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[Arcanum]

If the dwarf a hunting dog (and I suspect others) dies, the dog remains assigned to that owner.  There doesn't appear to be a way to reset its ownership.

[Toady One]

I think dogs remain loyal to their dead owners and sit and wait to starve to death.  Cats ditch their dead owners after a while.  The dog behavior probably applies to other pets.  Maybe the dog's loyalty should depend on the duration of the bond or something.

edit:  not that dogs can starve anymore...

[ August 21, 2006: Message edited by: Toady One ]

[Arcanum]

So, not exactly a bug, just unexpected behavior due to the removal of a previous feature.

Personally, I see war dogs and hunting dogs more as living tools than pets, in that they don't bond with their owner to the same degree.

[Toady One]

I guess it depends a lot on how the specific relationship works.  They had us read Where the Red Fern Grows in elementary school, which had heavy hunting dog bondage...  or is that the right way to say it?  It also had blood bubbles and axe death.

[Redd]

The hunting dogs (and possibly wardogs) are still not available for work with other dwarves after their first assigned handler dies.  It seems that, at the moment, the 'working' dogs of dead people sit around doing nothing, being called "the Pet of Unib Doe".

I quite like that they're pining for their master, but it's a terrible waste if the hunter gets killed on the first trip out.  It seems wrong to assume the poor dogs will only be fit for mourning or mincemeat after that.  It also seems unfitting when you take into consideration that they have been trained to follow Dwarven command (not just the dwarf that trained them, hence the ability to assign them to any dwarf after training).  Their ingrained need to work/receive praise should carry them forward to another master/dog relationship.

Perhaps, as you say, there needs to be a period of bonding during which they are happy to be reassigned.  It seems silly that a skilled, subservient animal would stay master-less unless it was nearing the end of its life or had spent most of its life with the one handler.  Seeing a few winters in together would probably be enough to bond them permanently.

[Koji]

If it takes forever...
I will wait for you...