Study: Dogs feel grief when another dog in the family dies

By Tom Campbell via SWNS

Dogs feel grief when another dog in the same household dies, a new study suggests.

While the ability to grieve has been suggested for a number of animal species most notably elephants, there has been little evidence to support this.

Now scientists at the University of Milan in Italy have found man's best friend could be more sensitive than people think.

Their study showed that the grieving animal went off their food, was more fearful, sought out attention, played less and became less active.

And in one in four cases this persisted beyond six months of the other dog's death.

Dr. Federica Pirrone, an author of the study, said: "Dog owners reported several statistically significant changes in the surviving dog after the death of the companion dog, both in terms of activities and emotions.

"This is potentially a major welfare issue that has been overlooked, considering the relatively high number of dogs who live with at least another companion dog and the dog aging population."

A survey involving 426 Italian people whose pet pooch had died while they also owned at least one other dog was carried out by the researchers.

Owners were asked whether they had noticed any changes in the surviving dog’s behavior since the death of their companion.

Dr. Pirrone added: "The survey was published on the internet and social networks like Facebook targeting Italian participants who were older than 18 years and had experienced the death of a dog."

In 86 percent of cases owners noticed negative changes, the researchers found, with two thirds [67 percent] reporting they became more attention seeking.

More than half - or 57 percent - said their surviving dog played less, while 46 percent said they became less active.

At the same time, 35 percent of owners found their furry companion spent more time sleeping and was more fearful.

In 32 percent of cases they also found the surviving dog ate less, and 30 percent said they were barking and whining more.

How long both dogs had lived together did not influence the surviving dogs’ behavior, the researchers found.

But negative behaviors were more likely to manifest where both pooches had been friendly and the owner grieved.

These negative behaviors continued for between two and six months in 32 percent of cases, and in for more than six months in 25 percent.

This suggests the surviving dogs could be displaying a grief-like reaction in response to the loss of their companion and their owner's grief.

Dr. Pirrone said: "The understanding of behavioral patterns after loss in non-human animals can be helpful in recognizing these animals’ emotional needs.

"However, even if we recognize the importance of these results, we still cannot confirm
it was grief. More research is clearly needed."

The findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports.