The energy loss of a test charge particle in an unmagnetized dusty plasma i
s estimated, by incorporating the dust-neutral collisions. A slowly damping
large amplitude wake field is observed which moves ahead of the test charg
e position for large dust-neutral collision frequencies. A critical test ch
arge velocity is determined for a particular dust-neutral collision frequen
cy below which the test charge gains energy instead of losing. The collisio
ns enhance the energy loss only for the test charge velocities greater than
the dust acoustic speed. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S1070-66
4X(00)03302-4].