To feel that soon , dog ownership will just be for the well off? And thats not fair.

[Tunamelt]

We had a family dog and as a child I really benefited from it . As did my own dc when we had our beloved dog.
When the dc had a hard day she cheered them up so much and it was such a good experience for them.
We have just adopted a dog.
She needed the vets in the first week due to upset tummy.
Ist vet appt £75 and then x2 meds.
She now needs a stool sample and a further vet appt to
check her health.
stool sample test alone will be over £100.
We had appt with behaviourist at £90 ph .
Her food is £60 pm.
the vet thinks she may need fluxotine for anxiety and those meds are around £80 pm
So thats come to a good amount and she has only been here a few weeks.
Its made me realise that these sort of costs are just not do able for
many - and a concern to us -and it seems so unfair that the joy of a dog may be beyond reach for many these days .

OP's dog had hematochezia possibly stress related, but it could have been parvovirus, etc etc. But you know that, because you are much smarter than the dumb vet.

One dog owner I know got advice from a clueless eejit online, and withheld water from her polyuric dog as it was, unsurprisingly, polydipsic and she worried about "water toxicity". Neither of them had any clue about renal function, ADH inhibition, and how corticosteroids work and she made her dog very sick...which led to an emergency consultation with a dumb vet.
She obviously should have called you for advice, instead.

Fml...

Depending on the dogs age, getting one at age 70+ is a selfish act. There is no consideration for the dog, it's needs and thought about it in an emergency.

We were in a similar position with FIL (70+) and decided against a dog. However, I have 3 dogs and they come to visit, he's regulaly dog sitting one of the dogs, his favourite, out of my lot. They have a lovely bond, go for walks around the block and spending time on the sofa. They are great company for each other. But most importantly, if FIL feels off or the dog needs a proper walk or a visit to the vet (lifting the dog up) it's all covered by myself or DH.

Yes it’s so much better for the dog to stay in a kennel at a rescue isn’t it, especially the harder to home dogs? They must be so much happier there than in a house with a garden and regular walks.

... and a few years down the line the dog is returned to said kennels, adding yet another home to its history.

Unless the 70+ year old person makes arrangements in their will. If my mum was thinking of a dog I would happily agree with her that I'd take it on if she was no longer able to. She's still very active and would make a great dog owner, she also has much more time during the day than many working age people.

If people over 70 shouldn't have dogs and people who are working full time shouldn't have dogs, who does that leave?

Don't judge people when you have no idea of their circumstances. Plenty of 70+ year old dog owners will have plans in place to make sure their pets don't end up unwalked or in rescues.

I’d say for elderly wanting company a house cat an elderly rescue tbh. Food, water, litter tray and fusses.

Yet most older dog owners always seem to have little yappy ankle biter type dogs. I do wonder who picks up a lot of the poop as mobility decreases as well on the walk they do manage often along side a mobility scooter. I’ve yet to see any with those litter picker type dog scoops on the back.

Plenty of 70+ year old dog owners will have plans in place to make sure their pets don't end up unwalked or in rescues
See, this is the point I am trying to make: if you need to think about what will happen to your dog once you are either too unwell to look after it or simply have died then maybe you are not in a position to have a dog. It's selfish to get one if you can't guarantee you will stick around long enough to ensure it can live out it's life with you... and provisions or not, many end up in rescue because their elderly owners moved on and friends or relatives don't want to be burdened with it.
And while dogs are not humans, they are sentiment beings that build lifelong bonds with their owners. They suffer if their human isn't there anymore.
What is the right thing for humans isn't always the right thing for a dog.

You do realise that no one can guarantee they'll outlive their pet? My cat is 9 months old and I'm 50, what if I don't last another 17 years (based on the age of my last cat)?

I got my rescue from the most wonderful dog walker who walks many elderly people’s dogs daily. She charges them pittance (because they are elderly they aren’t up to today’s inflation rates, some of them - light hearted!)
I see her with 3 or 4 and sometimes I cadge a lift and send my dog a long.

I've read most of the thread, but not all of it.

I think your poor dog sounds scared. Her whole life has changed and I think she needs time to just settle into her new life and decompress. It sounds awful for you and I would be going stir crazy too but if you can I'd not try too hard working on the separation anxiety just yet. Trying to get her to settle in one room while you go into the other sounds excellent. I would not even take her out for walks for a while if you have a garden she can go out in. Hopefully after a few months she will have got to know you and her home, what is expected of her etc. and you can start to build up the walking and leaving her for a short while.

Her upset stomach is probably due to her feeling stressed. My border terrier always gets an upset stomach when she is stressed, i.e. if we take her on holiday - she gets blood in her poo too. The vet said that if the blood is a jelly like consistency then it is not too worrying, that it is just a sign of an inflamed/irritated colon - it is if it gushes out "like a nosebleed" that it would be a big concern.

I always give my dog Basa fillets (white fish) when she is unwell. Wrap them in tin foil and bake in oven for approx 18 mins.

Mine has been diagnosed as having Pancreatitis and so all her food has to be under 8% fat, ideally under 5%. Pro Kolin is 40% fat! I'm not sure if Pro Max is the same stuff and of course your dog may not have Pancreatits at all but just thought I'd mention that.

I do hope you persevere and that your dog settles down and you can enjoy each other.

That is a really silly comment - that poster wasn't saying that dogs should stay in a kennel in a rescue. 🙄

100% this. ^

Well what's going to happen to them when the rescues keep turning down perfectly good homes, especially the harder to rehome dogs which DM's was? No one wants the dogs to stay in a kennel but the reality is they will.

Cats aren’t the same as dogs, though. Plenty of people would consider one but not the other (either way around, as well).

Well, you’re just being selfish not having a crystal ball, aren’t you?

I have posted and followed the thread. My boy was abandoned, emaciated, worm and
flea ridden, and sunburned. To think of that time brings tears to my eyes.

I am not experienced, he is my first dog. I
marvel at where we are now. I call him my Velcro dog. I couldn’t leave him and was fortunate enough to not have to. He was initially crate
trained. His safe place! I used YouTube videos, but even then, not overly. I bonded with my dog. Now he is crate free and looks to me as his safe person. He asks me what to do and he tells me what he wants to do and we meet in the
middle.

My boy is wilful and has a personality, I think that may have been a reason for him being abandoned, but I have really invested in getting to know him and his needs.

Just over a month is not long. You will be going though the blues, but it does pass with perseverance and connection.

Ridiculous. What on earth would be the problem with my mum having a dog and agreeing with me that I would take it on and give it a home with me if needed? How is this unfair on the dog? I wouldn't be a stranger as I'd be looking after the dog when she's on holiday anyway.

Unexpected things could happen to all of us. Redundancy, injury, accidents can happen at any age. It's just silly to say that all elderly people who have dogs are selfish.

If I were a dog I'd be quite happy to be owned by a retired person, as many people have said they often have more time than working aged people.

Well according to some people on this thread, anyone over 70 is unsuitable to own a dog and anyone working full time is unsuitable. So I'm not sure who's going to be giving all the rescue dogs homes, just the small pool of people who are sufficiently wealthy to stop work well before retirement age I suppose. Which would mean that yes, a lot of dogs would be stuck in kennels.

I know of a few people who are much younger than 70 and don't bother walking their dogs regularly. Age and mobility is no guarantee of commitment and willingness to take responsibility for meeting a pets welfare needs.

To be fair lots of people don't pick up after their dog which is disgusting, that's not exactly an old person thing. I agree about the yappy dogs though, there do seem to be a disproportionate amount of them with elderly owners. I wonder if that's because younger people don't want them 🤔. I was injured young and my grandfather took on walking my dog at 70 and outwalked and outlived my dog even though my dog was young at the time of my accident. I think deciding whether to take on a dog has to be down to the individuals fitness, time to dedicate to the dog and other responsibilities. I had no idea at 22 I wouldn't be in a state to walk my dog, but it can happen to anyone. My elderly grandfather was the best owner even though it wasn't his dog.

I don't know about other people but if I do go out with my partner and our dog, I'm likely to get to her on my scooter (I'm not old, just the result of injury) and pick up her poop with a bag over my hand before he can get there. I don't think mobility scooters prevent people from being responsible, but I do get what you're saying.

This is silly. Anyone can die at any time. A dear friend of mine died in his early 50s, and his dog went to a rescue.

The rescue my dog is from rehomed an elderly greyhound who was not fussed with walks anymore, to a lady in her 80s. A perfect match.
Any decent rescue will do the same. Make sure dog and owner match.

It's selfish to get one if you can't guarantee you will stick around long enough to ensure it can live out it's life with you..

One of the most ridiculous things I've heard to be honest, how can you guarantee it, dogs can easily live 15 years+, who knows what could happen in that time, my mum died in her early 60's after falling ill that year, her rescue dog lived out the rest of his days with my sister.

My neighbour in her 80s has a little rescue dog who wants for nothing and she is out everyday walking him.

It's certainly not a reason NOT to get a dog, especially a rescue dog.

Not a dog owner and I know how emotive anything to do with animals can get. But dog ( and cat) ownership is so widespread now, I wonder about the environmental effects. All the poo for a start, but also the meat consumption, the effect eg of flea medicine on waterways etc. It’s rarely talked about. For full disclosure I am a cat owner so not entirely innocent there.

My friend is 82 and walks other people's dogs, she has a regular clientele. Admittedly none of them are bigger than a cocker spaniel, and she won't take more than 2 or 3 at a time.
I agree though that there's a definite trend for older people to have small yappers, not what I'd choose to have personally because I think they can actually be more trouble (volatile?) or is it because some people think a small dog doesn't need much training?

Small enough to pick up and have on their lap maybe?

Vets care is expensive our 14 year old dog has hust been diagnosed with arthritis and we have to pay the two £48 consultation fees when realistically only one fee is needed as the second appointment was a review and then medicine added as with the first apparently the £48 should have been £60 but they discounted it as its a second appointment. I don't mind paying for the treatment but like Animal Trust they don't charge consultation fees as they believe it's so you can pay the extra for other services.