It is becoming apparent that most mammals share a universal emotional capacity. Joy, grief, happiness, anger, fear and sadness to name a few. Canines and Felines are very wired into their pet parents emotions. There are hundreds of stories about dogs waiting for their owners to return after they have passed, or grieving the loss of one of their furmates. The signs are the same as grief in humans: Lethargy, sadness, loss of appetite and possible immune compromise.
The emotion of grief in Chinese medicine is housed in the Lung meridian. The Lung meridian is also responsible for our immune system and protective chi. So in humans a lot of times people who are grieving tend to get be more susceptible to illness ie: colds, asthma, pneumonia etc as their immune system is not working at full force because they are grieving. This is true in our pets as well.
Grieving is a normal process, but if it goes on too long then it may be time to try and ease your pet out of the grief cycle. There are some good points in TCM to help with this. Try using the points a few times a week and see if you notice a difference.
Below are just a few that can be used
Also, if there has been a loss in your life be sure and chat with your pet about what you are feeling and let him or her know how you are feeling… it will help them feel better as well.
The article below has some good tips to identify grief in your pet and what to do about it .
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/11/11/dogs-grieve-owner-loss.aspx