New behaviors after death of a sibling
 < - - - like this.Since Wendel has passed away, Asterisk has stopped her loud barking and stomping of her feet and now she stares just like Levi. Doesn't make a peep Just STARES She also is snuggling a lot more with me, as is Levi, this may simply be because Wendel did not like to share my lap or affection, he was pretty pushy when it came to being the alpha dog and mommy's affection. So I'm not really sure if these 'changes' are really changes or simply their natural behavior that they never got to display because of Wendel's alpha status. Asterisk and Levi are both very submissive. Has anyone else experienced changes in behavior after the loss of a canine brother/sister? |
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Just wanted to give some  I'm sure the grief is still very intense. Many hugs to Asterix and Levi |
| Oh my yes. Pack reevaluation is common. Sorry no more vocal commands......I hate the stare...give me a whine any day. As they feel the loss of a pack member it is not uncommon for them to snuggle more for reassurance from the pack leader. Harry didn't blossom until all the Pyrs were gone......he was intimidated by them. |
| Pack mentality is really interesting. I had a houseful for a while (5 cats, 2 dogs), and didn't realize the strictness of the pecking order until the #2 of the pack died. The shifting of roles with all of them (all but the Alpha) took quite a while, and was fascinating to watch. It sounds like your guys are figuring out what their new roles are. And to all of you for your loss. |
| I know Butchy got much more confidence after we lost Tripper, the basset. Tripper was definitely the alpha and Butchy wasn't really allowed to think so he had to find his way for a bit but he's doing fine. Still submissive to other dogs but not afraid. |
| Thank you for the hugs and condolences. It is still very hard to come to terms with Wendel's passing. He was just such an amazing, special boy. I really miss our daily snuggle sessions. He'd crawl into my lap and I'd cover his nose to between his eyes with kisses and he just could never seem to get enough of it. Levi tries to do the Wendel cuddle, except he spreads his long body on the sofa and gives me his belly to rub. I inevitably touch one of his magic button spots and he pops my ribs with his HUGE back legs. I'm surprised he hasn't broken anything yet, youch! I've also found that I have been over indulging Asterisk and Levi over the last month. They have been getting more scraps then they should. Lots of hugs and car rides (when the weather cooperates). I did notice that right after Wendel was gone, I decided to take them to the dog park and it really was a very sad sight. Wendel was always the instigator of play. He'd run up to every dog and find one that liked to be chased and he and Asterisk would work tandem to herd the dog. Levi would do his own thing and visit with everyone he met. This time around, Asterisk and Levi just stood there. They didn't know how to instigate play, they looked around helplessly at the few other dogs there but they didn't seem to be terribly interested in chase/herding. Levi wouldn't leave me, he stayed by my side the entire time. It was pretty hard to be there after awhile, it really made my loss feel so much greater. |
 We previously had a kelpie and a dalmo who were a year apart in age and the dalmo came straight from snuggling with his Mom and brother to us and started snuggling with the kelpie. When we lost the kelpie at 12 our dalmo, Caesar, was lost for weeks. The first week or so it nearly broke my heart to go to work in the mornings. We have a small high fenced court yard and the dogs would stay outside in nice weather. When I left I would look and see Caesur sitting with his back to the wall where he could watch all the fences and the back glass doors. He was scared out there by himself without his big brother. It was a shock because together Caesar always acted like Mr Cool and Confident. I had no idea that he was relying on his brother for confidence. |
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