[jbohnteach]

Our 4 year old cocker spaniel has experienced the loss of her best friend, our 14 year old Dalmatian. She is exhibiting behaviors that we are not sure how to deal with. She refuses to go onto a tile floor such as the ones in the bathroom or kitchens, and is peeing and pooping in the house quite often, even if she's been out of the house for 6 hours. Can you please help with the grieving process for dogs, and let us know if these things are normal?

[starbuck8]

I'm sorry to hear about your Dalmatian! :( Animals grieve in the same way that people do. There is no one specific way... only time. Did your Cocker and the Dalmatian play together on the tile floor a lot? Or did your Dalmatian die or spend a lot of sick time in the places with the tile?
My sister has a Dalmatian that was totally lost and started to exibihit bad and often odd behaviour after his best buddy died too. She waited about 6 weeks (just some time for her dog to grieve) and went to a rescue shelter and adopted a dog that her dalmatian seemed to approve of. (she took him with) Now they are best buddies, and her Dalmatian stopped his bad behaviour.
You might want to try that approach if you're willing to get another companion for your Cocker!
Good Luck! :)