Community Chat

[KingstonsMom]

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@dennylilly wrote:

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@tends2dogs wrote:

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@SaRina wrote:

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@dennylilly wrote:

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@hoosieroriginal wrote:

Golden doodles are VERY high energy, high strung - like OMG high strung - I have two neighbors with them and they are really needing some training.  I don't know how all of your old dogs are going to handle that, but good luck.

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really? my friends dog is very laid back and calm.  I know puppies have alot of energy - I DO have alot of experience with dogs as we have had many over the years. This is the first time having a large dog and I felt this would be a great difference from the small barky dogs I've had in the past.  I have had poodle, yorkie, terriers and once we had a large dog a Husky/shepard who was wonderful...

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..... then you should know the answer to your question, which is fairly common knowledge, especially for anyone who has had more than one animal in their home.

My priority would be the animals currently in your home -- their safety and well-being. Personally, I wouldn't allow my urgent feelings of needing to adopt this puppy now to control what I choose to do. It sounds like you have a good balance in your home that could easily be upset by introducing a new puppy.  If you must proceed, make sure you introduce your animals to the new puppy on neutral ground. The puppy will require a tremendous amount of your time and attention. Make sure that doesn't override your time and attention from your other pets.

Again, I would want my current pets to feel 100% comfortable, particularly since it sounds like they are getting on in years, before bringing in someone new.

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I agree with @SaRina.  It is too bad you feel this urgency to replace pets that you still have and that usually during the last part of their lives, require a lot of attention and care.  I don't know how old you and your DH are, but how long has it been since you have trained a puppy?  We recently got a puppy, the first in 9 years.  We are senior citizens and to say the least, we are exhausted and he is the only pet in the house.  I would take this time to enjoy the remaining time you have with the pets in your household now.  This is where your true committment lies.  When the time comes, there will be a puppy with your name on it, waiting to enjoy your FULL attention.  You won't be overwhelmed with and sidetracked by giving hospice care to your elderly pets.  The beginning and end of a pet's life is SO important and time consuming.  Please, don't short change either one.

All the best!  I am sure your friend can find a good home for the goldendoodle that is not yet born.  BTW our neighbor has one and we see him running by our house several times a day trying to wear her out.

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there is no urgency to replace my elderly dogs.  I explained that this opportunity came up to get a puppy from a dog that we like and have seen her puppies who other friends of our BOUGHT and we decided that to wait for ours to die would keep us from getting one of hers.  I don't think I am shortchanging my pets that I already have and LOVE.  I feel they will enjoy the puppy also.  I am concerned about the amount of energy the puppy will have but I am willing to give her what she needs and am fully committed to all of them.  We are animal lovers and have had multiple pets for YEARS.  I am not young but I am able to give the attention needed because I do not work and can devote all my time to these pets if necessary.  I iike the idea of doggie day care if necessary once in a while to let her run and play with other dogs and will never neglect my older pets.  i can love another just as I could love my second child even though I had a toddler to take care of too.  It can be done and the joy and love I will get in return is worth all the trouble they are...

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You sure seem to put a lot of emphasis on the fact that you can get this puppy, "who other friends have "BOUGHT" (you put in all caps, not me) for free, as if that's the primary motivation for getting this puppy now.

[CrazyDaisy]

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@SeaMaiden wrote:

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@dennylilly wrote:

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@CrazyDaisy wrote:

I would just like to say that it is possible to take care of elderly pets and puppies at the same time.  It takes some planning, extra effort and sometimes it will be exhausting yet it is possible.  Puppies are not puppies forever and many older dogs have no problem setting limits for the puppy, who will learn how to behave around them.  While it may not be something you will be interested in doing, there are many others who have dogs of all ages living together.

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Thank you for that.  I admit having a puppy to train is not the most fun I can think of but I am willing to do it because I want one of this dogs offspring.  It will be a pain but like you said puppyhood doesn't last forever.  I will let my older dogs decide how much they want to interact with the new one.  

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@dennylilly  The problem is that the puppy will taunt and jump on the older dogs... It is what puppies do.  Most likely nothing you can do will stop it. The poor older dogs will be miserable.  Just my opinion from my past experience getting a 6 week old Irish setter pup years ago, and at the time I had a 12 year old Irish... the puppy relentlessly jumped on him and made him miserable...  and it continued for months and months....I always thought later I should not have gotten the puppy at that time and let the older dog  just be happy in his old age. . It was a good lesson learned. 

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There are two solutions to that issue.  First the older dog will correct the puppy and make sure he knows that the behavior is not acceptable.  And second the puppy is corrected by the owner that jumping, taunting etc. is not acceptable.  To allow it to go on for months is silly.  When I got a puppy he jumped on my older dog once and only once.  He learned instantly that that was not going to be accepted.  He also learned very quickly not to jump on anyone else.  Learning acceptable behavior in their new home is important.

[dennylilly]

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@KingstonsMom wrote:

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@dennylilly wrote:

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@tends2dogs wrote:

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@SaRina wrote:

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@dennylilly wrote:

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@hoosieroriginal wrote:

Golden doodles are VERY high energy, high strung - like OMG high strung - I have two neighbors with them and they are really needing some training.  I don't know how all of your old dogs are going to handle that, but good luck.

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really? my friends dog is very laid back and calm.  I know puppies have alot of energy - I DO have alot of experience with dogs as we have had many over the years. This is the first time having a large dog and I felt this would be a great difference from the small barky dogs I've had in the past.  I have had poodle, yorkie, terriers and once we had a large dog a Husky/shepard who was wonderful...

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..... then you should know the answer to your question, which is fairly common knowledge, especially for anyone who has had more than one animal in their home.

My priority would be the animals currently in your home -- their safety and well-being. Personally, I wouldn't allow my urgent feelings of needing to adopt this puppy now to control what I choose to do. It sounds like you have a good balance in your home that could easily be upset by introducing a new puppy.  If you must proceed, make sure you introduce your animals to the new puppy on neutral ground. The puppy will require a tremendous amount of your time and attention. Make sure that doesn't override your time and attention from your other pets.

Again, I would want my current pets to feel 100% comfortable, particularly since it sounds like they are getting on in years, before bringing in someone new.

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I agree with @SaRina.  It is too bad you feel this urgency to replace pets that you still have and that usually during the last part of their lives, require a lot of attention and care.  I don't know how old you and your DH are, but how long has it been since you have trained a puppy?  We recently got a puppy, the first in 9 years.  We are senior citizens and to say the least, we are exhausted and he is the only pet in the house.  I would take this time to enjoy the remaining time you have with the pets in your household now.  This is where your true committment lies.  When the time comes, there will be a puppy with your name on it, waiting to enjoy your FULL attention.  You won't be overwhelmed with and sidetracked by giving hospice care to your elderly pets.  The beginning and end of a pet's life is SO important and time consuming.  Please, don't short change either one.

All the best!  I am sure your friend can find a good home for the goldendoodle that is not yet born.  BTW our neighbor has one and we see him running by our house several times a day trying to wear her out.

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there is no urgency to replace my elderly dogs.  I explained that this opportunity came up to get a puppy from a dog that we like and have seen her puppies who other friends of our BOUGHT and we decided that to wait for ours to die would keep us from getting one of hers.  I don't think I am shortchanging my pets that I already have and LOVE.  I feel they will enjoy the puppy also.  I am concerned about the amount of energy the puppy will have but I am willing to give her what she needs and am fully committed to all of them.  We are animal lovers and have had multiple pets for YEARS.  I am not young but I am able to give the attention needed because I do not work and can devote all my time to these pets if necessary.  I iike the idea of doggie day care if necessary once in a while to let her run and play with other dogs and will never neglect my older pets.  i can love another just as I could love my second child even though I had a toddler to take care of too.  It can be done and the joy and love I will get in return is worth all the trouble they are...

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You sure seem to put a lot of emphasis on the fact that you can get this puppy, "who other friends have "BOUGHT" (you put in all caps, not me) for free, as if that's the primary motivation for getting this puppy now.

 I emphasized BOUGHT because a prior poster said I am not adopting when I get a puppy from a breeder.  I am paying for my puppy and am NOT getting it free, so you are absolutely wrong.  I changed my mind about waiting to get a new dog because my friend has a goldendoodle and upon spending alot of time with them in recent years we have come to love the breed and her dog and when we found out this would be the dogs last litter we made our decision. 

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[Karie2022]

Well of course it's your business, but you have a lot of senior pets, it's going to be very stressful for them having a new puppy in the house..especially one with that kind of energy..we have several of that breed in our neighborhood, they seem hyper and maybe a bit hard to train....Super cute though....I don't really have any advice for you, except re-think your new addition

[goldensrbest]

I really think you need to wait, enjoy your seniors let them live in peace,wait for a puppy after they pass on.

[missy1]

I can't imagine not having a fence with having dogs.

Your other dogs don't run away?

Can you add a small fence outside your back door?

I think you will do fine with adding a puppy, if you are willing to put in the effort.

I never have crated my dogs. I  pottied trained my dogs, by taking them out to potty every 2 hours.

[tends2dogs]

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@dennylilly wrote:

I need some advice on the puppy I will be getting in a couple months.  I currently have two 12 year old dogs- A Chihuaha and a mix breed Schnauzer-Corgi.  I also have two 16 year old cats who are sisters.  All seem to be in good health but the mix has slowed down quite a bit in the last couple years.  I am planning on getting a Golden Doodle- we were going to wait till our older dogs were gone to get a puppy but this is from a friends dog and this will be her last litter and we really wanted one of her puppies so we decided to go ahead and get one now.

That is the background story - so here is the advice I  need.  How do I best integrate this dog into the family? My Chi was trained on pee pads and to this day has issues with peeing in the house. Is there a danger that the puppy will smell the odors (though we clean-dogs can smell the odors) and this will hinder her housebreaking?  I put pee pads down for the Chi because she uses the rugs anyway so this helps but I don't want to EVER use pee pads to train again.  I learned my lesson on this.  

I'm starting to really dread this new puppy and wonder if this was a wrong decision---I was advised to get the new puppy into obedience training immediately and I do plan to do this.  

We also have two homes- summer and winter.  Cats stay with my grown children at our main home so I figured I should train the puppy there and only take her to summer home after potty training is fairly established.

Also have doggie doors and invisible fence at both homes.  Oh boy!  More complications to endure!  We are sad about the future deaths of our four pets and know having a new young one is a blessing, but how do I navigate all these issues?  

If anyone has dealt with some of these issues I desperately need advice about now...the momma is due to give birth to her puppies soon! I will welcome my new girl Harlie end of June /early July.

Thanks!

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@dennylilly  I had to go back and read your opening post to see why you  actually posted.  Was it to convince yourself that you are doing the right thing?  Was it to get approval from other pet owners that this was going to be a piece of cake? 

The paragraph where you say "I am beginning to really dread this new puppy and wonder if it was a wrong decision." really sums this up for you IF you would take a hard look at your words.  There is your decision!  Wait until later. Why would you want to take this on, because it is a choice, when you are already dreading it (your own words)?  It is obvious you don't want to hear anyone's opinion on this because you try to make an argument out of every post. 

You are conflicted about this, argumentative about it.  Take a deep breath and listen to your gut on this.  I think it is saying no.

Just because this puppy is available from a certain breeder and it is a last chance, is no reason to get a dog.

[KingstonsMom]

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@missy1 wrote:

I can't imagine not having a fence with having dogs.

Your other dogs don't run away?

Can you add a small fence outside your back door?

I think you will do fine with adding a puppy, if you are willing to put in the effort.

I never have crated my dogs. I  pottied trained my dogs, by taking them out to potty every 2 hours.

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@missy1

She said she has "invisble fencing":

Electric Fences: Cons

The shock has to be fairly significant and painful. In order to deter the dog from venturing across the boundary, the shock has to be severe enough that it startles and alarms him. Many electric fence companies compare the shock the dog receives to the type of static electric shock we feel when we walk across carpet and then touch a metal door handle, but in order to really act as a deterrent, the shock needs to be more substantial than that.

An electric fence is a form of punishment. I don’t recommend punishment as a training technique because it can lead to some unfortunate and dangerous associations. In the same way, a dog restrained by an electric fence may learn to associate the sensation of the shock (the punishment) with something completely unrelated to the fence. For instance, if the dog runs up to the boundary to greet the another dog and is shocked, he may associate the other dog with his pain. Even a friendly dog can become agitated, fearful or even aggressive when a stimulus is consistently associated with pain or a threat.

http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/weighing-the-pros-and-cons-of-invisible-fences

[goldensrbest]

Wait a second on the invisable fence ,thinking it is punishment, we got the invisable fence in 1997,at our home then, moved in 2000 ,got it there, i moved after my husband died in 2013, got it here ,it is not punishment for my dogs, it keeps them safe .

[missy1]

 @KingstonsMom I wouldn't have an invisible fence, either. IMO it's cruel, just like being in a crate , all day.