OT-When to get a new dog

[Ken Robb]

You may remember we had to put down our 16 year-old Bichon in April. It was a heart-rending but necessary thing to do. We thought that it would not be fair to our remaining 17 year-old Bichon Ludwig to bring another dog into our family that might upset his twilight months.

But as these things sometimes go we were adopted by Eric. He is a 13 pound bundle of love and energy from the pound who gave our old guy all due respect and actually seemed to give him a bit more pep.

Last week we had to take Ludwig on his last ride to the vet. Believe me, it doesn't get any easier with practice and experience. On our teary ride home we both agreed that we were VERY glad we were not going to a quiet empty house. Yep, there was Eric on the stairs wagging his tail and dropping his ball at our feet hoping for some fetch.

I know some think we should take some time after losing a pet before getting another but that really would not have been the case for us. In fact, adopting Eric while the old guy was still with us worked very well so if you are getting close to "that time" consider if our example might work for you too.

[Climb01742]

ken, very glad your story has a happy ending. losing a dog is never easy, but the sound of a dog when you walk in the door at home is, with the sound of a child, the two best 'hello's' there are. many, many happy years with eric!

[redir]

We got two sister cats and one of them died at 10 years old which is way too young for a cat. Her name was Walnut and she died of cancer poor thing. Koa her sister was beside herself. She obviously missed her. About 3 months later we picked up a Calico called Rosemary and they are best friends. Koa is 14 now but still active. I think it's a good idea to adopt another one. especially when they were together so long.

[woolly]

After 18 years together, this is the first time we've had a fully empty house to come home to. It's a bit of an eery feeling, and while it's gotten easier these last two months, I wouldn't say either of us feel like we're "getting used to it".

Our plan is to get through the holiday season before we start seeking another four-legged family member. We don't have kids, so end up being elected to do the traveling for the annual Thanksgiving & Xmas holiday family get-togethers. I think it would be easier on both us & the new pet to not be juggling that in the initial salad-days. Still, seems like a long time away though . . .

Glad this is working out well for you.

[GScot]

Sorry to hear, that is a hard day.

I think you are right. An experienced dog in the family will help shape the behavior of a new one. We lost our Sheltie at 15 early this year and see lots of her traits in the behavior of the younger dog. They spent a good four years together and all of us benefited from each other.

[eippo1]

I associate you with your avatar. Sorry to hear that you're home is empty. I really want to get a friend for our dog Sallie, but she has some issues with other dogs and we'd need to very slowly introduce them. Unfortunately, we live in an open floor plan apartment, so this would be impossible. Hopefully, we will find a new place to live in the next year or so.

After 18 years together, this is the first time we've had a fully empty house to come home to. It's a bit of an eery feeling, and while it's gotten easier these last two months, I wouldn't say either of us feel like we're "getting used to it".

Our plan is to get through the holiday season before we start seeking another four-legged family member. We don't have kids, so end up being elected to do the traveling for the annual Thanksgiving & Xmas holiday family get-togethers. I think it would be easier on both us & the new pet to not be juggling that in the initial salad-days. Still, seems like a long time away though . . .

Glad this is working out well for you.

[mcteague]

I have a 10 year old Siberian Husky and two months ago we got an 8 week old Belgian Sheepdog (Groenendael). Huskies tend to live 12-14 years so we thought it might be good for her in her old age, and have her well behaved self set an example for the puppy.

Well, not working out that way. She more tolerates him than enjoys his presence. She does like to knock him around when he pesters her and he LOVES it. Trouble is, as a puppy, he really never knows when to quit. Tough to walk both of them as he spends most of his energy trying to impress her or push her around. In the house she generally looks for places to get away from him.

I expect time, and training, to sort things out. For now, he is a handful. Bites everything and has way too much energy; even with 3-4 walks a day.

To make matters worse, he hates car rides. He gets really sick every time. I enjoy hiking with my dogs so I sure hope he gets over that.

Puppies are fun but I really look forward to getting over this phase.

Tim

[Ken Robb]

I agree that puppies and old dogs are a difficult pairing. Eric is 3 and we let the old guy and Eric spend some time together in the "play area" at the pound to be sure (more or less) that they would get along. Eric was pretty quick figuring out that Ludwig walked slower and had little interest in playing. They would sleep sit near each other but Eric always made sure to give Ludwig all the room he wanted.

Long ago I had a very old cat and brought home a lab puppy who pestered him a lot for play time pouncing his tail, etc. A couple of years later we were adopted by a stray kitten in Balboa Park. The old cat quickly taught him who ran the house but the kitten did pester the now-mature lab by pouncing on her tail, etc. They became best pals sleeping together all wrapped up so it was hard to tell where the dog ended and the cat began. They did a lot of play fighting and when the dog had enough she would take the cat's entire head in her mouth to signal play time was over. KARMA?