Grief is a complex set of emotions that we all experience other than . But do our dogs aggrieve the loss of other menage dogs ?
There are many explanation of dogs mourning the loss of their humans , like Greyfriars Bobby , a Scottish dog who stand watch over his owner ’s gravefor 14 class . But a newstudyshows our four - legged friends may also grieve the loss of eyetooth they live with .
In the study , an international squad of researchers survey 426 Italian adults who be with at least two dog-iron , one of whom had go . The survey used in the subject area , dub the " Mourning Dog Questionnaire,“took the team years to developand underwent multiple rounds of testing to see to it its validity .
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found on their result , the team find that 86 percent of respondents report their pull round dogs displayed disconfirming behavioural changes after the loss of anotherhousehold heel . One of the cogitation ’s lead writer , Federica Pirrone , prof in veterinary ethology and animal eudaemonia at the University of Milan , add together up their resultsforThe Guardian : " Overall , wiener were reported to play and wipe out less , catch some Z’s more , and seek more for owners ' tending . "
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Around 33 percent of dogs in the study exhibited these negative behavior for two to six months after losing their eye tooth companion while 25 percent acted other than for more than 6 month .
Interestingly , how long the dogs live together did n’t seem to impact whether the surviving dogs displayed negative behaviors . Instead , the strength of the trammel between the two dogs was a much more plus predictor of grieving demeanor . Pirrone toldThe Guardianthis likely intend that the surviving dog has lost an attachment figure who provide safety and security system .
A broad range of animalshave been observed"grieving " and engaging in what seem like death rituals , including heavyweight , dolphins , birds , elephants , and swell apes . But reports of wild dogs displaying heartbreak - like behaviors are scarce , as are document scientific evidence of pet hound bereavement .
Despite their prescribed finding , the subject area had several limitations , meaning we ca n’t say for sure whether dog mourn the loss of other click .
In the study , the author pen that the definition of grief in dogs is not well defined . Dogs in the study may also have been responding to theirparents ' emotions , as dogs whose owners experienced greater level of distress , psychological trauma , and ire were more fearful and exhaust less .
How human subjects perceived and reported dog ' behaviors was also subjective . Evidence also shows that click may react with frustration or anxiousness to change in their routine .
Yet regardless of these possibly complicate factors , Pirrone toldThe Guardianthat their study sheds light on a potential aspect of preferred welfare that merit more attention .
" frump are extremely emotional creature who rise very close bond paper with the members of the familiar grouping , " she read . " This means that they may be highly distressed if one of them conk out and efforts should be made to help them manage with this suffering . "
