# Adding another dog while you have a Senior: Positives and Negatives



## VTGirlT (May 23, 2013)

I keep going back and forth on the positives and negatives of adding another dog to my little family.

Zelda has always loved other dogs, but because of her fear aggression toward strangers it's hard to find dog friends in a safe way. She use to have my sister's two dogs and my parent's beagle to hang out and play with. Now she has no other dog since moving to another state to live with my partner. Maybe this is okay?



Positives:
1. Zelda loves other dogs, she loves playing games "come get this toy from me", mouthing games, tug, etc. She loves just checking up on them, sometimes even bossing them around which she loves to do, be the boss!
2. She would have more socialization in her life which I think is healthy for her well-being.
3. Some people mention having an older dog and adding a younger one to the house can bring out the puppy in them again.
4. The inevitable loss of Zelda is my biggest fear, I am already in anticipatory grief as she is 9.5 years old, and she is in "a 13-year-old" dog body. I know three people who feel somewhat similar to how I feel about my dog in terms of love and endearment and lost their heart dog. They all had another dog, so when they lost their heart dogs... they had another dog "already established" into their hearts, and I think this helped with their grieving process.

Negatives:
1. Jealousy, Zelda has lived in this space for over a year with just my partner and me for attention. That could be something she never gets over.
2. The new dog may not be as calm as Zelda needs. Could potentially be too much for her, even with breaks and separation would it be enough? Maybe it would tire her out, or outdo her and hurt her? This normally is just an off-leash situation, which I wouldn't let happen.
3. Guilt... guilt that the time I spent with the new dog could have been time spent with Zelda. Or even that I didn't spend enough time with the new dog knowing my Zelda needed more attention in her older age.
4. I want Zelda to have the best life possible, am I able to give it to her with another doggo?



Zelda is doing much better on some treatments, pain meds, and going back on Ichon.
I believe there is a chance that adding another dog would improve her quality of life. But there is also that chance that it backfires and it's not good for anyone. And I would never give up a dog once they are under my care, I am their guardian for life.



Thoughts? Go ahead and be real with me. I just want to do what is best for Miss Zelda, no matter how many months or years she has left with me.


(older pic of her at one of our favorite places to go where we use to live)


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

You don't mention the other breed you are considering (assume GSD?) but from what you describe as Zelda being in a Senior body, I probably wouldn't. You also don't mention your exercise lifestyle, living accommodations etc. you hit on a couple of issues that I would pay attention to. A puppy takes a tremendous amount of time to train and raise correctly. As much as you should train them separately, they'll still spend a ton of time together and a puppy can be a lot/exhausting for an older dog ("13 year old body"). To be fair to both dogs, I feel they need to at least be able to reasonably interact together like dogs, play a bit under supervision. A 9 year old with spunk would be fine (I have an 8 year old GSD with tremendous energy) but an older dog - again -13 year old body, doesn't strike me as a great situation. And a GSD pup will absolutely bully an unwilling recipient. Yes, you can manage that but you have the choice now not to have to.

Now, I could write you a reply with the opposite opinion so take that with a grain of sale ....


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## VTGirlT (May 23, 2013)

WNGD said:


> You don't mention the other breed you are considering (assume GSD?) but from what you describe as Zelda being in a Senior body, I probably wouldn't. You also don't mention your exercise lifestyle, living accommodations etc. you hit on a couple of issues that I would pay attention to. A puppy takes a tremendous amount of time to train and raise correctly. As much as you should train them separately, they'll still spend a ton of time together and a puppy can be a lot/exhausting for an older dog ("13 year old body"). To be fair to both dogs, I feel they need to at least be able to reasonably interact together like dogs, play a bit under supervision. A 9 year old with spunk would be fine (I have an 8 year old GSD with tremendous energy) but an older dog - again -13 year old body, doesn't strike me as a great situation. And a GSD pup will absolutely bully an unwilling recipient. Yes, you can manage that but you have the choice now not to have to.
> 
> Now, I could write you a reply with the opposite opinion so take that with a grain of sale ....


Yes, I agree to a lot with what you say.
As much as I love GSDs, it would not be for those reasons alone. I'd try to find a smaller breed, lighter weight, lower energy dog breed. It could be a mix breed, any age (well preferably not another senior) but a mature baby dog. Depending on the breed(s) its age would vary. Babies are good because they can adapt a bit more to Zelda, but older dogs are good because they are already who they are personalities wise and I know what I'm up against. There is this great rescue that rescues Greek dogs, who would otherwise be legally killed, poisoned, and tortured. When I was a dog groomer, I was able to groom many dogs there, they tend to be very good with other dogs. My sister has one as well, and he is a lazy, sweet boy, but probably on the larger side than what would be good for Zelda.


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## VTGirlT (May 23, 2013)




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## Honey Maid (Dec 25, 2020)

Maybe an older rescue. Contact your local humane society, or 'pound', local rescues that are around, tell them what you're looking for, an older dog that gets along with other dogs, etc.................... I'm pretty sure any humane society, rescue or public animal facility would let you have a meet and greet with you, your partner and Zelda. Even 'Craigslist', some people really are legitimate and have to rehome their older dogs. That's how I got my BC. I keep in contact with my BC's previous owner. My dogs previous owner is happy as a clam that I popped up.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

i was formulating a much longer response while reading your initial post. now seeing that you’re open to breed and age……my answer is simply, yes. the right dog will come along.


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## UnlimitedGSD (Oct 16, 2012)

VTGirlT said:


> I am already in anticipatory grief


This is what I am feeling. Every hiccup, every misstep and I'm straight to "this is it!" 😢 
She is 12 and a half (we will celebrate that half next week with a day trip to her favourite spot and a new outdoor custom made bed) and she is getting along great with my new chihuahua puppy. Doesn't hurt that the chihuahua is happy to share her breakfast!


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## iheartpups (10 mo ago)

We have a 13 year old female Golden Retriever and just added an 8 week old female working line GSD pup two months ago. I was very concerned of how my senior girl would handle it, but I'm happy to say it has really brought a new life to our old girl. She has a renewed playfulness and is seemingly happier and healthier than before. She's a great role model for our baby GSD, too. She's pretty patient but also let's the puppy know when she's gone too far, which is great for learning social behavior with other dogs as well. I know there is a ton to consider when adding to your pup family, but for us it's been largely positive and we're really happy our Golden's positive influence is living on in our next generation pup.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

I would not add another dog to a dog that needs pain meds


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## brittanyS (Dec 11, 2018)

I added a puppy when my last dog was getting older and there were a lot of times I wish I had waited. He just didn’t understand why she wouldn’t play with him and I often had to step in to keep him from pestering her. She didn’t seem to gain anything from his presence.

If your dog is 9.5 years old, but acts even older then she probably doesn’t want/need a playmate. If you want another dog, an older rescue might be able to mesh well in your home if you were really careful, but I wouldn’t do it with the expectation of it making your current dog happier.


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