Thanks for all the great information I'm finding on this website...can you all help me with my dilemma? I have a beautiful mixed 1/2 collie/shepherd, 1/2 rottweiller. Bear is about 105 lbs., has the body of a shepherd, the fur and mouth of a collie, and the teddy-bear personality and coloring of the rottweiller. He is going to be 12 years old next month and is starting to slow down. His favorite thing to do is swim in our in-ground pool, and in the summer months he still acts like a puppy out there in the water. But now it's winter, and he's acting arthritic. We give him glucosamine/chondroitin daily, but his rear-wheel drive doesn't want to get up off the floor quite as fast as it used to. He also has numerous fatty cysts/tumors?, but the vet has told us these are nothing about which we should be too concerned. Some of them have been aspirated, and the vet swears they are no issue. Bear is a mushy love of an animal, barks at everyone when they come through the door, but would never hurt anything. We can take bones right out of his mouth, and he will "down" and "stay" with a treat one inch from his nose until he is given the "OK" signal from my husband or me.

So here's the dilemma...my husband, noticing that ole Bear is slowing down in his advancing years, and knowing, as we all know, that big dogs don't have a long lifespan, wants to get another dog NOW. My husband thinks that a younger dog will help keep Bear active and limber, and my husband even wants to bring a puppy into the household. I think the real reason my husband wants another dog right now is because he wants have another dog to hold onto when Bear inevitably leaves us...a dog to ease our personal human suffering. I really don't think it would be fair to Bear, who has been the only dog in the house his entire life (we also had two cats, and he got along fine with those when they weren't all playing catch-me-if-you-can...but the cats are gone now, one last year to diabetes, and one this year to kidney disease).

I think that if I do agree to get another dog now, while Bear is still alive and mostly well, we should adopt a rescue dog of about 4 to 6 years, preferably one that is 40-60 lbs. and mellow. I just don't think a puppy is a good risk, both because a puppy requires a LOT of attention and training and because a puppy might wear on Bear's last nerve (not that he has ever shown aggression). I just don't know what to do at this point, other than to keep disagreeing with my husband and telling Bear daily how much I love him and want him to live forever.

So, any advice or insights into introducing a new dog, puppy or more mature, to a senior dog would be welcomed. I just don't think it would be fair to either Bear or to the new dog, but I am willing to listen to reason if experienced dog owners here think otherwise.

Thanks...

I think your gut is telling you what the right thing to do for your family is going to be.

If it feels wrong to get another dog now, then probably the best thing to do is to wait and give Bear all the attention he deserves in his final time with you.

I think the entire family needs to be on the same page before taking on another animal, it is such a big commitment for all involved.

When jasmine was ageing I really wanted to get a puppy. My husband felt, like you, that it would be unfair to the old girl.

On retrospect I am glad we waited. Loosing jasmine at the age of 14 was a hard experience but she was also probably my greatest joy.

Just my opinion Diane, but you get a dog when you are willing to raise it. A puppy doesnt need to bother your older dog or even have any contact at all if you don't want it to. We've brought home puppies with older dogs and its fine. Have you read any of the articles here about it?

My first dog died in 2005. She had cancer. She was just shy of her 18th birthday. I bought a house about a year before and thought about getting another dog to keep the old girl company.

I didn't and I am glad I didn't. As her condition deteriorated, she obviously felt bad that she couldn't do the things she used to (she tried so hard) and another dog would have made that all the more obvious to her. OK I know I am anthromorphozising(sp) here. But that's the way I felt and still feel.

In addition, an old dog can take up a lot of your time and care. My dog didn't suffer very much, but she did lose bladder and bowel control and due to the cancer being in her mouth, had to be hand and syringe-fed and carried up and down stairs and outside (advanced cancer causes muscle atrophy).

There is simply no way I could have given much attention to a new dog, it would have had to have been crated almost all of the time so I could care for my old dog. Of course I could have chosen to put her down sooner, but she was not in any pain; plus, I wanted to spend all my free time with her knowing our time together was short, and not have to divide it with another younger dog who would need exercise, training and attention.

Whatever decision you make, should be discussed thoroughly, pro-and-conned to death, and agreed upon by all members of the family.

In addition to all that has been said, there is no possible way to pre-determine whether or not a new dog will even get along with the senior dog (and vice versa), never mind help to keep him younger and more limber.

A visit will not tell you this, and neither will a meeting elsewhere.

I always make it work when I adopt another dog, but I wouldn't adopt one with the assumption that s/he would be pals right away (or even ever) with a senior who is already here.


JMO.

 Quote: Mike Arnold

... What a wonderful gift and memorial to Bear to rescue a dog in his name.

I agree from the bottom of my heart.

But I would still be very cautious about expectations that the new dog and the old dog will be pals.

We pack leaders can certainly enforce peace, but we can't enforce friendship.

Ms. Sutherland,

I absolutely agree with you.

Wow! Thank you all for your heartfelt and sage advice. Angela and Mike, you both made me cry crocodile tears. Yes, Steve, I've read the articles on this website. Obviously, I don't have to reach a decision any day too soon...I think in my heart of hearts that Bear has many happy days ahead. And my son, the Marine, is expecting Bear to be here when he returns in two years from Okinawa. We lost the first cat during his second tour in Iraq, and the second cat right after he left last fall for Oki...and he is definitely expecting that Bear will fare better than the cats did during his absence(s) (so am I...the cats were older than Bear).

You are right...it's a question of when, not if. I cannot imagine my home without a dog. In the meantime, I'll keep reading.

Thanks!