Gwyneth Paltrow is mourning the death of two of her dogs

During a question and answer session with fans on Instagram, one follower asked: "Have you ever lost a dog and how did you survive the loss?"

Gwyneth replied: "I'm sorry that you are asking this question. I've lost two dogs recently, one last week only. Our little Maltese, Daffodil, who we had had for like 15 years, and our big Shepherd we lost in September.

"So it's been a tough year on the dog front. We've got one left who's very overprotective.

"But, it's sort of like any other loss, you have to honor them, love them, keep them alive in your mind and love the dog that you have extra hard now, that's what I'm doing."

Gwyneth previously opened up about losing Nero last year in a newsletter written for her company Goop - admitting it's been a year of "goodbyes" as the loss coincided with her two children left home.

She wrote: "One of our dogs died, my kids went to school, and I became an empty nester. I had a bunch of goodbyes this year.

"The numerologist contextualized all of this for me, but this year was about learning to understand that it was a year of endings. And that sometimes those endings have been really painful and have come with big change and recalibrations.

"I've learned to loosen my grip on things and deeply learn to let go. And also to understand that everything is always happening for your highest good, even if it's super uncomfortable."

She also addressed the loss in a post on Instagram in which she listed things she has "let go of".

Gwyneth wrote: "This year I have let go of ..." before adding a picture of her kids with the words "the phase of life where everyone is always under one roof."

She also listed "Our home", "Some very cherished colleagues, "A dog" and "Los Angeles".