How long did you wait before getting another dog?

[LawksaMercyMissus]

Lost DDog three weeks ago. I'm absolutely lost without her. I live alone and my whole day revolved around her.

Still forgetting she's gone and I'm spending far too much time lying on the sofa eating biscuits.

I told myself I'd wait a few months, have a holiday etc, but really miss her, but I feel like I'm cheating on her even looking on rescue websites!

Oh OP, bless you. So sorry for your loss. It's so hard, isn't it? If it makes you feel any better, we lost a DDog three years ago (just before first lockdown). It was a Wednesday. We picked up DPup on the Saturday, 3 days later! In my opinion, a new dog isn't a replacement, they're a substitute. You never forget the ones you've lost but take comfort in giving a home to a new bundle of fluff that can share your life and love. That said, we don't intend having any more once we lose the current pair. We'll see, though...
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

We never leave it long...about a month or six weeks..a new dog can miraculously help mend a broken heart.

My relative waited only about six weeks I think.

We lost our 15 year old two years ago and I really struggled between the time he died to getting another (three months).

The house was so empty and I felt like my right arm had been cut off. My whole routine was turned upside down.

New pup was a complete and utter dickhead when we got him and certainly helped me grieve but because he was such hard work it took me a while to love him, I just wanted my old dog back 🥲. Two years on and although we have a very different dog to our last we love him to bits.

The love of my life died on a Sunday in July ( two years ago ). I contacted my lovely vet friend to tell her as she was Poppy's vet and she had just had a breed of King Charles Cavaliers. So I immediately said I would take one. And ended up taking two......

But it was not because I loved Poppy less . I was just SO sad without a dog in the house . It definitely helped me . I was bereft and the new dogs helped so much . Even to hear the paws on the floor, have the dog smell etc .

We are a large family and we will never forget Poppy. I grieve her every day( I am not sure the kids do ) but getting the new dogs just gave so much hope, happiness and love back to us . I don't really believe you need time to grieve the dog you lost . I will always love her . But stalling getting new dogs would only have prolonged our sadness.

I hope this helps you ,OP, and I am SO sorry for your loss xx.

I left it 18 months, it was far too long, but I felt I had to leave a decent amount of time, which was shit!

Never again would I leave it so long.

I'm sorry for you losing your DDog.

Sorry for your loss 💐. The one piece of advice I can give you however long you wait and whatever feels right for you , is you must accept any new dog (even if same breed) will have it's on personality and quirks, and sometimes a new dog has a lot to live up to and can be a hard act to follow.

Thanks everyone.

She was not always the easiest dog, a rescue who hadn't had the best start in life, but she adored me. I feel both guilty at having her PTS and at not doing it sooner.

I'll carry on looking at local rescues.

My boy was pts on the 9th April. I miss him so much, he had health problems for a while but its still a shock when you loose them.
I'm breathing and walking around but there is no joy in anything l do without him.
We waited around a year between each of ours, we always had rescues.
I am alone too, it's so very hard isn't it. You must do whatever you can to make life better for yourself.

Could you consider a short term foster to see whether having another dog in the house is right for you? If you're not comfortable with it, when that dog gets rehomed just wait a while before getting another?

Good luck, I hope you find a match soon.

This is why we have two. The one left behind comforts you and gets you up in the mornings and out for long walks and is then a friend for the new pup. I couldn’t bear to go into a silent kitchen the morning after.

We lost our girl about 4 weeks ago. I'm still crying at random moments.

We're not replacing her. We watched my parents and siblings replace their dogs within a few weeks and all ended up with totally unsuitable animals in their urgent desire to have their dog back.

These unsuitable dogs are nice beasties, but one can't travel in a car and hmus hysterically anxious about absolutely everything - no good for a couple who travel Europe in a campervan every summer.

The others are a range of enormous dogs when they've always had small, a dog with very high needs for exercise and brain games when they are bloody lazy people and should never have had any dog in the first place as they don't walk them - just constantly tell the dog to go to bed, and one that can't live with cats when they have 3 cats.

Take your time. Grieve. Plan ahead for who and what you need in your life from any future dog.

There is no better way to honour a life that’s given you so much pleasure and love than to get another dog. It shows just how much you adored and appreciated them that you can’t live without another in your life.

So sorry for your loss OP.

We waited 6ish weeks

We sort of knew what we wanted, and a litter really local to us and the timing breed, breeder everything sort of matched up

We would have happily waited long but kismet

We waited 5 months and it was the only time we were dogless for 25 years.

We lost our last in v upsetting circumstances and we needed some time to process it all.

It was v strange having an empty house and I am here all day. I knew it was the right time when I started talking to our hens 😁.

Now we have an 8 month old golden retriever who is embracing her adolescence with passion. The cute and biddable puppy is now a crazy hooligan!! Still wouldn't be without her though.

Good luck and I think you'll know when you're ready.

We are seriously considering this, what "age gap" do you have?

It was two months for us and it was awful - I felt as if I'd had part of my identity ripped away because I'd always been 'the dog person'. We had building work starting a couple of weeks after our old boy passed and we knew we had to wait until it had finished, and then my friend who fosters for a rescue got the most beautiful cocker in. As soon as I saw him, I knew. DH took a little bit more convincing, but he came home two days after the builders finished.

It’s such a personal thing.
I’ve been grieving the loss of our old boy for six months, totally heartbroken.
I’m starting to look for a puppy now but I definitely needed time to come to terms with the loss.
I’ve been travelling a bit, being more spontaneous with visits to friends and family which has been great but I’m very much looking forward to having a much loved dog in my life again.
There’s nothing like it.

Similar to us. Lost ours at 17 just before the first covid lockdown. She was the centre of our world and our best mate.

Spent two tricky years trying to rescue (we have a cat) and in the end bought a pup. She is 8 months now, things are improving, she is still a twat a lot of the time but we are getting there. She is very different in a lot of ways but similar in some. I am not sure we'll have the same 'I can tell what you are thinking before you think it' relationship we had with our last dog but it's still early days.

We only waited so long because of covid and we desperately wanted to rescue not buy. In hindsight we waited too long and I'd not have that gap again.

At the moment it’s 4 years but it has varied really - I didn’t want them too close in age as they obviously could die close together and getting a puppy with an old dog that just sleeps and is a bit stiff is unfair on the older dog. So I would probably have 3 years as the smallest gap.

depending on the age of the dog you could maybe find one from a breeder you know well to regime a bitch they’ve finished breeding from.

@Trixibella we currently have a two year Doberman, we had thought around four year gap, which is pretty much what you're saying.

It was dreadful when we didn't have a dog.

I lost a (beautiful, placid) rescue dog in June and rescued another (much younger) dog mid-July. They'd both come from similar backgrounds (mistreated) so I naively thought things would be similar but they are completely different and for weeks, like others, I just wanted my old dog back. I mean I still do but I do now love dog 2. On one hand I think I maybe should have grieved properly first and on the other hand I'm glad I had a distraction. I felt so lost without a dog. I hope you're holding up ok OP, it's one of the worst pains I've ever experienced. There's no right or wrong in this situation. Let us know how you get on.

There’s no set time. It’s when you feel ready. If you’re lonely without a dog it might be time to start researching and searching. It’s not disloyal to a previous pet to get another, it’s a tribute to how much they meant to you that their absence is felt so keenly.

It’s also why I no longer have just one dog! But you feel their loss massively no matter how many others are still here.

So sorry for your loss. It is so tough. I would say go with your gut feeling and heart. Your dear doggie won't feel sad or betrayed. Dogs are amazing and just want us to be happy :-) But do be careful if it is a bit soon for you. If you are still in the depths of grieving and there is a risk of you feeling guilty or detached from the new doggie, it might be a bit soon. Keep dipping your toe in the water by looking at the doggies who need homes but take your time and wait until everything feels right 😘