They say that dogs don't feel...
Discussion
Phoebe (my much loved but ancient and decrepit lab) died on Wednesday morning at home after another illness. While this is very sad (to me if no one else) not what the post is about...
Chester is my fat, stupid Basset. He is not overburdened with brains and while he and Phoebe didn't play together (Phoebe was not that kind of dog) they did care for each other, a mutual eye and ear washing session was held each day by them usually just after breakfast.
Wednesday was an unpleasant day for us all but Chester seemed uncommonly affected by it. While taking Phoebe to her place of rest he sat in the back with her, he sat quietly and still for the entire journey. Chester has never been still or quiet since the day he was born! He was quiet and still in the back on the way home. Having got home, he sat for a good hour just looking at Pheebles bed only coming away to eat his dinner (nothing comes between a fat Basset and his dinner, nothing!) and then returned to his vigil. Later he did come to bed which is cushions and pillows between the front of the sofa and the coffee table and then his duvet over him but he wouldn't stop shaking/shivering.
He wasn't cold or hungry or thirsty and he didn't need a wee ( I checked on all) but his shaking was constant and uncontrolled. Finally, he did something he has never done before, he got up and went and lay on Phoebe's bed and absolutely buried his face in it to such an extent I had to check he could breathe okay. Only then did he settle down and go to sleep. He stayed there all night and was still there in the morning.
Two days on and he is a little more his usual annoying self, but clingy and a bit 'de-tuned'.
I think it's safe to say that dogs DO have feelings!
Chester is my fat, stupid Basset. He is not overburdened with brains and while he and Phoebe didn't play together (Phoebe was not that kind of dog) they did care for each other, a mutual eye and ear washing session was held each day by them usually just after breakfast.
Wednesday was an unpleasant day for us all but Chester seemed uncommonly affected by it. While taking Phoebe to her place of rest he sat in the back with her, he sat quietly and still for the entire journey. Chester has never been still or quiet since the day he was born! He was quiet and still in the back on the way home. Having got home, he sat for a good hour just looking at Pheebles bed only coming away to eat his dinner (nothing comes between a fat Basset and his dinner, nothing!) and then returned to his vigil. Later he did come to bed which is cushions and pillows between the front of the sofa and the coffee table and then his duvet over him but he wouldn't stop shaking/shivering.
He wasn't cold or hungry or thirsty and he didn't need a wee ( I checked on all) but his shaking was constant and uncontrolled. Finally, he did something he has never done before, he got up and went and lay on Phoebe's bed and absolutely buried his face in it to such an extent I had to check he could breathe okay. Only then did he settle down and go to sleep. He stayed there all night and was still there in the morning.
Two days on and he is a little more his usual annoying self, but clingy and a bit 'de-tuned'.
I think it's safe to say that dogs DO have feelings!
Sorry to hear of your loss. As humans we often really do not give animals the credit they deserve, they are highly intelligent in their own ways and have more empathy and internal emotions than some humans. My cat without fail will always know when I’m unwell and pay me more attention.
loquacious said:
While taking Phoebe to her place of rest he sat in the back with her, he sat quietly and still for the entire journey.
I think it's safe to say that dogs DO have feelings!
Was Phoebe er, 'still with us' at that time?I think it's safe to say that dogs DO have feelings!
But yes, you're right and sorry for your loss. Do you think you'll get another to keep him company?
Evoluzione said:
Was Phoebe er, 'still with us' at that time?
But yes, you're right and sorry for your loss. Do you think you'll get another to keep him company?
No, she'd died a couple of hours earlier, off to the funeral home with her all wrapped in her blanket and her head still on a pillow. He just sat alongside her, he NEVER sits still and is NEVER quiet.But yes, you're right and sorry for your loss. Do you think you'll get another to keep him company?
Always surprises me to know that there is a concept of dogs/animals having no feeling of love or loss, guess it's driven by the centuries old idea of religious origin, that humans are special.....we are defintely not, animals have many feelings, mostly better than homo sapiens. Sorry to hear of your loss but your tale reflects the happy bonds that you and your pack enjoyed.
When I come home my dog is visibly excited. This doesn't happen when other people come into the house. I dont offer her food, toys or anything to advance her quest to procreate, in fact I don't even give her any attention at all until she has settled down again.
So why would she be excited? There is no doubt in my mind that dogs can have very strong emotional feeling towards other animals.
So why would she be excited? There is no doubt in my mind that dogs can have very strong emotional feeling towards other animals.
Dogs have lots of feelings. I have had more than one dog at a time so I understand the question.
How can a dog not have feelings when you see the joy they have when they see you, the hangdog expression when the young dog knows that something bad was done, the fact that they study you constantly, the trust when they roll on their backs for a tummy rub......
My dog was very quiet the day her companion left us. They are pack animals and their pack mate went away.
How can a dog not have feelings when you see the joy they have when they see you, the hangdog expression when the young dog knows that something bad was done, the fact that they study you constantly, the trust when they roll on their backs for a tummy rub......
My dog was very quiet the day her companion left us. They are pack animals and their pack mate went away.
when we lost our tia, the vet did advise to keep an eye on nali who was left behind, sadly now left us too, god love him, cant believe its nearly been a year, but the vet did state, he may grieve as well so look out for any changes, diet, sleeping, eating, thankfully he looked around for her for 2 days, then was back to his old self, being massively spoilt by us to over compensate for our sudden loss of tia.
still unbearable today
still unbearable today
I think that our whippet, Jet, is still grieving the loss of his brother Sam. They were actual brothers (ie littermates) so being together is all they ever knew. We adopted them at 8 months and Sam died last September aged 9. We've had and lost other dogs during this time, but I get the impression Jet feels there is a 'missing piece' - as do I and my OH. Jet hasn't shown any overt signs, such as loss of appetite, more just a general 'impression of loss' if that makes sense. I don't think it helped that Sam went to the vets earlier in the year then came back - maybe Jet thinks he will come back again 
I'm so incredibly, genuinely sorry for your loss. I have seen our Cats mourn for their recently departed friends far too many times. Animals are incredibly intelligent, very soulful beings. They know, they really do. Our Cat Smokey is currently undergoing medical treatment for failing Kidneys, the other two just let him do whatever he wants now. Before he got ill, they would have stood up for themselves but now, they just let him do whatever. They know, they just know.
Heartbreaking story OP.
I have always believed that the animal kingdom displays empathy and many other traits considered 'human'.
Remember the BBC Monkey Cam. When the little female thought she had killed a real monkey, and the mood that spread through the entire troop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaIH5tLmC8U
Another strange one, a book first published in the 70s by Lyall Watson called Supernature has some extraordinary events noted.
When a live shrimp were being tossed into boiling water the rubber plant present in the room which was hooked up a Polygraph machine was registering a spike in resistance or stress if you will, yet it had no reaction to a dead shrimp being boiled.
I have always believed that the animal kingdom displays empathy and many other traits considered 'human'.
Remember the BBC Monkey Cam. When the little female thought she had killed a real monkey, and the mood that spread through the entire troop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaIH5tLmC8U
Another strange one, a book first published in the 70s by Lyall Watson called Supernature has some extraordinary events noted.
When a live shrimp were being tossed into boiling water the rubber plant present in the room which was hooked up a Polygraph machine was registering a spike in resistance or stress if you will, yet it had no reaction to a dead shrimp being boiled.
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