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Two dogs. Both adopted when they were puppies from a rescue organization roughly 9 years ago. Dogs grew up together, slept together in a large dog bed, pretty much best of friends entire life.

Few nights ago one of my dogs seemed to be in a lot of pain and his stomache was swelling. His brother was crying and howling worried about him which is what caused us to investigate what was going on. Upon rushing our dog to the vet,it turns out his stomach had flipped unexpectedly and he was in extreme pain. Less than 30% chance surgery would resolve this and not leave lasting pain or effects. We made the tough decision to lay him to rest that night to stop his pain and agony.

It has been a few days and our other dog has been staying at our sons house with his two dogs (they have known each other for years and love each other). He seems very depressed and seemed to know right away that something bad had happened when we took his brother to the vet. He seems pretty lethargic and is acting like he is in remorse over his brother dying.

Question has to do with the proper steps to help him through this tough time. Currently we have him staying with my son and his dogs to give him companionship with other dogs he knows.

Some questions/ to guide the discussion are: Should be remove all traces and scents of his brother from the house before he comes home?

How long does it take dogs to recover my the loss of a companion to their level?

Would it be a good idea to get another dog that has the same temperament as him so he doesn't feel alone at home?

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  • All the dog knows is that his friend isn't there to play with. You may want to give him some additional attention/interaction until he gets used to the new normal.
    – keshlam
    Commented Oct 14, 2016 at 22:47
  • He was howling and crying next to our other dog at the time his stomache flipped. Didn't stop for hours and is definately not his normal self. They have spent time away at times and he's never acted like this. Absolutely have been giving him extra attention and interaction although he's just wanted to sleep and keeps distancing himself from everyone
    – IT_User
    Commented Oct 14, 2016 at 22:49
  • He may be picking up your reactions.
    – keshlam
    Commented Oct 14, 2016 at 22:56

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I am going to give a try at this but every dog is different.

I would give him a couple weeks with your son. You are not going to remove all scents from a dog so don't try. Do remove any articles (bed, bowl, toys ....) from the old dog. Do NOT say the old dogs name. Give the dog a new toy and provide lots of attention.

I had a pair that were not siblings and it only took a couple days for the dog. It took me much longer.

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