Senior dog and new puppy: any experience or stories to share

[johntorodesfatcheeks]

Just that really.
Have a thirteen year old dog. She sleeps most of the day now but still loves people and a couple of short walks / potters a day about twenty minutes long. We are a busy house with lots of noise and three sets of kids friends coming and going etc.
the last couple of years we have all really missed having a dog to share walks and days out etc as she developed arthritis and even with appropriate medical treatments, diet, supplements etc it’s got a lot worse so ima three hour yomp is out of the question 😢. I’m wfh full time and thinking about getting a puppy. We have a big secure garden too.

i am not decided though and have spent a year wondering / researching and keeping a close eye on our lovely old girl who is the priority here.
does anyone have success stories of this or tales of woe / you are mad to do it. I would greatly appreciate them.

My older dog was 14 when we got the puppy. It wasn't ideal, as she didn't need a bouncy pup around, but it made the most sense with our future baby plans. So I was really strict about managing the pups access to her. We had room dividers and crates all over the place. Used a house line for months. Any interactions were actively supervised (not just in the same room) and managed with the house line. Kept separate when we weren't around to do this, or were working from home or similar. My old girl did not need a youngster jumping on her and bumping her old hips, and I made sure that that didn't happen. It was hard work, and not something I'd recommend unless there's another pressure to get the pup now. I wanted to avoid a toddler, baby and a puppy, and our younger dog died first, which forced our hand a bit. In your situation I'd let her have a happy quiet golden retirement and then invest time and energy in a puppy once she's gone.

My spaniel was 8 when I got a puppy (previous dog was 8 when I got spaniel). It was so difficult and I won't be doing it again. I did it all in the recommended way and they still had to kept separated for months . My previous experience was so peaceful I didn't anticipate a problem. I would leave it till senior dog isn't around.
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Thanks for sharing your experience and that is really helpful. @Finsburyfancy

Thanks @muddyford
i am erring on the side of caution. Perhaps I am being a bit selfish as honestly I think my mental health will be in the toilet when we lose her as she means the world to us all. Part of me wondered whether having a younger dog would keep us all - well me in particular - going

I wouldn't - it's one thing adding a puppy with a resident dog that's still youngish, but it would be a bit cruel to do it to such an old dog unless you know your existing dog is used to that sort of life (I.e. chaos 24/7, biting, lunging, mouthing, barking, yapping, peeing etc).

Puppies are completely consuming. You might not expect it, and you certainly won't realise it, but chances are you'll end up ignoring your older dog to focus on training your puppy. And, even if it goes well with the two dogs, you'll still want to keep the two separated a fair bit - puppies are incredibly irritating and even the most passive, mild-mannered, older dog will snap at some point.

Whilst I know mental health is important, how would you feel if you made your dog miserable for her last few months/year of life for your own mental health? Because that is the risk you run. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but I think this is one of those cases where you absolutely must put your existing dog first.

Huge older dog, very lazy. Not overly friendly with other dogs.

Puppy arrived. Older dog melted. Puppy bounced on him, stole his food, generally woke him up to play, slept on him, swung off his ears despite being stopped, fussed if we tried to give him a break. He didn't want a break from his puppy:)

Older dog resembled a grumpy grandad miraculously enjoying playing with grandkids despite being woken from Christmas nap.

Other dog wasn't so good. Small girl dog. Not impressed with Puppy. After 18 months she finally acknowledged his existence. Puppy now huge and follows her round slavishly.

The old boy was 10 when we got the standard fool, initially he was a bit WTF have you done. Then he started to play and boos the fool about. 4.5 years later he is still playing having turned 15 in May. Honestly I think he would have died several years ago without the fool.

I wouldn't, not at 13. It's not fair.

I couldn’t imagine doing this with our dog. He isn’t as old as yours but on walks he just isn’t bothered about other dogs so introducing an annoying puppy really would not be for his benefit.

In your shoes I would only do so if I could say hand on heart that it was for your dogs benefit and not for yours.

This was an 11 year old trying his damndest to ignore the 8 week ball of fluff who, within a matter of weeks was his bestest buddy ever!

Our 13 year old takes no notice of our 8 month old. our 10 year old loves his new buddy despite being used as a chew toy , loves that she can finally keep up with him over the fields while the old girl potter round the path with me.