to help Wally, I have always had a pack and no matter how many I have when one goes to the bridge, the others look for the missing pack member for days and days, yes they have the others, but the missing member causes confusion, even though they still have each other, please keep us posted

[Jackandgrey]

I would try as much as you can to increase his exercise. Try to get those endorphins flowing as much as possible. Get him out and about. Take him for more and longer walks, runs if you can. I'm so sorry.

[Guest grey_dreams]

I'm sorry for your loss and Wally's depression.

As others have mentioned, more time with Wally, massaging him, taking longer walks (weather permitting), and time will help. His grief will ease with time.

If you want to make the transition easier, you might try an herbal remedy such as Rescue Remedy, or one that has been very useful for us, Soul Support from Alaskan Essences. Also, you might consider an animal communicator to help Wally understand what happened and ease his trauma and depression.

Lots of hugs to you and Wally

[greytpups]

A few days ago we were there too. I can still count the hours. Ben would appear to be looking for Bailey and come up to me. It would break my heart to tell him she's not coming home. He wasn't eating either. But we took him on lots of walks and even though my heart was broken beyond belief, and I felt as if I was barely functioning, I knew he needed extra attention. Somehow as a mom, I gathered up my strength and focused on his well being. He is really helping me heal and I am so thankful we have him. As my depression started to lift, Ben became more of his old self. He's not back to his playful self yet, but I truly believe he was sensing my grief and was reacting to it. In our case he seems to be improving a little bit each day. Hopefully, Wally will too.

 

I'm not sure if any of this is helpful, it's just been our experience. I always wondered if Ben would do well as an only dog, and the answer is no. He needs a companion. He was only alone for a short while when in a foster home. The rest of his life he has always been around other greys. Is this the case for Wally? Perhaps a play date would help him. DH took Ben on a Christmas walk in the park with the greys which really helped Ben as well.

 

[Guest houndhome]

I am so sorry to hear of Hobbes passing. I'm sure it is much harder with Wally's grief (on top of yours). I know you do not want another dog right now. I understand that. To state what others have said, and what you probably know, the only thing that helped my SA dog, Tigger, when his Anniebelle died was to get another dog. Tiffany is nothing at all like Anniebelle, so I never felt that we were "replacing" her, because she can never be replaced. We were just facing the fact that Tigger could not be alone and must be with another dog. It had nothing to do with how much we loved our Anniebelle. Best of luck and let us know how it goes. I am so sorry!

[greytluck]

We left for my parents house last night and are going to be staying for a few days over Christmas. The change has been good for all of us and already has helped Wally out a lot. My parents dog and Wally have been playing non stop and he even ate her food!!!! I hope it continues when we get back home again.

[RobinM]

He is showing you what he needs. I too hope it continues when you get home. Enjoy your time away.

 

happy holidays.

[TheFullHouse]

I think I'd find someone for Wally to play with when you get back home. Maybe set up play dates for him. He's obviously lonely for canine companionship. Poor guy, it's so hard when you lose a housemate. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

[Guest sheila]

We left for my parents house last night and are going to be staying for a few days over Christmas. The change has been good for all of us and already has helped Wally out a lot. My parents dog and Wally have been playing non stop and he even ate her food!!!! I hope it continues when we get back home again.

 

Ahh good!. When my Sammy lost her companion her grief lessened over time, but she wanted to be near other dogs 'so bad she could taste it' and every time she could see/hear/smell another dog on our walks she whined and pulled to be near them. The solution to her angst was clear, she needed another canine companion. I was also in a spot where bringing another dog into the house was not a good option so I totally understand the dilemma.

All I can advise is to keep doing what you are doing and give Wally as many opportunities as possible to visit with other dogs of any breed until the time comes when (fingers crossed) that you can find a way to bring a new 'every day' friend into his life.