We are both 65, we have lost our beautiful dog. 65 is too old for a puppy, isn't it?

[Slowslowreader]

It's not now I'm worried about. We are both well and active and wfh. It's 10 and 15 years time. We have been offered by friend and local farmer a beautiful little collie (as we had before) from his new litter. We know the parents and grandparents, they are gorgeous dogs. But what when we grow old? There is no family to take them on. We could afford a dog walker, but even so, we would be old. My father had dementia by late 70s. It could be me.

You are experienced collie owners and the farmer who knows you is prepared to let you have a pup from a line you know is good. The dog will age with you and have a great life with you. No reason not to go ahead. If needed in the future there are dog walkers and doggie day care if family and friends are not around to help.

OP not all rescues have unknown backgrounds, or indeed 'bad' backgrounds. Some are surrendered by good owners who for whatever reason can no longer give the dog what it needs. Why not put out some feelers and see what's out there before you decide?

I don't know where OP lives but I'm guessing it's not urban. Out here in the sticks doggy daycare and dog walkers are not as easy to arrange as some posters seem to think.

If you are both active and love walking then 65 is definitely not too old. We shouldn't live our lives on what might happen or we would never do anything.

My dad got a rescue GSD last year - he's 78 and didn't want a puppy so got a dog that was 4 years old (allegedly ) . Turns out the dog was nearer 18 months old but she's adapted to his slower pace of life and has calmed down a lot. Once she gets over her fear of the car he can take her out for day trips and suchlike too! He does have 3 daughters living within a 10 mile radius so can look after the dog if anything happens to him.

blobby10 lucky him. We have no one within a hundred mile radius.
MontyDonsBlueScarf You are right. We are in the sticks. The place that looked after our ddog now and then closed their lists 2 years ago, and only take repeat customers. If we wanted to go away for a few days we booked ddog in first and then planned around that time, in peak times that meant booking nearly a year ahead.

@4YellowDaffodils that is heartbreaking. I know many of these owners won’t have set out to be cruel, but those poor pets.

@KeenOtter 65 is not quite elderly, but in a health care setting this age group will be defined an as older person. Of course we all know people on their seventies who are in great health - but be honest, think about the people you know who have long term or life limiting illnesses and ailments. Are most of them not older?

it’s like the women on her who have babies with much older men. They argue people can get sick and die in their twenties so why not have a baby at sixty. They completely ignore the statistics and probability.

OP and her husband may well enjoy good health in their seventies - but there is a good possibility they will not. The dog will likely live until they are late seventies.

@Slowslowreader
I think it's clear from this thread and your last one that you miss your dearly departed dog terribly. You don't want another dog, you want her.
I can quite understand that.
I'd give it a bit more time and have a rethink then.

Quite. My mums just about to get a Setter puppy (she’ll be 61 when she brings it home). My dad’s 75.

My grandad had collies until he died (aged 86 - his collie was ten and more than adequately exercised).

But according to mumsnet no one over 40 should have a dog. No one under 40. No one with kids. Or a job. Or any sort of life. And they must live in a mansion and have an average.

The OP is quite clear that she can handle the dog now and is fit and well now. her question is about 10-15 years in the future. What happened to your GDs collie when he died age 86 @Devilshands ?

She was a working dog. So my parents took her when they took over the farm. Then, when she got too old to work she spent her final years living with them being spoilt rotten.

I know OP doesn’t have that. But she’s also ten years younger than my grandad was when he got his last dog, and OP will train her dog well so it would likely be rehomed quickly if something were to happen. We’re not talking about a woman with no clue who will raise a reactive and under exercised nightmare - her dog will almost certainly find a new home if OP dies young. My example is more than if a man of 80+ can adequately look after a collie then OP definitely can.

That's a sweet story. I think its heartache too...i adored him. Im still not 'over it' after 8 year 😉. We were fist bump buddies 🤣. Xxx

Rescue centres might not be full of dogs that previously belonged to older people. But rescue centres often have reservations about adopting to older people. People certainly believe that it is their age that was the reason that they were turned down.
In her previous thread, OP said she hadn't got anywhere with rescue centres which may or may not be linked to age.

I'm not saying 65 is too old but I do think it's right that people are realistic about what their age might mean for the dog and the life they can give it.

For the avoidance of doubt - I'm a (reasonably) oldie.

redboxer321
I am really trying to be realistic.
We could have had at least a dozen dogs from rescue centres. None have mentioned age, either when we've applied online (they have wanted forms- where you give your age, vet references, video of garden with all boundary walls and gates shown and us walking into the house- I guess to try and prove we really live where we say we do.) Ones we've visited in person would have handed over dogs there and then. But they are long kennelled dogs, with trust issues re men, children, other dogs because they haven't been socialised.
I've just found a rescue called Spirit of Freedom. I wonder if you know anything about it.

This. If you are 65 you could have 20 years or more left. Dogs don't live forever as you know. Go for it and enjoy the puppy and if in later years you get a dog walker so be it.

This is so true and such sensible advice. I know I wouldn't bother going out some days if I didn't have dogs to walk, especially in the winter.

@Slowslowreader
I know you're trying to be realistic. That's why I said I think it's right that people are realistic (like you are being).

But speaking generally, I don't think rescue centres necessarily tell people they think they are too old. They just come up with other reasons even though age is at least one of the real reasons. For what it's worth, I think many rescue centre's rehoming policies are, ahem, barking mad and a 65 year old is in no way too old to rehome an adult dog.

Having said that I'm heartened you've been offered dogs as you seem great candidates but, to be fair, I think you gave a pretty different impression in your previous thread. Maybe it's just the way I read it.

I don't know anything about Spirit of Freedom sorry.

Collies are fabulous dogs- we’ve had 2 but they are very full on and hard work.
DogsTrust have a scheme I think, where care can be arranged after owners can’t. I think sort of ‘leaving them to DT in a will’ thing
Check their website?
Good luck

And sorry for your recent loss OP

A well bred, well raised and well trained and cared for dog will be very easy to home SHOULD the need arise in the future.

Literally nobody would get dogs or have puppies if conditions had to be perfect. Most homes adapt. Nobody’s life stays the same in 15 years.

In the class I teach half of them are over 70 with young dogs. One has significant health issues. One is a young family. One retired mid 60s (they actually have two young dogs!). All those dogs have the most wonderful life.

A neighbour was home all the time and his collie lived in the garage. Short lead walks. Not elderly. Just not great owners.

So sorry about your dog.
I thought I was too old for a kitten at nearly the same age so I adopted a 14 year old cat, then my son came over with a homeless kitten and asked if I could take her.
The crafty sod knew I would be unable to say no. He knows if anything happens to me he will then be the kitten's guardian and also the 14 year old. It's agreed.

This!

Please don't deprive yourself of the joy of a dog. My grandparents did the same at about your age and then lived till 87/89, constantly talking about how much they missed having one.

Whether you want a puppy is a different question, because of the work and chaos, but you can most definitely have a dog. It will help keep you healthy and active.

This is a very skewed view, because you have exclusively worked with people with problems.

I'm a GP. Most 65 year olds have years of healthy life ahead of them.

Of course, it is awful when an owner and pet have to be parted. But that isn't going to happen for most people who get one at 65.

MN is so incredibly negative about ageing. Older pet owners are often wonderful, because they are at home a lot, and focused on the pet. I'm sure most of the animals who live with my older patients are far happier than they would be with a family who are out at work all day.

Our neighbours are in their early 70s and are fit as fiddles, seem about 50, spend their weekends hiking and doing DIY for much older neighbours (in their late 80s). My dad's the same and still works as an HGV driver at 74 years old.

My inlaws are the same age and have been decrepit since their late 50s. They can't hobble to the end of the road, have regular falls they can't get up from, are on 15 kinds of medication.

So, not accounting for sheer bad luck, which can hit anyone, it depends on what sort of 65 year old you are.

@MissLucyEyelesbarrow
But if they are your patients, that indicates that they have health issues. They may be easily managed or even solved but they also may not be.
I was pretty sporty and active until recently but in the last year or so I've developed a number of issues.
Some I've recovered from but others not.
I have discomfort sometimes pain with my knee. I've tried to get help from various sources, including my GP, but have failed.
I'm mostly ok now but it will almost certainly get worse and I will need to be realistic about what I can and can't offer a dog when this one goes. And I think we all have to be realistic about what healthcare we will be able to access in our old age. That's not to criticise healthcare professionals but to be realistic about the system.

Also, a family who are out at work all day (as you mention) clearly shouldn't have a dog so it's not necessarily about age but it is one factor that needs to be taken into account alongside many others.

Everyone has a GP. It doesn't imply ongoing health issues.

But that's to miss the point, which is that most people with most health issues are perfectly capable of caring for a pet. You don't magically become totally disabled because you've got high cholesterol or reduced kidney function.

I am constantly flabbergasted by the negativity and catastrophising around ageing on MN. I have cared for both my parents and one grandparent, and of course I see the hard side of ageing every day in my work. I'm hardly naive about it. But the fact remains that many people remain perfectly capable of many activities, including caring for a pet - into their late 70s and 80s.

It's people who start categorising themselves as old and incapable before this is really true who do worst in old age, IME. Of course you have to be reasonable - I wouldn't advise 70 year olds to start bungee-jumping. But it is incredibly bad for physical and mental wellbeing to start telling yourselves you can't do things, before this is really the case. Truly, you use it or lost it.