Adding Puppy with Older Dog

PHG

Hi,

My gf and I have been living together for a year. When she moved in she brought her White Labrador (Cookie) now 13.5years old too. Cookie is great, very mild tempered, never barks and we all get on great!

For a bit of info, she has arthritis in the back legs so she only gets one 20/30 min walk at lunch (we say walk, she says sniffing session) that she really enjoys and can run around a small bit in the park and play. We also bring her out a few other times a day for the bathroom and play with her inside when she is not sleeping. She gets on well with other dogs and is always happy when they come over to say hi. She can still jump on the couch too when we are not looking also

We are considering buying a white German Shepherd pup next year and wondering if there too much of an age gap to bring a puppy in now. We would hope the puppy would learn some of Cookies mannerisms but we are also aware that a puppy will require a lot more exercise and attention and we would not want Cookie thinking we are leaving her out or her injuring herself by trying to play when she is not able.

We would like to know peoples experience if they have done something similar.

Just to note, the Vet says Cookie is in good condition and we will hopefully have another 2ish years if we keep looking after her the way we do now.

Thanks,

PHG

rainemac

We have a 12yr old beagle and just got a lab pup. Her previous companion passed away in October at 14yrs old. She had never been without another dog with her 24/7 and was distraught having lost him. Huge seperation anxiety. We got the pup a month later, for my 7yr old daughter and ourselves as much as the older dog, as we will lose her at some stage and want our daughter to have another dog to distract her as she was also devastated.
Our older dog, Abby is much more settled now and sleeps back in the kitchen with the pup in a crate rather than in our bedroom, can be left like this for short periods in the day which she couldnt beforehand.
When the pup, Bella, is fully protected with her vaccinations we will be taking her for an extra walk or 2 a day and Abby this far, wants to go back in the house if she has her business done and Bella is taking her time so I think she will be ok as long as she has human company, it's a bit of a juggling act but we hate to leave her distressed knowingly.
Abby will warn the pup when enough is enough, Bella tries to engage her in play but they've really not played together alot aside from being company for eachother. Bella does watch Abby and has started to copy her with some things, going out for wees and food time normally but we're only 13days in but it is going well so far.

Both are sleeping for the same amount of time at the moment because Bella is only 13weeks but her energy will be high, so I'm sure your older dog will be fine if ye are out for a walk with the younger one, tiring him out, as I'm sure Abby will appreciate when we can get walking 🀣

cocker5

To be honest OP it very much depends on the older dog.

If a dog has always been part of a family with other dogs and one passed away then yes a new puppy would be ok (as long as you supervise and don’t let the pup upset the older dog too much)

I know in my case my cocker Cody (whom we lost at 14) was always an only dog, was friendly with other dogs but lost interest quickly etc so he was more about his humans.. so at 12-14 he would have HATED a puppy .. maybe an older dog he may have accepted but 100% he would have hated a pup annoying the hell out of him.

So every dog is different, you know your dog OP .. just make sure your older dog doesn’t get massively put out by a pup and if you think the dog may get irritated etc maybe look at a young dog so over the major puppy phase... it’s up to you! You know your dog best!

tk123

Meeting dogs outside is different to having a pup jumping all over her at home which she may not like - I'd also be worried if she had arthritis the pup could hurt her? You'll need to make sure you have a way of separating them so she's able to get a break. In time the pup will learn to give her space - you know her best OP. If she's mild mannered she could let the pup away with murder so you'll need to be able to spot when it's time to intervene if she needs a break. On the other hand she may put the pup in it's place quickly enough and not need you to step in at all lol I'm hoping to have a pup in the new year and will do what i did last time - so lots of training and praise when Bailey is near the pup but will be making sure the pup isn't harassing him as he's that bit older now. He was 4 last time we had a pup and is now 11(!)

pinktoe

Personally I'd probably let your dog live out his last few years in peace. Despite your best efforts not to exclude the lab, the gsd is going to take alot of his attention away and are clingy as hell for the first few months.

Just a couple of small things to consider. They will have different food so how will you go about feeding them without separating them? A gsd is slower at eating and could leave his food untouched for the day. What happens when the GSD wants to sleep in the labs bed, will the lab be OK or snap at him? If your lab has a favourite toy, the gsd will chew it while teething.

I absolutely recommend a GSD they are awesome and you won't regret getting one once you have time to exercise them. They are pretty much toilet trained at 12 weeks which is insane compared to other dogs, but a pup will do the labs head in.

PHG

Thanks for all the replies and plenty of food for taught. Have showed them to my girlfriend also.

We have had friends dogs over and after a while Cookie gets bored of them and she goes to her bed and sleeps even if they are bouncing around the place. We have only seen her snap at a dog once in her life and that was a few weeks ago. One of our friends have a dog that is wired to the moon and would not stop loudly barking at her ALL THE TIME and after about an hour and the other dog going for her for the a few times and it being pulled back she lost the head and understandably so.

We definitely take on board about her living out her golden years in her own space . The food point made us laugh also, as Labradors are like walking dustbins and would hoover up the GSD food if they turned the head, which will be tough as the GSD will eat more times during the day. As for the arthritis, we are quite cautious with it but she has no bother jumping on the couch when we are not looking but do assist her down and thinking of getting her some steps to help her up.

She is not really into toys as she has toys from years ago that are still not chewed threw but get brought out to show us when she wants to come out with us or meal time. She more just wants to know that we are there and moves between the rooms we work in to make sure we are there and then goes on the couch or her bed to sleep beside us.

We may do the minding a dog during the day for a few weeks to see how she reacts before we make any move for a pup.

As for exercising the GSD, I will be bringing my hurley back after Xmas which should help a bit if we do get it

JustAThought

+1 for not upsetting your Cookie - she has
been a loving & loyal pet - why upset her now when she is elderly and happy? There will be time enough. Another pet will
mean noise, disruption, less time with her,
more difficulty in managing walks and play for
two very different energy level
dogs and more time spent away to
train the ‘new’ dog.

I’ve seen white GSD’s for sale
recently and thou they are cute they
come with specific and expensive medical
problems and risks of further medical issues. Your current dog will be costing you more with meds and vet visits over the coming year or so - why choose to bring another dog with possibly heart,
skin and hearing issues into the mix?

Personally I’d urge caution on the white GSD choice and leave Cookie her last golden year or so in blissful peace.

tk123

PHG wrote: »

As for exercising the GSD, I will be bringing my hurley back after Xmas which should help a bit if we do get it

Ball throwing/chasing is extremely bad for joints. You also need to limit a pups exercise so as not to do damage to growth plates.. So if you do get a pup you'll need think of ways to tire the pup out eg mentally with training rather than trying to physically exhaust them. For feeding again - you'd need to separate them initially. I crated Lucy when she was eating at first to stop either stealing the other's food. In time they'd wait patiently for the other to finish then swap bowls lol.

micah537

JustAThought wrote: »

I’ve seen white GSD’s for sale
recently and thou they are cute they
come with specific and expensive medical
problems and risks of further medical issues. Your current dog will be costing you more with meds and vet visits over the coming year or so - why choose to bring another dog with possibly heart,
skin and hearing issues into the mix?
.

Are the white ones not as healthy as the black and tan? I heard rumours of them being more temperamental but thought it was a myth.

Op I'd be inclined to wait it out. As a kid we had a lab and we got a gsd. He was very snappy and wanted nothing to do with the gsd until he became a adult.

Gael23

I would advise against this. Your dog simply won’t have anything near the same energy as a young puppy and it will cause issues with both of them.
When she passes on you will have separation issues with the pup the same as you do now. My advice is to let her live out the bit left in her life and if you want get 2 together next time.
So let her have all your live and attention for the next year or so that you have with her

PHG

Hi,

Thanks for all the advice. We have taken on board what you have said and have decided to wait it out on getting the GSD.

Regarding cost mentioned by JustAThought, Cookie is costing about 250pm atm as she is not covered for a lot here in Sweden as she moved here when she was 8. She had one stay in hospital overnight and we had to pay 1500EUR but thankfully we have savings and she is worth it!

Gael23

Out vet advised us against insurance because he says they will do everything they can to find a way out of paying and you are better to save the money yourself and ensure you have cash on hand to cover unexpected bills.

cocker5

Gael23 wrote: »

Out vet advised us against insurance because he says they will do everything they can to find a way out of paying and you are better to save the money yourself and ensure you have cash on hand to cover unexpected bills.

I have to say I have had the opposite experience- Cody had pet insurance with Allianz for his 14 years ..

In the last 4/5 years of his life we claimed the full amount of €4,000 per year with no issues .. they paid for his weekly hydro therapy, weekly cold laser therapy, heart and joint supplements etc also for his blood tests, and all the other things he needed done .. CTs when he was I’ll etc.. so over the life of his policy we must have claimed €25,000 plus ..

Over the entire 14 years we never had an issue with Allianz not paying or try and wiggle their way out of paying ..

Our new rescue springer is also with Allianz nearly a year now - personally I wouldn’t be without it!