Animal behavior: Dogs may show grieving behavior after death of canine companion

 
A survey of 426 Italian dog owners found that behavioral and emotional changes exhibited by another dog after the death of one of several dogs in the same family was sad. A paper with the conclusion that it may indicate is published in Scientific Reports.

Grief behavior has been reported in a variety of animals, including birds and elephants, but it is not clear whether domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) will be grieving.

Now, Federica Pirrone and colleagues have conducted a survey of adults who have two or more dogs, one of which has died.Sixty-six percent of their owners lost one of their dogs more than a year before the study and were asked if there were any changes in the behavior of the dogs that survived the death of the dog.In addition, the owners answered questions about the relationship between prenatal dogs and other domestic dogs and their level of grief after the dog's death.

Eighty-six percent of owners said there were negative changes in the behavior of surviving dogs after their dogs died.Regarding this negative change, 86% said it lasted for 32-2 months and 6% said it lasted for more than 25 months.When asked about these behavioral changes, 6% of owners said the surviving dogs acted to get more attention from their owners, 67% said they had less play, and 57% said they had less activity. did.In addition, 46% said that the surviving dogs slept longer and became more frightened, 35% said that their food intake was reduced, and 32% said that they were more likely to squeak and bark. I answered.Until the death of one of the pet dogs, 30% of the respondents said that multiple pet dogs lived together for more than a year, and 1% said that there was a friendly relationship between the pet dogs.

Pirrone et al. Did not affect the behavior of the surviving dogs for the length of time the two dogs lived together, but had a friendly relationship with the dead dogs and the owners showed grief behavior. In some cases, it was revealed that the surviving dogs are prone to negative behavioral changes and fear.This result may be due to both the grief-like response to the loss of the cohabiting dog and the grief response to the owner's grief, as the cause of the negative behavioral and emotional changes observed in the surviving dogs. It suggests. Pirrone et al. Conclude that the grief-like reaction between dogs can be a major issue in the welfare of pets that has been overlooked so far.

 
* This article is reprinted from "Nature Japan Featured Highlights".
Reprinted from: "Ethology: Dogs show grief behavior when their cohabiting dog dies'