Do dogs understand death?

That animals understand death and grieve for their losses is no longer the question. For example, in her 'Coming of Age With Elephants', biologist Joyce Poole describes a mother elephant grieving for a stillborn baby-crying, slumped over, days on end spent desperately trying to revive her child. read more

Not sure dogs ‘understand’ death the same way that us uprights do but believe they definitely grieve the loss of a companion pet. Sam mourned for about 6 months after Puck, our OES passed away that he was extremely attached other and to this day, becomes extra excited whenever he sees one in our neighborhood. read more

Dogs do understand death. Not only can they understand death, they have the capacity to mourn the loss of a pack member. Some dogs have even been known to die from the sadness of being abandoned or losing a pack member. In the wild, when a fellow pack member dies, the wolves will give a mournful call to announce the death. read more

I held on to my first family dog’s collar after his death. If I moved the collar, our second dog would come running into the room looking for him. Who knows what dogs might understand about death, but they certainly understand absence/loss. read more