Off his food

I have always had German Shepherd Dogs, and always two together.

Two weeks ago we lost Amber, our elder dog, and six-year-old Max is bereft. Amber was always the leader and Max the follower. Max has never been a big eater, but now it's hard to tempt him to eat very much at all. He will not eat his normal dry food, he'll eat very small amounts of canned but nowhere near enough. I have tried cooked chicken breasts but he won't even eat much of that. He had a vet check recently, though before Amber died, and he is physically fine, so it seems that he is grieving for his companion.

If he continues this way he will obviously lose condition. We feel it is unlikely we shall have another dog, as we are not getting any younger! Please does anyone have any suggestions for helping Max come to terms with his loss?


Dogs Today reader, by phone

Grieving for a lost friend

Hi my doggy friends, can anyone give me advice please.

I lost my faithful old friend Ryan a couple of weeks ago. He was nearly 14, the most beautiful Lab/Ret you could ever wish to meet, but I also have a young two-year-old Lab/Ret and she is grieving terribly. She is not eating properly and is so lethargic.

Does anyone have any tips on how to deal with this? I know how I feel, I still cry for him myself, so I can’t imagine how she feels.

Amanda Beevers, via Facebook