On Dogs & Grief

On Dogs and Grief.

Dogs and grief. Yes. A few days ago someone asked me about dogs and grief.

What do you do with your doggies on days when grief is hard and walks might feel like a very hard thing to do?

Is it ok to rest with your dogs when you are grieving?

Yes yes yes.

(and same with cats - but they don’t require walks)

I’ve been feeling this over the last month. Where grief has been so hard and our walks are much shorter than “normal.”

I try to honor the stimulation that their sweet brains require so in lieu of long walks we play training games in the house (“touch” is a big one).

In place of our mid-day walk, I let the dogs out in the yard, sometimes throw a ball around. Let them sniff and chase birds and squirrels for a little extra.

Another idea is to give them a kong with some frozen treats inside. Or a chew that’s going to take them a long time to work on.

And I notice that they respond to the state I’m in. Ari has found her way onto the couch with me. A place she never used to visit.

And Daisy is coming to me each morning for extra butt scratches and wiggles. 

It is entirely OK to rest with your dogs (and animals) when grief feels extra hard. They know. And when you get still and quiet enough, you might even find you can tune into them.

And listen. They’ve probably got some wild and simple wisdom for you.

Or you can just stroke their fur and listen to your breaths.

I love you. And you’re doing this grief thing exactly as you were meant to.