Were to find a dog past the puppy age .

[Eeehbahgum]

Dh and I are in our 60s. We had out beloved dog for 15 years.
We have a particular affinity with small lap dog types and also want one that will enjoy travelling with us in our van .
Looking at breed characteristics and size we pretty much are sure that we would like a combination such as
cavashon
shitzpoo
cavapooshon
small poodle
We have looked on rescue sites for 2 years now and bot found one of the above.
We have alternatively found an award winning small home breeder.

The honest problem is we are both anxious about getting a puppy due to being unsure re its traits , the potential lack of sleep and hard work ,but we both love dogs . Dh has a heart condition and cant really do stress.
i know i know about the attachment issues, but given our concerns , we think we may be better with an older dog.
ideally age 2/3

we have rang round breeders about this and have been offered x 2 retiring breed dogs from reputable breeder.

am wondering about pitfalls to this - too old ? Age live till 10 to 15 .. or are we better just trying with a puppy( out old dog was very happy and just followed us round- we only taught her potty training- other than that she just wanted to please us and follow us !- as she was so easy , we know a pup will be a massive shock !
any advise be welcome.. if anyone has any idea re were we could look for perhaps a 3 year old small ‘ lap’ type , human oriented breed.
big ask - am aware !
thanks.

have you spoken to these guys about a miniature poodle?

PooodleNetwork UK

they're a breed specific adoption/rescue agency

No - but thank you- didnt know about them .

Poodles are great 👍 so intelligent, loyal and affectionate dogs

We saw a sweet little poodle and the owner who was re homing said no to us as we live on a main ish village road . She went toman elderly lady who led a v quiet life . I still thjnk about it !

I agree @wavingfuriously , poodles are wonderful soulful dogs and so often overlooked and forgotten about these days.

They are dead clever and can "read a room" so well in my experience. The Standard ones are obviously massively sporty but they've done so well over however many hundreds of years to breed the smaller varieties who really are true companion dogs .

I wish more people would realise how wonderful they are. They could tick so many boxes for so many families. They come in four different sizes (or three officially), range from super-sporty > wants-to-snuggle-in-a-blanket-most-of-the-time, and also come about four different colours to choose from! What's not to like?!

Why on earth would you want a designer mongrel if you’re unsure about dogs traits?! The logic behind that is bonkers. With the ‘breeds’ you’ve listed, with the exception of poodles, you have no idea what you’re getting. Although I’d wager, high neurotic, high energy, anxious and likely to live a short, painful, life

We have alternatively found an award winning small home breeder.
There’s no such thing as an ‘award winning breeder.’ Anyone who claims to be that is probably somewhere you want to avoid.

You’d be far better off getting a miniature poodle puppy, from a reputable KC registered breeder with full health tests, or using your local rescue club to find a pedigree poodle.

Sorry if the above sounds harsh but too many people are sucked into these designer mongrels and end up paying top dollar to a puppy farmer for a defective pet. Everything you want, a poodle has

OP I am looking for similar!
if you look in pets4homes, but don’t look in the adoption pages - look up the breeds you’re interested in.
there’s usually at least one older dog - for example there are two four year old cavapoos, and a ten month old jackapoo as of yesterday.

Really want to warn you off doing that.
The older dogs available on sites like that are usually ones with issues foisted upon them by shit owners - not socialised, bought because they were cute puppies, bought by people who want a designer dog but aren’t willing to put the work in, and sometimes ex-breeders who’ve aged out and are under socialised, untrained and don’t know life beyond a breeding crate - very sad, but health riddled behavioural issues galore.

Agree with everyone who says poodle. You know exactly what you’re getting.

I’ve not had a puppy so don’t know how intensive avd stressful the process might be but just thinking that if you’ve befn waiting for two years, the puppy stage would have been gone by now if you’d just gone for a puppy?

We have an older rescue DDog and that’s not been an easy process though either.

I really wouldn’t look on getting a DDog that may have health or behaviour problems as the easy path. In fact many rescues may have both.

@LandSharksAnonymous It always amazes me that out of the hundreds of breeds available, people choose something like a cavapooshon as their ideal dog.

From your list, I would go for a poodle. None of the others will be reputably bred (I'd love to know what awards the home breeder has won) and will more than likely be being rehomed due to health or behaviour issues.

Iv just bought my puppy of pets for home he's due to.come.round.sept time

The last three dogs that we've rescued have both been 9-10 months old at adoption and have been really easy. No biting, no chewing, no separation anxiety, no neuroses, no bad habits, just super easy dogs. One had to be toilet trained from scratch (had lived in shelter all his life) but picked it up quickly due to having a full-grown bladder etc.

I do think 9 months might be a sweet spot!

Please get a rescue dog🐕 don't agree that oldies have been dumped because of behavioural problems. I worked as a volunteer at rspca and there were older dogs whose owners had sadly died 😢 and those dogs were lovely 😍

This is my experience too. Older dogs can come in because their owner has died or gone into a nursing home. And because these dogs had loving homes, they can have very few issues other than being sad and confused at their life suddenly bring upended. Although I would caution that they may be used to someone around all the time and may not be used to being left. You would need to be more flexible on age and breed though. Maybe not right for the OP, but I have a soft spot for these older dogs - I rehomed a (very young at heart) 8 year old who's currently happily snoring at my feet.

As if going into a care home isn't upsetting enough...

...losing your dog in the process and not knowing what becomes of your best pal 😭😭😭💔

noctilucentcloud
have. thought re older dogs and have been offered a 7 y o - the lifespan of the breed is 10 to 14 yrs. am just thinking the i wd have may be short together? How do you manage that thoughtx❤️

Honestly, that's the downside. Mine has exceeded his average lifespan at 13 so I know we're on borrowed time now. But I also know I've given him a happy 5 or so years - mine had come from a not great situation so I've had a lot of satisfaction seeing him do normal dog things that he didn't get to do in his previous home. And for me, I needed an older dog to fit with my lifestyle.

You also see heart-breaking posts on here where younger dogs get ill, I think I'd find that harder as it's sudden and unexpected. Whereas I'm aware my boy probably won't be here in a year, maybe 6 months, maybe 3 months, so can start getting my head around it. That said, I will be devastated when it's time to let mine go and I may feel very differently if my dog had died only 1-2 years after I got him.

I would say if you rehome an older dog, get pet insurance! Mine had a couple of undiagnosed conditions that need meds for life - but that was partly because he'd come from a not such a great home, the risk is lower if they've come from a home where the owner is more on top of things.