[Help] My 11 year old boxer died and my 8 year old Saint Bernard has had a sudden change in behavior

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@rrk93 I suggest just being with your dog and comforting her because she’s mourning and she’s heartbroken right now. She lost her best friend, try to sit with her and pet her so she knows she’s not alone

 

[beyondthebirch]

@rrk93 My dog became depressed too when our older dog passed, the vet said to try and get a new dog to help her and she’s back to her old self, but make sure you are ready for a new dog, we waited a while until we were mentally ready for another one

 

[insight2017]

@rrk93 I'd also echo the folks saying it may be depression. Our first two dogs were similar in their age difference and never went anywhere without the other. When our oldest passed, our little guy showed similar symptoms to your SB - lethargic, uninterested in food, distant. He would spend hours sleeping in his kennel during the day. He even went around to his older sister's favorite spots, smelled her scent, then whined and cried. It was heartbreaking.

We were patient with him, gave him all sorts of treats and a lot of love, and after a few weeks he started coming out of it. It just takes time.

 

[beeyanna]

@rrk93 One of my bonded dogs died this week after a sudden onset of seizures. I made sure to let the other two dogs sniff him well before he was buried. That seemed to help them a lot. I've only seen her looking for him a few times, wandering upstairs and then right back down. She's clingier than usual, though.

 

[zhadey]

@rrk93 We lost our 15 year old shihtzu in January, we also have a 5.5 year old shihtzu. I didn't expect for him to go through such a depression because they didn't really interact a whole lot but he was devastated. It took almost a full month before he would play with his toys and eat normally. I started taking him for more frequent (2-3) times a day and that really seemed to help.

 

[russtfence]

@zhadey We had to put down our 11 yr. old male Shih Tzu last April 9 and after that, our 13 yr. old male Shih Tzu suddenly became distant and lost his appetite. They were like mortal enemies (same-sex aggression?) so I also didn't expect for him to react that way.

 

[zhadey]

@russtfence Isn't it heartbreaking? We always gave our old girl her pills in sliced American cheese every morning, the first morning after we lost her our boy got so excited and ran to the refrigerator. He sat, looked over to his right where she usually was and just went and laid down.

 

[mcsquiggles]

@rrk93 We had a VERY similar situation. We ended up getting a puppy after 10 months. Totally brought our dog back to life.

 

[rrk93]

@mcsquiggles I’m definitely considering it. I have a one year old Shitzu as well, but at the moment with the state of the world and with Covid-19, I want to wait till maybe next year for a dog.

 

[mcsquiggles]

@rrk93 Good luck. It was shockingly sad to see the effect of our dogs loss on our younger dog. Developed bad fear based aggression. Separation anxiety. Had to coax him to eat. I am absolutely shocked at how much he’s recovered since we got the puppy.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@rrk93 It sounds like she is mourning. My cat did the same when one of my other cat passed away. He wouldn’t eat. It probably took over a week before he started to eat again. Hang in there. It broke my heart to see him in pain like I was. RIP to your sweet boxer.

 

[josphat]

@rrk93 I hope yours and your baby’s heart heals soon. my parent had three labs all the same age. last year our chocolate, Benny passed away at age 12. our yellow, Tucker was affected the most. he would stare at the door literally all day and wouldn’t really eat for a week. took him about a month to start fully relaxing again and returning to his sweet old self. he’s now 13 and thriving again! I know it hurts your heart and I hope everything works out for the best.

 

[tri21mom]

@rrk93 You can try some canned pumpkin with her food! My dog loooooves it and it helps with digestion / the diarrhea. Also scrambled eggs are always a go-to with us when my dog isn’t eating well.

 

[4everu]

@rrk93 I’m dearly sorry for your loss. I had to put down my boxer this past year and it cut deep into my heart.

I will be praying for both you and your dog .

 

[rrk93]

@4everu Yeah for sure. I’m going to take her tomorrow. In my town, the vet clinics are closed this weekend and we don’t have a 24 clinic. I’ve read it might be colitis. I read canned pumpkin is good when they have diarrhea

 

[vanillasoftserve]

@rrk93 I’m sorry for your family’s loss. I experienced something similar when I lost a Chinese Shar-Pei mix boy who was bonded to my Staffie girl. In our case, my Staffie, a found dog, was apparently dependent on my boy for confidence, because after he passed, I could no longer take her to dog parks. I also have a female Jack Russell Terrier. My point in posting is to caution you about leaving your St. Bernard and your Shih Tzu alone together. The size differential is too great to risk any mishaps. I separate my Staffie and my JRT whenever I can’t have eyes on them. I didn’t do it always, but I always do it now. Best of luck with your new pack dynamics.

 

[merleharlin]

@rrk93 I would continue feeding chicken and rice, even if the pup only eats chicken. Any food is better than no food. Slowly introduce normal food. They are grieving. Try to act as normal as possible. I am so sorry for your loss!

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@rrk93 Try to cheer your dog up! Extra walks, bend some rules (maybe couch cuddles or something), feed the dog DOG treats, not just chicken. Dogs require vegetables in their diet just like we do. Try to vary up the food for a while (buy wet dog food if you usually dont etc. Dogs seem to love that shit)

If your dog likes the beach, take it to the beach etc.

All this being said if they continue to not eat/have bad diarrhoea then go to the vet. I reckon the diarrhoea is from drinking enough water, but not eating enough food, and the lack of variety in the food

 

[saorabha]

@rrk93 Vets are still open, some have you stay in the parking lot, but have you call when you get there. They come get your pet, check it out and bring it back to the car. I would call your vet and describe all this to them. Make sure there isn't a health issue going on first, then see about depression. I would absolutely start with calling the vet.

 

[xic]

@rrk93 My 14 year old retriever died. My 12 year old corgi stopped eating. He was his best friend. After 3 weeks we couldn't stand it. Went to the shelter. Fostered a dog to try things out. They took to each other right away. New best friends.