lonely

Hi our 21 week old staffy is acting very lonely. She started life with another staffy so had a constant friend that she always played with we got her at 16 weeks and have no other pets. now she seems upset and lonely all the time. we try to play and walk her as much as possible but nothing cheers her up. theen when she gets with another dog we see her so happy and jumping and playing then the depression kicks back in when the other dog goes. we understand it must be hard to leave hee friend and join a new home but its now been 5 weeks and she hasnt cheered up. getting another puppy isnt an option at the min. any similar stories or advice much appreciated. thanks

We got another dog 5 weeks ago partly because we felt that our first dog was lonely. Also because we wanted another. Ours are both rescues and they now get on really well. They seem to like company of other dogs.

It may just take her a little more time to settle. We got Suki at around that age from a breeder and it took her about a month or so until she started to gain some confidence. She could also be teething around that age to which can affect behaviour.

My girl was brought up with two other dogs who both sadly died within a week of eachother (we swear one died of a broken heart when his lifelong partner had an unfixable stroke) My girl lexi was about 5/6. So she was hit quite hard, she lost a bit of weight as she wouldnt eat so we had to change her food and just lots and lots of TLC and distractions.

Dogs do def get very attached and sometimes find it hard to re adjust. My Granda had a Cairn Terrier who was very happy, loved her food and was his shadow. But when he died she hid herself away and stopped eating, we had to literally feed her like a baby. She was an old dog when he died and never got over it.

Give your pup time and she should get through it. They do normally find a way to adapt in time. Have you got any friends/relatives that have dogs that would meet up or go for walks together?

I think a combination of a new home and not being with another dog is just hard to adjust to. Keep doing what you're doing, give her lots of love and affection, and I think sooner or later she'll come around. Dogs bond with people and other dogs (obviously) so when they're not around them anymore, they go through a period of missing them probably, like us. Difference is we can understand why we're not around people we care about anymore, whereas dogs don't know what's happened. So I think it's a normal response and it'll go away as she gets used to it. If you know anyone with a dog you can meet up with regularly, it might help her out so she has a dog-friend to interact with often?

They do adjust, Lola spent every day from 8 weeks to 18 months with a weimeraner, try were inseparable, until me and my ex parted ways. It did take Lola a while to get used to being a loner, the best advice I can give is don't make a fuss of her when she's upset, as daft and horrible as it sounds. Just stick with it and keep to a routine and I'm sure your pup will be fine

asa-james wrote:the best advice I can give is don't make a fuss of her when she's upset

I totally agree!