How long after losing your dog did you wait before getting another?

[JustlookingNotbuying]

I have already posted about losing my beloved dog, a month ago.
It has been so much tougher than I anticipated.
DH and the kids miss him but have been able to get on with their lives.
Archie was with me almost 24/7. He followed me everywhere, if I went out he would take my shoes/slippers to lay on, if he was at my parents he would sit on their window sill and wait for me. He worshipped me and I him.
And that’s why I am finding his passing so difficult.
I appreciate that it’s only a month and I have a while to go before the rawness eases but it’s not just his passing I am struggling with, it’s the emptiness of not having a dog, or any animal in my home right now. I am 49 and have had either dogs or cats in my life since I was a baby. I hate this emptiness.
Archie took with him a piece of me that will never return but I am already longing for the presence of a pet in my life. As much as I want him back that’s obviously not going to happen.
I have started looking on rescue sites and have made some enquiries but the guilt is overwhelming. I feel that I should give it months, maybe years but the downside is that the love I have to give is going to waste. There are so many rescues out there and we would be saving each other I suppose as I feel lost, the depression I had (which having Archie in my life really helped with) has returned in a big way. I really would love a dog back in my life.
How long did you go before getting another? It is such a strange feeling, it feels so wrong to even think about it.

What I would say is what do you/Archie gain by waiting?
Your new dog will not be Archie, Archie will always have his place in your heart. The new pet will find their own place in your heart and you have love to give.
I would find your next best friend and commit...but remain aware that they will give you new love not the old one back.

I wish you all the best. Your next rescue is lucky to have you.

PS sadly i could not commit to another dog when the gorgeous Heidi passed. I have 2 very senior rescue cats who are better for our current stage of life, they help, they are not her though

Two months.
Similar here, ddog came everywhere with me, holidays, travelling, day trips, to work, slept on my bed. I missed my ddog terribly, dd was looking and while I wasn't in a big rush she found our new ddog.

Certain things lined up to say this was the right dog for me. My old boy passed away the same weekend our new boy was born. The date offered to collect new pup was my old dog's birthday. He was the smallest boy in the litter, same as my old dog.

We wanted another terrier but not the same exact breed. He is comfortingly similar to my old dog in certain behaviours. I utterly adore him and still think very fondly of my old ddog.

It took us 6 years ..... we lost 2 within a couple of years and I swore Id never go through that pain again, so we went travelling and now that the travel bug has gone and we can be flexible with work we got ddog, hes 16 months old now and boy I'd forgotton how hard the puppy years are 😂😂.
I dont think there is a right / wrong time its when you feel you can love another 💐

I only waited a month , I couldn’t cope with the emptiness

no other animal is gonna replace the whole in your heart but there’s plenty of fur babies in need of love , we rescued a new dog only too have him two years before he passed I wouldn’t change a thing those two years he was loved dearly

The first time 11 years, the next time 6 months and the last time 5 weeks.

Having done a few different ways, I personally will get another as soon as possible in future as having a dog is now an integral part of my life.

A new dog can never replace the old one, but they carve their own space in your heart.

Actually can’t stand being without a hound, that’s why I have several.

I had an ‘only’ dog 20 years ago - she died unexpectedly and I was bereft. I needed another dog ASAP. She died at the beginning of half term. I lived alone with my dog, so the absence was awful. I had a new dog within a couple of days.

It’s not disrespectful to a dog to need another, rather a tribute to how important they were.

My SIL is a nurse and has had years dealing with disease, accidents and death.
she told me last year, that they’d put themselves down on puppy list with their breeder before their last dog died. She figured he was getting very old and would die soonish and wanted to be sure they had a new puppy if breeder went ahead.

I was quite shocked. Not a dog lover myself but it was said so pragmatically and casually. she isn’t cold heated and was very upset when older dog did die ( not long after she’d told me that to be fair). It’s more that they always have 2 dogs and their dogs all come form same line from same breeder who they’ve known for years.

so it takes all sorts. I don’t think you have to feel guilty to get a new dog…if you gave one a loving home then you have ability to do that again, and for some people life means having a dog.

Thanks everyone, that has put my mind at ease. I’ve been torturing myself to even allow myself to contemplate getting another.

Archie meant the world to you. You have a lot of love to give to another dog who needs you now.

Get one as soon as feels right for you, it can never be too soon.

I lost DDog at the beginning of March and swore I would never get another. Put a deposit on a pup yesterday.

When I lost my first dog, it was ten weeks until puppy 2 came home. After his death, I was looking within a month but it was eight months before puppy 3 came home because of a waiting list.

Took me 12 months to come to terms with the loss of my pooch, joined a wait list and after 2.5 years got my new boy. He’s nearly 1 now and such a joy

3 weeks and it was a big mistake! I hated the new puppy for not being my old dog, a year on I love her dearly but I hate myself for constantly comparing them

She's kept my mind off my grief but not taken it away

I wish I'd waited 'till I'd better processed my grief

I was a bit like this. My dog who died was a really easy puppy so I stupidly was expecting the same. I was utterly heartbroken and just wanted something to take away the pain. Got another after a month or two and I actually thought I'd made a big mistake for weeks. He was an absolute dickhead and I really didn't take to him and just wanted my old dog back.

Of course he's 1 now and I adore him and feel very guilty that I felt that way.

It's whatever feels right for you, people have different ways of responding and thats OK.

Its not being disloyal and replacing Archie but giving another dog a chance to have a happy life, and it's sounds like the dog you choose will have a very happy life.

Love from a fellow (rescue) dog owner x

A week or so.Couldnt stand the "empty" house.
Didn't stop me from being devastated but certainly kept me busy!

Around 12 weeks. Couldn't bear how empty the house felt.
Like someone said above though, I didn't "like" the puppy when we got her. She didn't smell right, I'd forgotten how hard puppies were, and she didn't feel like my dog.
I feel awful for feeling that way though, and 3 years on she is my absolute world and I couldn't possibly love her anymore.
I think in hindsight 12 weeks was a little too soon.

My next door neighbour always has more than one dog - she openly says it's to avoid the pain of ever being dogless.

I'm the same with cats and am usually getting a new cat within a week. Doesn't mean the dog or cat we lost wasn't amazingly special to us.

I honestly don’t think I will ever know when the time is right, I just know that the house no longer feels like home without an animal to share our space with. I have had 4 cats as I adore them too and would get more until the right dog also comes along but I live next to a busy main road and have lost 3 of those 4 to the road so can never have another whilst we live here (finding your dead cats on the road is just heartbreaking).
In hindsight (dh doesn’t agree with this) but I should have had more than one dog in the first place, I would still grieve Archie but to suddenly have this ‘nothingness’:- no daily walks, no food bowls about, no dog smells (loved his biscuity smell), no barks when the postie calls etc is plain torture.
I too worry that I won’t love or even like the new dog but I know deep down I will as I adore animals (more than many people!), I will just have to get used to the fact it’s not my lovely Archie.

There’s no one right answer; it’s different for each of us. I waited 10 months after my beloved Susie died, before scanning the rescue boards for another dog. My friend couldn’t bear the dogless house when her Lenny died, and had a new rescue boy within a week. I’m sure our feelings of pain and loss were the same, but we all find different ways through grief. It reads to me like you are more in the second camp? But neither response is better. And there is no place for guilt: you loved each other; you were lucky to have each other. Xx

One month. We had a holiday booked and he died the week before. We coped on the holiday, was a distraction, but coming back to the empty house was horrific. My whole life was planned round him and I didn't know what to do with myself. I phoned a couple of breeders and went to see two litters that weekend. Brought home the devout puppy we saw. For us it was the right decision and I don't regret it. I'd forgotten how hellish those first puppy months are though.

Second not devout! Weird autocorrect 🤷‍♀️

We waited 6 weeks. It was way, way too soon and I regret it every single moment.

Please give yourself time.

First time it happened I waited about a month because I was going on holiday. It was awful, and I kept begging neighbours to let me borrow their dogs. Then I rehomed 2 dogs. A year or so ago I feared that we might soon lose one or both of the current dogs (both old by now) so got a puppy. When I later lost one of the dogs it definitely made the loss less painful by still having dogs in the house.