The Dog Left Behind Has Lost Her Spark — A Survey of 426 Owners

Last updated: August 15, 2026

It is probably not your imagination. Of 426 owners who lost one of their dogs, 86.6% noticed a change in the one left behind. The researchers, though, write that they cannot yet confirm this was grief.

86.6% of owners reported some change
Most common: staying close 67%, no longer playing 57%, moving less 46%
Duration: under two months 29.4%, two to six months 32.2%, six months or more 24.9%
Whether the dog was shown the body made no difference to how long it lasted
The stronger the owner's own grief or anger, the greater the change reported

After you say goodbye to one, the dog left behind leaves food in the bowl. She spends longer waiting by the door. Maybe it only looks that way because you are the one hurting — and so it goes unsaid.

A survey asked more than four hundred people the same thing. Over eight in ten were seeing what you are seeing.

What gets said

"Dogs grieve too." Against that sits "animals do not understand death, so it is the owner projecting." Both circulate; what rarely turns up is anyone checking with numbers.

This survey gives a partial answer to each. The changes are real. Whether they can be called grief is a separate question.

How the survey was built

Owners in Italy who lived with two or more dogs and had lost one of them — 426 of them — answered a questionnaire. It was designed to ask about both the remaining dog's behavior and the owner's own feelings.

That second half is the other pillar of the survey. It gives the researchers material for separating, afterwards, whether the dog really changed or whether a grieving owner saw it that way.

The subjects were owners. Nobody observed the dogs directly.

The numbers

86.6% noticed a change

86.6% reported some change. The breakdown:

Changes seen in the dog left behind (multiple answers, 426 owners)
Change	Share
Seeking attention, staying close	67%
Stopped playing	57%
Moving less	46%
Sleeping more	35%
More fearful	35%
Eating less	32%
Vocalising more	30%

That the most common answer was staying close may come as a surprise. The talk usually runs toward a dog losing energy, but the change reported most often was the one where she comes and presses against you.

How long it lasted

How long the changes lasted (426 owners)
Duration	Share
Under two months	29.4%
Two to six months	32.2%
Six months or more	24.9%
No change	13.4%

Roughly three in ten settled within two months, while a quarter continued past half a year. What is happening now does not simply continue for the rest of her life. And it lasting a while does not mean something is wrong.

Seeing the body made no difference

Whether the remaining dog was shown the body of the one who died made no difference to how long the changes lasted.

For anyone carrying regret about not being able to let them say goodbye, this may be one piece of material. A death in hospital, an accident that made it impossible — every household has its circumstances. From this survey at least, that is not what decided the length of what followed.

When the changes were larger

Larger changes were reported where the two dogs had been close, where the relationship resembled parent and offspring, and where they had shared food.

And one more: the stronger the owner's own grief or anger, the greater the change reported in the remaining dog.

What is not known

The authors write plainly that they cannot confirm this was grief. It could be anxiety at the absence of a housemate, or a response to a changed daily rhythm; they have not shown it to be the same thing a person feels as bereavement.

The link with the owner's feelings admits two readings as well. The dog may be picking up on the owner, or a grieving owner may simply notice small changes more readily. This survey cannot separate them.

The authors do say the second explanation alone struggles to account for it. The reported changes were not associated with how much the owner tended to see the dog in human terms, or how strong their attachment was. That gives some support to the idea that the numbers are not built purely out of projection.

One more thing: these were owners in Italy. Where the habits of daily life and of saying goodbye differ, it is reasonable to expect the numbers could differ too.

What this survey is good for

You do not have to doubt what you are seeing

More than eight in ten owners are seeing the same thing. There is no need to argue yourself out of it. If you have been keeping quiet because it might just be your household, this survey says otherwise.

Do not settle on a cause

Eating less and moving less might be something like grief, and they look identical when the cause is physical. If the dog left behind is elderly in particular, having her seen once is the safer course before waiting it out.

In a multi-dog household, the dog remaining after a goodbye is often getting on in years herself. File it as emotional and a physical change can slip past.

Hold a rough sense of the timeline

About three in ten settle within two months. A quarter continued past six. Knowing that spread saves you from over-worrying about where things stand right now.

That it may move with the owner's own state can also be read forward: as you steady, her state may change too. The sequence has not been established, so this is a possibility and no more.

How these numbers get misread

Misreading 1: "86.6% of dogs were grieving"

86.6% is the share of owners who noticed some change. Whether the content of that change was grief is something the authors themselves describe as not yet confirmed.

Between "there was a change" and "she was grieving" sits a distance nobody has closed. Headlines tend to jump it.

Misreading 2: "Your crying makes your dog sad"

The association between the strength of the owner's grief and the size of the reported change is real. But whether the dog is picking it up, or a grieving owner notices small changes more readily, cannot be separated.

"She is suffering because you keep crying" does not come out of this survey. Read that way, it puts one more weight on someone who has just said goodbye.

Misreading 3: "If they do not see the body, they search forever"

In this survey, seeing the body made no difference to how long the changes lasted. Not being able to bring them together cannot be said to have decided what followed.

Nor does it show that showing them is pointless. It goes as far as no difference, and no further.

Misreading 4: "Changes lasting a long time are abnormal"

24.9% lasted six months or more — one dog in four went past half a year. Within this survey, a long duration is not unusual.

The possibility of an overlapping physical problem does need thinking about separately, though. If it is dragging on, having her seen rather than filing it as emotional is the safer course.

Common questions

Do dogs grieve when a companion dies?

The authors state plainly that they cannot yet confirm this was grief. 86.6% of owners reported changes, but the paper leaves open that these could be anxiety at the absence of a housemate, or a response to a changed daily rhythm. That the changes occur at all is something many households saw.

How long do the changes last?

In this survey, under two months for 29.4%, two to six months for 32.2%, and six months or more for 24.9%. 13.4% reported no change. So roughly three in ten settle within two months, while a quarter continue past half a year.

Should the dog left behind see the body?

In this survey, whether the dog was shown the body made no difference to how long the changes lasted. If you are carrying regret about not doing it, that is one piece of material. It is also not a finding that showing them is pointless.

Does my own crying affect the dog left behind?

The survey found that the stronger the owner's own grief or anger, the greater the change reported in the remaining dog. But it cannot separate whether the dog is picking up on the owner, or whether a grieving owner simply notices small changes more readily.

She is eating less. Is it all right to wait and see?

Something like grief can be behind it, but a change in physical health looks the same from outside. If the dog left behind is elderly in particular, having her seen once is the safer course before waiting. The important part is not deciding in advance that the cause is emotional.

Sources

Uccheddu S, Ronconi L, Albertini M, et al. Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) grieve over the loss of a conspecific. Scientific Reports. 2022;12:1920.doi:10.1038/s41598-022-05669-y(accessed August 14, 2026)