Poor old boy missing his pal

[ihavespoken]

Hello, I am hoping you can help with some ideas please.

We had our beautiful 14yo JRT boy put to sleep on Monday this week after a short unexpected illness. His brother is a Patterdale terrier and is 13 years old. He is very confused as his pal went away to the vets on Thursday and never came back. They have always lived together and he's never been an only dog.

We are trying to help him - we have put his brother's blanket next to his bed so he can smell it, we are giving him extra love and walking him new interesting places as well as his usual locations to try and give him something new to think about / distract him.

We understand it will take time for him to get used to things, but please does anyone have any tips for helping a grieving dog? We are also grieving but are keeping our sadness away from him as we don't want him to pick up on tears / crying and make him feel worse.
thankyou x

I think you just have to let him grieve. Give him lots of cuddles and treats and be kind to yourselves as well. I don't think there is any quick fixes, short cuts unfortunately.

I am sorry for your loss.
Nowadays I take my dogs together or I bring home the dog so the others can stiff and realise what has happened.

I don't suppose you would consider getting him a companion ? doesn't have to be a puppy.

But then maybe you don't want to be dog owners forever. as you would be repeating the scenario over and over.

If you do want to consider a companion, I can suggest Many Tears Animal Rescue ( based in Wales but have dogs in foster throughout Wales and England ) as they have loads and loads of older dogs.

Thankyou x

I don't suppose you would consider getting him a companion ? doesn't have to be a puppy.
This is really bad, generic, advice. Lots of dogs, particularly older ones, do not want a new dog being introduced - it makes them feel pushed aside and, if they have just lost a friend, they can be incredibly jealous. Also, at 13 the older dog deserves much better than having a younger, or new, dog encroaching on their last few years of life. It's very different introducing a new dog to a dog that's 4 or 5, but not 13.

OP - Dogs take years to grieve properly in some cases. I think the best thing to do is just give him as much love as you are able and lots of attention. I wouldn't hide your sadness either as that's not helpful to you, or to him. I'm really sorry for your loss, it's horrible to lose a dog.

Thankyou everyone - yes we won't be getting him a companion as he is very set in his ways and a bit unpredictable around other dogs, yet also quite submissive. We won't risk him being pushed out by a new arrival when he can have his last years as number 1 special only boy.
Thanks though @OlderGlaswegianLivingInDevon as I know your suggestion was meant kindly, but it wouldn't work for him.

He was a bit brighter today and had a nice run about on the field with a neighbour's dog that we haven't met before. We are thinking of seeing if a local dogwalker would take him out with a group so at least he gets to see other dog friends more regularly. Obviously we'd discuss it carefully with the walker given his unpredictability mentioned above.

So sorry for your loss. We had this a couple of years ago. Our female Basset Hound passed and left behind our male Basset Hound who was 2 months older. We couldn’t get another at the time as he was 13.5 years old and a bit creaky himself. He had another 9 months without her but he wasn’t the same and a lot more clingy, so I just tried to be there for him as much as possible. It’s heartbreaking to see. Hope your poor boy adapts.

Thanks again everyone for your kind thoughts. He seems a lot better but obviously wants comfort as he has been coming and sitting with us in the evenings on the sofa (previously he would just take himself off to bed) so he is getting extra cuddles etc.
thanks again x