Expert: Alan J Turner, SATS LL1 - 11/6/2006

Question
My sister has two husky sisters,Nala and Nikita, they are 2 yrs old.  Yesterday Nala got out of the dog run and was hit by a car, and died.  Now she's worried that Nikita will try to escape to look for her sister.  And she's not sure how to help Nikita be okay with losing her sister and not get lonely. What are some tricks to help the transition be easier?

Answer
Dear Jasmine,
Thanks for the question. Sorry for your sister's loss. I believe some dogs do go through a period of mourning. I'm not sure there are any tips I can offer to keep Nikita from searching for her sister.

I can offer some suggestions for enriching Nikita's environment to help her deal with the gap.

Food dispensing toys can be stimulating. Get a Kong, place a bit of duct tape over the small hole. Fill the Kong with nutritious treats, baby food or dog food - about one
half way to the top. Fill the Kong with water - not quite all the way. Place it in the freezer in a dish or glass to hold it upright. Get it out in the morning and add some
dog kibble to top it off. Take the tape off and give it to Nikita.

Get a clicker and start clicker training. Besides giving the dog more information about her environment, clicker training stimulates his brain. Check out the books,  Clicking With Your Dog by Peggy Tillman or Click Here: For a Well Trained Dog by Deborah Jones. Both are good books, the first is an "illustrated" how to - the second is good too. You don't have to go nuts with training, just learn how to do it and try a few tricks. Nikita will like it.

Consider teaching Nikita about the street and the danger of moving cars. It's not a small task, but can be a very important step in the education of our dogs.

I wrote a detailed article about teaching dogs about boundaries. Even though she may not have an invisible fence, the article will offer some insight as to the task. Visit http://www.animalnewsnetwork.org - subscribe to the free newsletter, click on Training and read the article - "Case Discussion: Twenty Steps to Introduce a Dog to an Invisible Electric Fence"

Happy Trainig
AT
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