When should I seriously start looking for dog my next dog? Will my old dog mind?

[adogcalledbuster]

Ive two dogs one is 10 average, according to the breed club average life expectancy 10-12, he's very healthy (not a days illness) is the right weight, and enjoys walking but it starting to slightly slow down, my other dog is 4 he's full of life, loves to play he's devoted to the other dog and has never lived alone, he howls (all day) if the other dog is removed, he's very sociable with other dogs. Both are very well socialised and good tempered.
Technically the dogs are mine my DH doesn't like dogs, but then I don't like his all his interest so we both tolerate each others interests, we're both happy. He accepts the younger dog wont live alone and that when the older one dies he'll need a companion but really only wants the same breed as the older dog one of the rarest dogs on the KC register or a breed of dog, so rare that the wait could be up to 18 months, he has a life long ambition to own one, the last attempt to get one didn't work as they wait was so long and we got the younger dog instead but DH doesn't really like the breed. . Im ambivalent about which breed and accept that DH has to like the next dog. I could register with one of the few breeders of the latter but I worry as the older dog gets into his twilight years the last thing he needs is an irritating puppy hanging off his (very large) ears. How have others found an older dog with a young puppy?

Our beloved DDog1 was 9 years old when we got DDog2, 12 when we got DDog3 and just short of turning 14 when we got DDog4.

He aged incredibly well and only started slowing down between the arrivals of DDog3 and DDog4. Even then he coped just fine but we were very careful to make sure he had time away from the younger ones (DH works from home so DDog1 hung out all day in his office) and stepping in if any of them were getting too giddy.

For the most part (aside from DDog2, she was a monster) the puppies were very gentle with him and considered it to be the best thing ever if he was feeling lively and deigned to play with them. Given the opportunity DDog4 was his little shadow and DDog1 tolerated him far more than all the others, they had a very special bond.

I probably wouldn't do it with just the older dog and a new puppy but it worked well for us with a younger dog as well. The younger ones seemed much more likely to play with each other than pester the old boy, though like I said we were careful about monitoring interactions and making sure the old boy got his space.

I'm really curious now about what breed you have I'm a massive dog breed geek

We recently got a puppy who is now 12 weeks. Our other dogs are 13 and 4 1/2. We were very conscious that the 4 year old had never been on his own and on the very few occasions he was left on his own he was obviously upset. Our old boy is the surviving brother of the 2 litter mates we had. His brother died in November, never had a days illness and in all honesty we never thought he would go first. We have now had the puppy 4 weeks and he has settled in well. Our older, arthritic dog is very tolerant to a point and by means of a well appointed growl has made it known which behaviour he will accept. The puppy seems to recognise that if he wants to sleep he goes to the older dog and lies next to him. They are often seen cuddled up together. He and our middle dog enjoy running around together and the middle dog seems far happier now he has a youngster around. In our experience having an older dog and a puppy is fine as the 'middle' dog acts as a buffer. At night they all sleep in the same room but the puppy is in a crate, he has slept well and being clean at night since day 2. I have no idea if this makes a difference but they are all male black labs. As an aside he is the first puppy our toddler has known. Our son is totally besotted.

DH has always wanted a Sealyham only 68 born last year and we currently have a cardigan corgi 102 born last year they are a fantastic breed, both are on the KC endsgered list.

Be very careful, our old dog is 15, two years ago we got a 5 month year old rescue of the same breed( lurcher) old dog is amazing, the most well behaved dog, intelligent and all round good egg. We are experienced dog owners and have always had dogs in the family. New dog was introduced carefully but had been very badly treated as a pup. He eventually became aggressive and attacked old dog several times. He also bit my mum, my daughter and my husband. I took advice from my amazing vet friend and my own vet and they told me it was a risk to keep him or rehome him and sadly a beautiful and generally loving 2 year old dog had to be pts. Old dog was 13 at the time and had turned into a shaking wreck. Within a week of the demise of young dog he was back to his old self and is enjoying his twilight years in peace and comfort. I am thinking I will never get another dog but I will see what happens in the future. This was one of the most stressful periods of my life and my daughter still grieves for young dog.