How do you handle a gieving pet who lost its owner?

It's okay if she knows that you're grieving too. Pets pick up on that, especially female dogs. If you're going to be adopting her, after a while try wearing something of your father's and then cuddle her for a while. Give her treats when she responds to you. You might have to repeat this, it may take her a while to transfer affection to you. And she'll never be quite the same doggie. But that doesn't mean she won't be loveable and able to bond with you.

My grandmother's dogs waited at the gate for her for YEARS. They were happy to bounce around my uncle and take food from him, but they still thought in their little doggie hearts that Grandmother would come driving down the lane again.

I'm sorry you lost your father.

I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your father. How are you doing? As far as the dog goes, yes it is a loss to her too and with time and care she should get past the loss. Whatever things your father did with her regularly, walks in certain places at certain times of the day, dog park visits, or whatever her routine was, try to keep as much up of it as you all can.

I also like the idea of giving her a sweater or something of his with his scent that she can sleep on.

This is somewhat common in dogs that have lost a close companion. The best thing to do is to love her....provide a lot of attention and affection to help her get through this. I would also provide some chewy treats to keep her mind stimulated. You basically just want to keep her mind off of her loss, and give her someone/something new to attach to

Good Luck

Time is what will help her the most. All you can do is sit with her, spend time doing things she likes to do, walk her, brush her, encourge her to eat with a few healthy treats if she's not too keen on eating. Animals grieve like people do, so she'll be sad for a while but will get back to normal.

I'm very, very sorry for your loss - particularly hard at this time of year.

You need to walk the dog as much as you can Take him to places he hasn't been And he wont have the time to think about it And then you will be closer to the dog yourself And it will help you too. The dog will be tried and hell sleep better Hope thing work out for you Take care of yourself and your new found friend

We lost our 7 pound poodle over a month ago and we know what greif is. All you can do is..

Hold it...love it....love it...love it...

If it is a pet friendly dog, you might see if it would like another dog from a shelter. It would have a friend again.

Everything I say is based on loving animals more than humans.

When my husband died our vet. gave me some doggie prozak (SP) that she took for awhile until she got to feeling better.

love, care and time.. give him something that remindes him of his owner a blanket, sweater.. that may help

i say give her lots of love and care let her know that your there and that she isnt alone.