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Old dogs, young puppy?
burntheladle
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
At the moment, there are two dogs in my household. One Lab, aged 14; and one Lab X, aged 12. My family has pretty much always been a 3 dog family (never really intentionally, just happened that way) so the idea of having another dog isn't exactly totally out there. We had three dogs until last year, when my dog passed away.
I really miss my dog, and I'd like to get another lab. The other dogs are really my parents dogs - it's a long and complicated story, but at the moment my boyfriend and I are looking after the house and the dogs while my parents are on an overseas posting; when they come home in two years, we'll move out and the dogs will stay with them. So he and I would like to have our own dog, and now seems like a good time to get it.
The only thing I'm concerned about is how the older dogs will cope. They were much younger last time we had a puppy living with us (7 and 9), and she stressed the older one out quite a lot. She was a really, really, exhuberant puppy who played nonstop and who chewed on them all the time. I'm fairly sure the stress was down to having her swinging off their ears all the time...
Anyway, until quite recently I'd totally discounted the possibility of getting a puppy while the eldest is still alive, as she's quite old and was deteriorating rapidly, and there's no way I'd make her last months uncomfortable. But recently we took her to the vet, and she was put on anti-inflamatories for her arthritis. It's honestly like it's taken years off her, she's managing longer walks every day, and even running about sometimes. She's looking so much better, like she'll probably last years instead of months...
Would it be totally unreasonable to introduce a puppy?
Short version : Have two old dogs, want to get a young puppy, worried about whether this would be too hard for the older dog to cope with...
I really miss my dog, and I'd like to get another lab. The other dogs are really my parents dogs - it's a long and complicated story, but at the moment my boyfriend and I are looking after the house and the dogs while my parents are on an overseas posting; when they come home in two years, we'll move out and the dogs will stay with them. So he and I would like to have our own dog, and now seems like a good time to get it.
The only thing I'm concerned about is how the older dogs will cope. They were much younger last time we had a puppy living with us (7 and 9), and she stressed the older one out quite a lot. She was a really, really, exhuberant puppy who played nonstop and who chewed on them all the time. I'm fairly sure the stress was down to having her swinging off their ears all the time...
Anyway, until quite recently I'd totally discounted the possibility of getting a puppy while the eldest is still alive, as she's quite old and was deteriorating rapidly, and there's no way I'd make her last months uncomfortable. But recently we took her to the vet, and she was put on anti-inflamatories for her arthritis. It's honestly like it's taken years off her, she's managing longer walks every day, and even running about sometimes. She's looking so much better, like she'll probably last years instead of months...
Would it be totally unreasonable to introduce a puppy?
Short version : Have two old dogs, want to get a young puppy, worried about whether this would be too hard for the older dog to cope with...
What would Zombie Pirate LeChuck Do?
burntheladle on
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Edited to say: Also, you'd be saving a dog's life and giving it a good home, which would be much better than buying one from a breeder.
I don't know if that would be the way to go; older dogs are typically a bit tougher to socialize with other dogs, and if it goes badly, the could have very bad consequences for the two, much older dogs they have. If it was his only dog, I would say that's not a bad idea - but I'd say in this situation, I would think a younger pup would be better.
I'm trying to keep my mind open, though.
That is the other thing - I'm not at all willing to take chances with our older dog's health and well being. One of the major upsides for me from buying a pup from a reputable breeder is that if it doesn't work out and the other dogs can't cope, they will accept the dog back - in many cases, they specifically request that if the dog needs to be rehomed, it is done through them. I would feel a lot worse returning a dog to the RSPCA than I would to a breeder.
Here's a link to one in Australia. I know it's likely not near you, but just a sample of how they work http://www.luv-a-lab-rescue.com/howtoadopt.htm
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Any dog can wind up with health issues. My families German Shepherd was certified hip dysplasia-free from her breeder, but she still got hip dysplasia quite badly.
A decent rescue will let you try out a dog to make sure it gets along with your older dogs, and you can specifically request one that's dog-friendly. An older dog will have a known temperment, while you never know what a puppy will turn out to be (aside from things like training, which will help anyway.)