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  1. #1
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    Thoughts on getting a younger dog as the other one ages?

    Hi all!
    this is my first post *waves!
    we have a fantastic 12yo boy called jonno, he's still really good, goes for long walks most days and really happy... he does have a sunken eye which is felt to be due to a cancer, but it's been there for a year so our get thinks it's slow growing, we all agree we don't need to look into it too much as we wouldn't operate... he's also getting a little muddled, forgetting which door he went out if, forgetting if he's been fed.... And I'm considering adopting an older (7yo or so) lab, partly to be a companion (he loves other labs, esp yellow ones) and partly to cushion the blow for us when the inevitable happens. We would stay a 2 dog family when the time was right so the companion dog wouldn't be lonely for long... Has anyone done this? Am I being fair? My husband is a little nervous about my idea!
    thanks in advance! xxx

  2. #2
    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    Hello and Welcome.

    So sorry to hear about Jonno.

    We home seniors. We got Potion at 9 years old and it was not evident to us how much she wanted another fur friend until we got Melody. We always have two now. I believe it really helps the older one. Right now we have Mardi, now 11, and Archie (GSD) who is 6. I've been doing this for many years now. I would not have gotten Archie, being so much more active than Mardi, if it had not been for his circumstances. We could not turn our back on him, his circumstances and his needs.

    Seven is a good age, past the puppy antics and sounds like it would be good for Jonno. Of course, it's Jonno's choice if it is a good match.

    Looking forward to pictures of Jonno.

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  4. #3
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    I think your plan sounds good except for the fact that your dog, as far as I can tell, has always been an only dog. Have you ever had another dog in the home with him for a week or two? Sometimes, as they age, and especially if he is getting dimentia, change can be pretty rough on them. I have personally gotten puppies with dogs in the house as old as 15, but there was a third younger dog and I dog-sit and foster regularly, so it wasn't a shock at all. Sometimes it even made them more active.

    Also, they may have to be exercised separately due to different needs as they are at different stages in life. I always had a hard time leaving for a hike with one dog while leaving the other behind. Kongs stuffed with wet food and frozen seem to lessen the blow. But, as an only-dog parent it might be a lot harder on you. My friends with one dog seem to feel more guilt about things like that than my multiple dog friends. I got my dogs a really social cat so I won't feel so bad when I can only take one dog. In addition to the guilt, will you have time to exercise two dogs separately?

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  6. #4
    Real Retriever Moby and Barley's Mom's Avatar
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    We grappled with this too, with our about-to turn-13 year old black lab. Moby had always been an only dog - but is super mellow - and while - yes - we decided to get another dog to ease the pain of the inevitable - we sure hoped Moby would perk up a bit with Barley and enjoy him. Barley is a puppy; however, and I think your idea of getting an older dog would certainly be better than a young puppy who is super active around a geriatric dog. That being said - Moby tries to play with him sometimes and they sleep together almost every night which is very sweet. He moves around more in the dog run with the little one as well and has a companion when he is alone which I know he likes. And we give Moby just as much - if not more - love than we did before to compensate for the puppy. I must say that is hard on us; however. Moby had an attack of what we think is vestibular disease - and keeping the puppy away from him and keeping Moby inactive has been a huge challenge the last few days. -barley-colorado-019-jpg Once Barley is through his shots - I will have to walk them separately and exercise them differently since the age disparity is so great. I think your dog will probably love having a 7 year old dog with him after a month or so of adjustment.

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  8. #5
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    Thanks all! It was while we were dog sitting that I thought of it! We often have dogs to stay and he was dog sat for a month while we were in Europe recently... we just kept receiving photos of him playing like a senior puppy!

    so, the dog who has been matched to us through the rescue charity is 7 and deaf.... I figure as Jonno's going deaf, we should be good with our signals on the beach. Anyone have any experience on this? Can you still let a deaf dog swim in the ocean (big waves and rips?) thinking about when they swim past their ball and keep going! We might need to use a massive one!

    We've not met Jed so this is all a bit early....

    and maybe i be I should start another thread?!

  9. #6
    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    Out Bandit went deaf while he was with us. While his hearing was waning, I started with hand signals. I made up my own but there are several sites on the internet to help you. You don't need to get fancy, just be consistent. One thing that did help, I put a snap on light on his collar for when he went out at night. If he was facing away from me, I used a flashlight and shined it in front of him, moving it back and forth. He knew I was called him and immediately paid attention. He even passed his CGC (canine good citizen) while he was totally deaf.

    Nite Ize SLG-03-07 SpotLit Clip-on LED Go Anywhere Light, 5-Color - Dog Light - Amazon.com This is the light I used.

    Watch your body language, gestures, facial expressions. Dogs key off all of those. If you have more questions, don't hesitate to PM me.

    We may not have made a sound, but we had fantastic conversations.

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    holly10 (09-06-2014), KenZ71 (08-17-2014)

  11. #7
    Real Retriever KenZ71's Avatar
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    Each dog I adopt is progressively older. They have some baggage and unknown history but are full of love and spirit.
    -- Ken, owned by:

    Max - Black Lab mix gotcha 4/23/2012 Born 12/2011
    Scarlett - Yellow Lab gotcha 4/19/2013 Born 2008? 2007?
    Lizzy - Terrier mix gotcha 6/29/2014 Born 2006?
    Zeus - Papillon mix gotcha 1/30/2015 Born 3/26/2014

    Avatar: Ziggy, my kitty who crossed the bridge a few years ago.
    He slept in the sink for years, silly boy.
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