OH and I have been talking a lot about getting another dog - Bob is just over 1 year old now. Personally I would rather enjoy Bob on his own for a few years and be able to give him 100% of our time. And then maybe get a dog when he's a bit older - say 8/9 years old. Is this a good strategy to have do you think? I would feel mean getting another dog in the near future as Bob is used to getting all our attention at the moment and he would have to share us. I thought if we got a pup when Bob is slightly older then the new pup would give him a lease of life as well. When have you got your second dogs? How old were your current ones at the time? Also we are planning on keeping Bob in tact unless there is any major reason to neuter him. So would that mean we can only get another male dog when the time comes?
I had two dogs who were two years apart - they were inseparable all their lives. It did mean though that at the end of their lives I had several years of two old dogs to look after! I did get Poppy when we only had one of the old boys left - he was 12 and to be honest I wouldn't do that again. It's best I think to get a second dog sometime when your older dog is between 2 and 10 years (depending on the dog and his health, of course). Yes, if you do not want to neuter Bob and also do not want to neuter your second dog - then basically you would have to stick with boys. When we got Poppy, Bones had to go and stay with friends during her heat, which was ok but would have been a nuisance every six months!
Thank you Karen, I think we will leave it a few years then, I'll stick with my gut instinct PS 'Bones' GREAT name for a dog!
I got Tatze when Gavin was 15! She gave him a new lease of life for sure, he was missing his brother, Callum who had died a few months before. Gavin was brilliant at teaching Tatze to speak DOG
I have no advice to offer, because I've not been in this situation, but I was just wondering how you were getting on with your little man recently? Seems like forever since we saw any pictures of him!!!
Bones was fantastic with Poppy too; he was unfailingly kind to her and gave her self-confidence and a feeling of security, and she learnt so much from his calm, gentle nature. But he was just too old to be able to deal with her boisterousness and wanting to play all the time. They did get on fine once she was about five months old and stopped nipping him and knocking him over! I'm glad that Gavin and Tatze got on so well.
My lab Riley was three when I got Obi spaniel. I thought Riley would love having a buddy and in some ways it's been great. Putting them in kennels Riley (who is a bit of a wet blanket!) found it much easier with a friend than without. They love a good game of bitey face and occasionally chase each other round the garden. Riley definitely finds Obi's exuberance too much at times though and I wouldn't say they're best buddies, they look for my husband and I more than each other.
Well Gavin was a little Cavalier spaniel - so play wasn't going to happen anyway with his very old and creaky bones. But - so long as she respected his space, he was lovely with her. Gypsy and Twiglet have been given far too much leeway by Tatze and I have to step in and protect the older dog when the pup gets too much My friend's Lab draws the boundaries much better - just as Gavin did. I will be having a new pup every year so long as I am well enough to hold a lead, so we will see how Tatze is with them as she gets older. My guess is that she will put up with less - which will actually be a good thing! Here are Gavin and Tatze together - how I miss that boy! It's a good thing I don't live alone or a Cavalier puppy would be on the cards!!
If there were no-one to stop you, how many puppies would you have? You'd be the wonderful, wonderful mad puppy Lady!
I got our first lab, Penny, when our old Tibetan Terrier was eleven. She breathed new life into him and he died just before his seventeenth birthday. Sadly Penny died a year later, when she was only seven, but by then we had an unexpected young collie cross and another (also unexpected!) dog two years older. These two then became old and a bit creaky together, so we resolved to have a bit more of a gap in age in future ... but now I find I have two labs born two years apart ...!
We got Scooby (8-10 yrs old?) when Belle - (collie x) was around 10 (she'd lived with us for 8 and a half years as an only dog), they tolerated each other, he was gently pushy - she didn't mind. Since Scooby left us earlier than we ever expected, we are about to get a 1 year old boisterous boy, Coco (Lab/GSD x) to join Belle - she's now around 11 . It will be interesting to see what difference the age gap makes.
