8 year old golden doodle plus puppy

[doldrummer]

My lovely gd is 8 and has finally realised she isn’t a puppy any more. I’ve always known we’ll get another dog when she dies but I’ve been thinking about getting a puppy now while she’s still young enough to play with it.

What are the things to think about when doing this? Any puppy breeds to avoid if you have an older dog? Own house, wfh, youngest DC is 5, big fenced garden. I’d love a wheaten for their looks but don’t know any (shallow!). Maybe another doodle or a lab or a collie (my GDPs had a long dynasty of lovely black lab collie crosses).

Am I just overthinking it and we should just go for it, obviously following all sensible rules for introductions etc?

We have a working stock lab whose now 13yrs. We also have a 20 month old working stock lab. I was a bit worried due to the massive age difference. At the (cute but awful) puppy stage she was put in her place quickly. Now it's like a grandmother/daughter relationship and so beautiful to watch them together.

Collies often aren't particularly playful with other dogs. Every one I know completely ignored the other dogs playing at the park in favour of their ball or owner. They can also display herding behaviour with dc which can be tricky to train out. Sounds like you'd prefer a more sociable dog.

That’s lovely, Gerard.

Good point, midnight. Only one is little enough to be herded but the social thing is important. I’ve not had a purebred collie so maybe need to do more thinking. Or just go for a doodle or whoodle, always assuming one is available for not too extortionate a price!

Where did all the mongrels go?
It seems that all the old Heinz 57 dogs have been given fancy names, presumably so someone can charge more money for them.

I'd go for it: find a decently-bred puppy, introduce on neutral ground.

Just make sure you have time to train at least the basics while working and bringing up DC.

Why not a pure poodle?

My friend's oldest was 10...
Seems she has been a great influence on dpuppy..

I had a Wheaten many moons ago. She was a fantastic dog, although perhaps not typical of her breed, as she was lively but not hyper like a lot of them can be. She had a lot of socialisation and training early on, which probably helped with that though.

She was super intelligent, really easy to train, loved absolutely everyone and was sociable with other dogs, but not overly interested (this may be because of the level of bonding and training she had with me though, as she would always rather stay by my side on walks than go off and socialise). She was fantastic with my dcs - she came first and was 4 when we had ds1, 6 when we had ds2 and 11 when we had dd. She was equally lovely with all three of them.

Coat care is an issue for some people. She needed daily combing and I Iearned via the breed club to trim and clip her myself. They have a single coat, which absorbs water and mud like cotton wool and although they don’t shed, they do tangle really easily.

She was very healthy, right up until we lost her at just over 14 years old.

We have never had another Wheaten is because she was such a hard act to follow and it wouldn’t be fair to compare, because she really was such a special dog. I sometimes brood about going for another, but to be totally honest, I wouldn’t want to have to deal with the level of coat care a Wheaten needs these days. She’s the only purebred dog we’ve ever had, all the others have been rescues.

I think Wheatens are fantastic. Wouldn’t necessarily recommend them for a first time dog owner, purely because they do need a lot of training and input in their early years, but you’re not a first timer anyway. Also important to remember that they are still terriers, even though they don’t really look like one and they can be extremely stubborn, but for me that was part of the charm. (I love a bit of terrier attitude! )

The UK breed club was very helpful when we were looking for a pup. We put our name down on the club waiting list and waited over a year, but they were even more of a vulnerable breed back then than they are now, so there weren’t many being bred.

Soft Coated Wheaten Club UK - Owning a Wheaten.

Thanks for all the messages! Temp023 you raise a good point about mongrels. My first choice was adopting from a shelter, but around me the only dogs in shelters are not the breeds you’d want around children. And I literally cannot remember the last time I saw puppies in the small ads that were not purebreed crosses with papers or if not papers then fairly “pure”. And still 50-60% of the price.

Purebred collies need early and firm training but then are a dream. My youngest was 8 when we got ours though. He's excellent with my niece and nephew who are toddlers though never left alone. They aren't sociable with other dogs generally but tend to be fine if raised with them