Hello Carol,

I don't know where the breeder got his/her information but my experience is that an older dog readily adapts and thrives in a welcoming environment.

My experience is with dogs of various ages given up to a rescue for all kinds of reasons from owner hardship to owner cruelty. Each dog is a little different but almost all are welcoming of a home instead of a cage.

I've seen people adopt old, tired dogs with health issues, and the dog thrives in its second chance. The person has much to do with the integration of the dog into the family. In my experience, special people reach out to embrace the older dogs.

I don't think any of my adoptions, or, for that matter, foster dogs have taken more than a few days to become 'comfortable' in their new surroundings. Their 'bonding' is, in my opinion, a function of the compassion and leadership of their new family.

But I think people put more stock in the situational memory of most dogs than needs be done. Most dogs, absent truly awful backgrounds, adapt to kindness sooner rather than later. Dogs that have been treated badly may be more reluctant initially but with perseverance they adapt. The brutalized dog can be an issue but even those seem to want to trust a person.

I'm going on too long. A problem I have.

An older dog is an excellent candidate to be a balanced and loyal friend, from my experience and in my opinion.

Two cents.

I got my dogs at 3 y/o, 1.5 y/o and 9 m/o. The oldest was the one that clicked the fastest with me. She just wanted a place to belong. And she came house broke and crate trained, too. She was pretty much my instant well behaved very loyal friend.

The younger two I had to work with a bit more to build a relationship, but nothing that difficult - basic training, rules, etc. You'd have to do the same with a pup plus housebreak and crate train them!

Our first GSD came to us when she was 2.5 yo, our other GSD was a senior rescue (around 8 yo?). Both were crate and house trained when we got them.

We had such an easy time getting them situated into our household that we decided never to get a puppy again =)

We are now fostering for a GSD rescue, we've had fosters from 1 to 5 yo, all adjusted to our household readily. We also follow Leerburg's recommendation on how to introduce an adult dog into the household.

 Quote: Mike Arnold

Hello Carol,

I don't know where the breeder got his/her information but my experience is that an older dog readily adapts and thrives in a welcoming environment.

My experience is with dogs of various ages given up to a rescue for all kinds of reasons from owner hardship to owner cruelty. Each dog is a little different but almost all are welcoming of a home instead of a cage.

I've seen people adopt old, tired dogs with health issues, and the dog thrives in its second chance. The person has much to do with the integration of the dog into the family. In my experience, special people reach out to embrace the older dogs.

I don't think any of my adoptions, or, for that matter, foster dogs have taken more than a few days to become 'comfortable' in their new surroundings. Their 'bonding' is, in my opinion, a function of the compassion and leadership of their new family.

But I think people put more stock in the situational memory of most dogs than needs be done. Most dogs, absent truly awful backgrounds, adapt to kindness sooner rather than later. Dogs that have been treated badly may be more reluctant initially but with perseverance they adapt. The brutalized dog can be an issue but even those seem to want to trust a person.

I'm going on too long. A problem I have.

An older dog is an excellent candidate to be a balanced and loyal friend, from my experience and in my opinion.Two cents.

Well said, I'll second that, I have had MANY pups, adults, and seniors.

Currently 3 dogs of my 5 dog pack came to me as adults. Only Toni and Drift were here as pups. Caterina was nearly 3, Shyner was about 1, and Tyra was 7 when they joined my pack.

I have had NO PROBLEMS with my older dogs bonding with me, accepting this as their new home, and adjusting to the new rules.

Each dog will bring their personality into the equation, as does each owner, and home. These things are what determine how long it takes a dog to adjust to it's new home- I don't find age to be much of a factor at all.

I have fostered dogs as well, and after a couple of days, they fit into my pack very well. When it comes time for them to go to their forever home, they leave me in the dust, and fall in love with their new family.

Caterina, who was raised at Leerburg, is a good example of an adult dog adjusting to a new home. She came to me at 3 years old, bonded deeply and fast with me. I take her back to Leerburg once in a while, but she has no problem with understanding that she lives with me now, and that she is just "visiting" Ed and Cindy.

I am a strong advocate for adopting adult and senior dogs from shelters. They may not have the puppy "cuteness" factor, but they are very often trained, well mannered, and just looking for someone to love them. In my experience, they bond quickly, and love deeply... regardless of breed.

I adopted my first dog when she was 8. Then I adopted a 6 year old. Then another 6 year old. Then a 2 year old. I loved and cherished all 4 of these dogs until their journies ended. They were fabulous dogs.

The first 3 dogs nearly walked in bonded with perfect manners. The 2 year old was an ugly mess for about a month. However, once it "clicked," it was an amazing transition. I lost her too young.

Adult dogs, as long as they are in the vincinity of temperamently correct, are fabulous additions.

I think it depends on the dog and the home.

When I was very young my mother brought home a middle aged mutt from the shelter. She'd lived her entire life with her previous owners, never was able to settle in with us. She was impossible to contain, cried relentlessly for her old owners, completely ignored any attempts to work or train with her, constantly searched for "home". We ended up rehoming her to a couple living a bit more out of the city, no kids, one of them worked from home, huge property. It was the perfect match. She was settled within a week and never tried to look for her previous owners again.

My grandmother took in a 5 year old husky who'd been a yard dog her entire life and only ever saw one person who was her entire world. Within 2 weeks of being with my grandmother she was a dedicated house dog who'd snuggle up to anyone who walked through the door.

Gambit was an "older puppy" when I picked him up....an hour after I'd picked him out the home he'd been in since he left his breeder and you'd have thought I'd had this dog forever...and we were still 13 hours from home...by the time we got there he and Ryuk were connected at the hip....they'll share their food with each other if I let them...

I couldn't do another puppy, not a smart hi drive puppy.