Considering new Puppy

Gael23

Most of you probably know by now we have an very old Golden Cocker and are considering the possibility of getting another in the not so distant future. He will (hopefully) have turned 15 by the time we make a decision and pick one out etc.
I just have soothing holding me back about doing it while he's still with us so was looking for some opinions on it.
Firstly i'm a little concerned that a young puppy will be too boisterous for him. He is the friendliest dog you can meet but he doesn't have much energy and sleeps most of the time these days. Also, when he isn't around anymore would that have a negative effect on the other Dog?

cocker5

OP, wow 15 that’s an amazing age, I just hope (and pray) my cocker lives until he is 15!

I have a black male cocker, 9 ½ now, and like your guy he is the friendliest, most docile and loving dog there is… has never growled or snapped since I got him at 9 weeks old.

BUT my sister got a cocker spaniel (golden & female) puppy about 2 months ago, gorgeous little thing exactly like my guy was when he was a puppy…..and she breaks my guys heart… she absolutely ADORES him… but being a puppy she tries to jump all over him, loves pulling his ears etc…
for the first 20 mins or so he was grand but then he started to fret, he would try and run away from her and his big eyes pleading with me to save him, which of course I did, so now when she’s around (just until she’s has grown out of her puppy stage – until she 2 or something) she is on the lead when she meets him. Just so she doesn’t jump on him or torment the poor guy.

Then it’s all fine and he sits down and relaxes but when she is free to “play” with him as she sees it, he gets very upset, not growling but he’s very uncomfortable and not happy and I don’t want him to feel he’s in situation and his only option is to growl or snap.

with older dogs his perfectly fine, it’s the crazy puppy, craziness he’s not able for..

and TBH im not too sure at 15 your guy would be best pleased, that’s just my experience anyway.

ShaShaBear

Just on this, a friend of mine has an elderly allsorts (NO idea what sort of cross he is) and they recently got a 9 week old pup. While Dean is the most placid and loving dog ever, you can see how vexed he gets with Elsa (terrier cross). She's constantly nipping at him, jumping on him, barking in his face. He doesn't really even have the energy to put manners on her, so they've ended up separating them to give him some peace.

Gael23

To be honest he sleeps a good 16 hours a day at this stage. He gets up when my parents go to work for a short while and then goes back asleep from about 9am until lunchtime.
I did think about him putting up with the craziness of a new pup and I see him either hating it or it giving him a new lease of life, I hate seeing him comatose in his bed all day so half of me thinks it might force him to be more active.
I agree with cocker5 on the biting his ears and all that, but he's so placid I'm not sure if it would bother him a whole lot.

We need to have a long and hard think about it really. The logical side of me says to leave our guy live out his life as is but on the other hand we would love another one.

ShaShaBear

ryanf1 wrote: »

To be honest he sleeps a good 16 hours a day at this stage. He gets up when my parents go to work for a short while and then goes back asleep from about 9am until lunchtime.
I did think about him putting up with the craziness of a new pup and I see him either hating it or it giving him a new lease of life, I hate seeing him comatose in his bed all day so half of me thinks it might force him to be more active.
I agree with cocker5 on the biting his ears and all that, but he's so placid I'm not sure if it would bother him a whole lot.

We need to have a long and hard think about it really. The logical side of me says to leave our guy live out his life as is but on the other hand we would love another one.

I considered getting one when Shadow started to slow down, but I'm glad now we didn't. He was diagnosed with lymphoma and deteriorated so fast I think it would have been awful on a poor pup here in the house. It's so easy to forget how much of a buggering nuisance a playful pup can be!

Toulouse

ryanf1 wrote: »

To be honest he sleeps a good 16 hours a day at this stage. He gets up when my parents go to work for a short while and then goes back asleep from about 9am until lunchtime.
I did think about him putting up with the craziness of a new pup and I see him either hating it or it giving him a new lease of life, I hate seeing him comatose in his bed all day so half of me thinks it might force him to be more active.
I agree with cocker5 on the biting his ears and all that, but he's so placid I'm not sure if it would bother him a whole lot.

We need to have a long and hard think about it really. The logical side of me says to leave our guy live out his life as is but on the other hand we would love another one.

I think the key thing here is the fact that you will be forcing him to be more active. He's 15 OP. If he was 9 or 10 then I'd probably go along with the whole new lease of life idea but he's 15!

If he's happy and healthy then I say let him be for the rest of his days. Change can be stressful for dogs, do you really want to get a new pup and for him to be unhappy for whatever time he has left?

There will always be new pups. You can't say the same about an elderly dog and I say that while looking at my own 9 year old. She's happy and content and I would never do anything that could possibly impact on her happy little life for however long more I am lucky enough to have with her if I can possibly help it.

I think you should let sleeping dogs lie.

Gael23

ShaShaBear wrote: »

I considered getting one when Shadow started to slow down, but I'm glad now we didn't. He was diagnosed with lymphoma and deteriorated so fast I think it would have been awful on a poor pup here in the house. It's so easy to forget how much of a buggering nuisance a playful pup can be!

I understand, one thing I also think about is that in reality he won't be around for a hell of a lot longer and when that day comes what affect would it have on the younger dog?

tk123

Bailey was 4 when we got Lucy and wanted nothing to do with her for a few weeks - he sounds exactly like the older dogs in the posts above lol!!! They get on fine now - she leaned when to give him space and when he wanted to play. At the start I used to have him sitting beside us when I was training her and treated him for just being near her. Funny he doesn't mind her squashing him in the back of the car but he RARELY allows her to sleep next to him - except if I'm working from home and they'll both lie on my bed.

DBB

Toulouse wrote: »

I think the key thing here is the fact that you will be forcing him to be more active. He's 15 OP. If he was 9 or 10 then I'd probably go along with the whole new lease of life idea but he's 15!

If he's happy and healthy then I say let him be for the rest of his days. Change can be stressful for dogs, do you really want to get a new pup and for him to be unhappy for whatever time he has left?

There will always be new pups. You can't say the same about an elderly dog and I say that while looking at my own 9 year old. She's happy and content and I would never do anything that could possibly impact on her happy little life for however long more I am lucky enough to have with her if I can possibly help it.

I think you should let sleeping dogs lie.

If I could thank this post a thousand times, I would, and it's not often I say that!
Your comment about your old fella being so placid that a bitey, noisey, pain-in-the-ass puppy wouldn't bother him would concern me. He might look like he's not bothered, but there are many placid dogs out there who die a little inside each time they're harangued by the new dog, but never let you know it. In addition, if he's sleeping for 16 hours a day and is arthritic or sore, remember that he's going to be less able, and less inclined to make the pain-in-the-ass puppy leave him the hell alone.
If he was younger, then this possibility of giving him a new lease of life might be worth it (it very often doesn't work), but a dog of his seriously advanced years, I think it would not only do him no favours, it could send him to his grave earlier than he'd otherwise have gone. For the sake of the time you've left with him, you need to weigh up the regrets you'd have if you introduced a puppy and it all went horribly wrong.

cocker5

ryanf1 wrote: »

To be honest he sleeps a good 16 hours a day at this stage. He gets up when my parents go to work for a short while and then goes back asleep from about 9am until lunchtime.
I did think about him putting up with the craziness of a new pup and I see him either hating it or it giving him a new lease of life, I hate seeing him comatose in his bed all day so half of me thinks it might force him to be more active.
I agree with cocker5 on the biting his ears and all that, but he's so placid I'm not sure if it would bother him a whole lot.

We need to have a long and hard think about it really. The logical side of me says to leave our guy live out his life as is but on the other hand we would love another one.

Honestly OP my cocker is the exact smae.. really placid... he sleeps all day in the livng room while we're at work, then gets a long walk and he then sleeps some more and hes only 9.... he adores other dogs always has BUT not puppies at this age in his life he just wants to potter around and a puppy pullling at his ears, jumping on him isnt what he wants, he get very stressed when she tried to start "puppy playing with him".

IMO let your guy live out his life in peace and quiet :pac:

santasbird

I have a 16yr old dog. Last year I found a stray 5/6yr old. Did everything I could to find the owner, but as time went on, realised there was no owner looking for her. I decided to hold onto her, all the while still looking for a possible owner. My older dog and the new addition got on ok. But after about a month or so the younger dog came out of her shell. Started stalking my older dog and had to be watched all the time.

When out walking they are fine together but once home, my older dog is wary of the younger dog. At times I do feel for my older dog and if I could turn back the clock and ask myself, should I have taken on another dog? No!! definately not. Its really not fair to the older dog. Now thats with a 5/6yr dog, I cant even imagine what a puppy would be like.

aonb

We lost our 16 year old dog last month. We introduced a puppy when he was 12 (thinking he wouldnt last much longer - happily we were wrong) In our case, the new puppy (same breeder/bitch, so we knew the temperment) was calm and not too nutty. The older dog was never very interested even at 12 in the puppy. The older dog never bothered much with the new dog, though the new dog relied on and bonded hugely with the old dog. We had another elderly rescue dog that lived outdoors - his choice - a collie. The puppy drove him nuts, he had nothing to do with the puppy, and never bothered with him at all. i.e 2 elderly dogs didnt want anything to do with a puppy, and never bothered much with him for the next 3 years. In the last year our 16 yr old spent most of his time sleeping like your guy - getting up for little walks and for his meals - life was good! A bone, a snooze in the sun or on a sofa, and two or three little tasty meals a day - what more could an old dog want!

Now we have lost both of our old dogs (16 & 17 yrs) and the young dog is nearly 4. He is lost without his old friends (though it was very one sided relationship) - he is a bit more nervous and worried without his 'mentors'.

You could be really lucky with a new dog (I wouldnt have a puppy though) getting on ok with your elderly guy, but like the others I would say let the old guy have his retirement in peace. Get a puppy or whatever when the old guy passes on.

Pretzill

It's a tough call but from my experience: We got our girl pup bc when our two elder dogs were almost 12 - She idolised the two but sometimes I think they just put up with her puppy ways! However it did renergise them elder girl died at 14 - about 6 months later we rescused a new pup boy - he was an immeadiate ( within minutes) friend to the then elder guy - he cuddled in to hime everynight leaving now 3 yr old girl ignored. However they didn't have long together as elder boy died 6 months later. I really think he instilled his good nature in puppy boy and I thought he'd miss him terrible.

Puppy went looking around the house for elder guy the first night but the next day all was ok and he and the 3 yr old do everything together now. It was like they knew the older guy needed quiet time or something.

The point of my experience is I had three dogs and that dynamic shifted naturally because the are both young and energetic. My older guy needed as much as a puppy in his last months and it was hard work meeting those needs. I would consider introducing a puppy whilst elder dogs are still fit for walks so they can share it together - pup can learn a lot. But if the elder dogs quality of life was going to suffer I wouldn't entertain the idea.

anniehoo

Toulouse wrote: »

I think you should let sleeping dogs lie.

DBB wrote: »

If I could thank this post a thousand times, I would, and it's not often I say that!
For the sake of the time you've left with him, you need to weigh up the regrets you'd have if you introduced a puppy and it all went horribly wrong.

+1 Can't add anymore to these points. I genuinely think adding a puppy now would be the worst decision you could make OP.

Gael23

He is now exactly what aonb describes without the long walks. He eats-alot!, sleeps, comes for the occasional cuddle and gets a short walk. Walks are ever decreasing in length, its really little and often with him now. Up to 3 years ago he would have gone on a 4 mile trek a few times a week, that has steadily reduced to a stroll around the block today.
Someone said about theres acting almost like a mentor, and I too could see him as being a big brother but while his quality of life is ok, his physical condition is not so good so that may not happen

tk123

ryanf1 wrote: »

Someone said about theres acting almost like a mentor, and I too could see him as being a big brother but while his quality of life is ok, his physical condition is not so good so that may not happen

Bailey was/is a fantastic mentor for Lucy but he was able to get up and leave when she was annoying him. Even now there's certain toys she likes to sit squeaking or her favourite pass time - making a racket throwing everything out of the bed onto the wooden floor - antlers and bullhorns included :rolleyes: - he gets up and goes into the crate in the kitchen to get some peace. Or the odd time she goes to far with him he'll tell her to get lost. It sounds like your guy won't have the energy to do that though? We all dread the thought of our pets getting old but getting a puppy to keep them young really is imo for our benefit at the end of the day to soften the blow when they do eventually leave us? My friend is DYING to get another puppy but knows her dog is too set in her ways now at 10 and the pup would drive her mad but she makes do with cuddling Lucy in the park lol!!

ShaShaBear

tk123 wrote: »

Bailey was/is a fantastic mentor for Lucy but he was able to get up and leave when she was annoying him. Even now there's certain toys she likes to sit squeaking or her favourite pass time - making a racket throwing everything out of the bed onto the wooden floor - antlers and bullhorns included :rolleyes: - he gets up and goes into the crate in the kitchen to get some peace. Or the odd time she goes to far with him he'll tell her to get lost. It sounds like your guy won't have the energy to do that though? We all dread the thought of our pets getting old but getting a puppy to keep them young really is imo for our benefit at the end of the day to soften the blow when they do eventually leave us? My friend is DYING to get another puppy but knows her dog is too set in her ways now at 10 and the pup would drive her mad but she makes do with cuddling Lucy in the park lol!!

I know how she feels, I'm desperate for a puppy. Eyed a stunning spaniel girl in rescue at only 8 weeks and my heart melted. Pierce told me not to do anything unless he could decide to since it will be our first family dog (Shadow was mine) but if he doesn't hurry up and surprise me with an absolute darling ball of fluff, he's gonna come home to a whole pile of rescued crazy before the week is out! :P

tk123

My next pup will be an assistance dog pup. I love Lucy to bits and wouldn't be without her but a little bit of me regrets not going with the assistance dog idea!

ShaShaBear

tk123 wrote: »

My next pup will be an assistance dog pup. I love Lucy to bits and wouldn't be without her but a little bit of me regrets not going with the assistance dog idea!

Assistance pup?

tk123

ShaShaBear wrote: »

Assistance pup?

You know like a service dog? But not a guide dog pup - I want a pup that I can train and enjoy as normal without stupid rules! /end mini-rant

Gael23

tk123 wrote: »

My next pup will be an assistance dog pup. I love Lucy to bits and wouldn't be without her but a little bit of me regrets not going with the assistance dog idea!

Only thing with those pups is you have to give them back, I couldn't do that!

tcif

DBB wrote: »

....dogs out there who die a little inside each time they're harangued by the new dog

I think this is very true! Dogs are pack animals and they understand they have a place in the hierarchy i.e the family. You bring in a new pup and you make a fuss over it and they see you giving time and attention to it that maybe you used to give to them and some of them find that very hard as, in my opinion and we've always had dogs so I've seen this, they can feel their place is threatened. Particularly if they're old and know they're not the dog they used to be!

He's 15 - that's a fantastic age but he's in the winter of his life and maybe it would be better to let him live out the rest of it as top dog with his pride of place in the pack