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Introducing a new puppy to an older dog, your experiences?

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  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    Hola Nollie!  So hard to lose a family pet. 

    When I got my second Border Collie pup, I took the older dog (14) along with me to get the pup.  

    She was extremely tolerant and mothered the young scallywag.  She could put a stop the "games" rapidly.   

    I agree with the others - lots of cuddles and attention for old Bill - his own "bolt hole" and not to let the pup take over his bed.

    Just as you would do introducing a new baby in the family.  Older ones come first.

    There was a stage where the pup was eating the older dog's excrements - but that passed.

    The older dog passed away at 16, the younger being 2 years old.   I won't be getting another dog.

    Let us know your progress!
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

  • Jenny_AsterJenny_Aster Posts: 945
    You've had some great advice in this thread already, can only add; that if possible meet the new pup outside of your home, so Bill doesn't feel any need to protect his territory. When the day comes for the new pup to move in, perhaps you could organise the meeting outside of your home then bring both dogs into your home together. 

    It'll help to not make an issue about the new arrival, keep it low key.

    Sorry to hear about Sandra. They're all heart breakers  :'(

    As an aside - we had to have our old dog Max pts, and we left Monty, our younger dog, home whilst we took Max for his final trip to the vet. Monty pined for weeks for Max, always looking down the road in case he returned. The vet later told us that we should have brought Monty to the vets with us, so he could witness Max's death. That sounded a bit too callous to me, but the vet explained that dogs have a more matter-of-fact way of dealing with it and it would have been less stressful for Monty. 

    Bill's a gorgeous boy! Good luck with your new family member. 

    Trying to be the person my dog thinks I am! 

    Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    Thanks again all for your kind thoughts and advice. I guess you can’t really predict any future relationship.

    We are due to drive to the land of the SWD (Andalucia) in September for a big birthday. If nothing turns up beforehand, our thinking is we will take Bill to collect older dog/puppy - whatever comes out in the wash - for a neutral territory meet and greet, Bill in ‘his’ boot behind the dog guard and puppy in ‘her’ crate strapped to the back seat for travel. Hopefully plenty of time to get used to each other before having to negotiate home territory.

    Bill is castrated, we live in an isolated rural area with a 3 acre fenced plot so fairly confident we can avoid unplanned pregnancy before a girl is old enough to be spayed.

    We do have the ideal lifestyle and set-up for this active and water-obsessed breed plus their woolly, non-shedding coat doesn’t set off OH’s asthma/animal hair allergies, a big plus for her, but muggins here has to clip them three times a year!
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • a1154a1154 Posts: 1,108
    Good luck with it, Nollie. 
    When we lost one of an older pair we got a mixed breed puppy locally (not a breeder, more of an accident). Introductions outside went well. My old girl was quite tolerant but the puppy never stopped trying to play and she never stopped having to say a firm ‘no’. 
    They rubbed along but were never friends. 
    I now volunteer for a dog rescue, and having seen some ‘the mother of the puppy you just had to have’ cases, I’d never get a puppy again. 
    My puppy is now 7 and we foster dogs, and she is very happy for another dog to arrive, stay a while and leave. They dont see things like we do, they often just move on. 
    I do agree a lot of dog charities aren’t good to deal with, but we are. 😀
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    Nollie said:
    We do have the ideal lifestyle and set-up for this active and water-obsessed breed plus their woolly, non-shedding coat doesn’t set off OH’s asthma/animal hair allergies, a big plus for her, but muggins here has to clip them three times a year!
    A non shedding dog would be a dream! I'm drowning in greyhound hair here, and it's white so there's no hiding from it!
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    My SIL has dalmations and they are an equally hairy nightmare @Loxley. A miniature poodle is a smaller non-shedding option for city living, but it would probably get lost in the undergrowth here 😃

    @a1154 lots of desperate dogs in shelters over here, but conditions are generally awful and you have no idea of the background. Said SIL rescued two Spanish dogs to add to her dalmation crew but neither were successful. One run away constantly and had to be rehomed and the other is incredibly timid, clings to her husband and won’t mix. I would favour an older dog over a puppy if I knew it’s background and it was being re-homed for genuine reasons, but that opportunity may not arise.

    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • WAMSWAMS Posts: 1,960
    She's gorgeous
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    But exhausting!
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    We have a Phalane who is now 16
     When we got him we had 2 border collies. My vet said put them all together straight away. Taking the other 2 wasn't an option,we had to travel from Sussex to Somerset. It was gone midnight, shattered, everyone went to bed,I put them together. Nothing terrible happened.The borders were 5. The blue became his bestie,Holly the black/white,did a low grade growl everytime he went near her,he never took a blind bit of notice. We have always had 2 dogs,(Leo is my cat substitute!) Perhaps have a word with your vet. How old is Bill?
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