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[Trudey]

Thank you all for your input. I am retired and have time to care for the new and older pet. My pug really doesn't like a lot of attention...never has. She is very cat like in that respect. She does well when other animals are around and is great with very young children. I am going to take everything that you have said into consideration before making a final decision. I want the best for my older pug. My DH thinks that it would be beneficial for our pug to have a puppy in the house...but what does he know, LOL.

[ShellBell]

On 3/25/2015 AGV said: Thank you all for your input. I am retired and have time to care for the new and older pet. My pug really doesn't like a lot of attention...never has. She is very cat like in that respect. She does well when other animals are around and is great with very young children. I am going to take everything that you have said into consideration before making a final decision. I want the best for my older pug. My DH thinks that it would be beneficial for our pug to have a puppy in the house...but what does he know, LOL.

I wish you the best in your decision.

[Kachina624]

On 3/25/2015 K9buddy said:

On 3/25/2015 Kachina624 said:

On 3/25/2015 santorini said:

I feel that you should. I have a male and a female and they get along great. The older one would probably love having a companion.

I would not get another dog unless it is a mature adult. A puppy is not an appreciated companion to an older dog. They are pests who disrupt the older dog's life. How would you feel if you suddenly had to compete for attention after years of being in the spotlight alone?

So all second dogs are pests. really? How can you compare dogs to humans. And how can you speak for all dogs and all humans? I, for one, completely disagree with your analysis. And I actually speak from experience, not 'feelings'.

READ. I was speaking of puppies, and if you don't think they are pests to an old dog, you never had either. Don't take what's written here so personally...nobody said YOU were a pest.

[NYwoman]

I would not upset your little girl's lifestyle. She needs your total attention. Is she used to socializing with other dogs? Are you home all day?

There are seniors for seniors programs out there. You could try fostering an older, more mellow, dog.

I would not get a puppy now. I would want to savor every minute I had left with my little girl. I just lost my 15 yr old baby.

[Still Raining]

I have had many older, sick, tired, fur babies and I would vote to leave her in peace to enjoy her remaining time.

[doglover3]

We started out with only 1 dog and when she was around 10 I fell in love with the picture of a dog at a local shelter and went, looked and of course came home with it. We had a female(spayed) mixed fox terrier. The new one was a female mixed lab/dobie who we had spayed as well. She was a year old when we got her. While our 10 year old was never around another dog they seemed to hit it off great but then she wasn't ill in any way and that may make a difference.

We got up to 4 dogs pretty quickly than my best friend was diagnosed with lung cancer and given 30 days. She asked if I could please take her 2 bichons so they wouldn't be put down. They were 8 and 9 at the time. Well, that made 6 dogs we had ranging from 3 lbs to 95 lbs and all spayed females even though most will say females don't get along, we never had a problem.

We lost the older of the bichons but the one that was 8 is now 16 1/2 and not doing well, is blind, deaf and has an enlarged heart, liver and kidneys plus her stomach is pushed up into her rib cage so she is on a lot of meds. She isn't in any pain. We take her to the vet every month sometimes every 3 weeks and he pokes and feels and does blood work. He says she isn't in any pain(is on pain meds as well). She eats like a champ and loves to be petted but of course has no control over tink ling or po oping but, can't blame her, isn't her fault.

So, now we have 2 females, her at 16 1/2 and one at 11 1/2 and our baby who is 3 and is a male, our first male, DS choice this time(he is grown) so, can't tell you what to do since no one has any idea how your dog will react.

I wouldn't want to say to get one if that would make your dog feel worse, on the other hand our vets says the opposite of what someone said here and is what we did. When we had one that was 15 he said it is time to introduce a puppy into the family, will rejuvenate the one we have which it sure did BUT our other one even though she was 15 she was in good health for another year till she got bad but in that year they became great friends but as I said, our older one was good, nothing the matter with her when we got a puppy so, very hard to say, all different situations and only you know your dog.

didn't realize this was so long but anyway, have to decide something like this for yourself, very hard to tell someone else what to do not knowing your dog or just how she is. She may just want you?

[Serenity-Now]

My dh & I have 5 dogs, all girls. Well, we did have 5, but just lost our wonderful Sadie Mae a few days ago. There has not been any problem whatsoever with them all being girls, and they adapted together just fine. Boy dogs were not an option for us, because they tend to like to lift their leg & mark way too many things, lol. I'm sure they can be trained not to do that, if you decide on a boy.

We have one dog, Molly, that had a brain injury at birth & doesn't quite have all her oars in the water, so to speak. The other dogs, including Sadie who was the alpha, did something incredible: they have allowed Molly to think she is alpha for all these years. They can sense something isn't quite right with her, but instead of getting all territorial with her or putting her in her place, they lovingly allow her the room to do her thing, and don't correct her at all. That is so heartwarming to watch!

We had a partially paralyzed mini dachshund named Nyssa years ago, our only dog at the time, and she was coming to the end of her life when we got Sadie Mae. We had the same fears you do now, on bringing a puppy in to our homes with a disabled dog--would it upset her? No. She seemed to be relieved, as if this was the chance she wanted to pass on her wisdom & baton to the new puppy. Our pets love us too, and she seemed happy to have some of the pressure taken off of her to keep us happy despite the broken hearts we were going to have, knowing she was ill & needed to leave us, soon. I know that may sound like a stretch to some people, but that was our experience. She was happy with the company of the new puppy, and the puppy was always careful around Nyssa, sensing she was frail. Dogs speak more than in ways that are just vocal or visual, and you will be amazed at how well they will be able to communicate to each other. For example, they lick each other around their mouths as a way of greeting & comforting each other. I've learned that if I want to soothe my pet (such as when they are nervous @ the vet), I''ll gently stroke their lip area, and they calm right down.

Keeping in mind that not all new situations work out perfectly, you could explain your situation to the current owners of the puppy, & ask that before you make a 100% commitment, you have a day's trial run to ensure it will work out with your elderly dog & the puppy getting along well together. Even a few hours would be helpful in making this determination. Most pet-lovers will respect you for being this responsible, and heartened because that means you will likely treat their puppy with the same responsible love & caring consideration, too.

Good luck to you & your family, and big hugs to your pug-it sounds like you've given her a wonderful home all these years!

[phoenixbrd]

I think you should get another pug....when we lost our little pom it would have helped so much to buffer the pain with cuddles from another puppy. I have since purchased another pom and he is three now but we are considering bringing another into our home as the pain from the previous loss just crushed us. Our little guy brings so much joy and even though he is used to being the "star" that he is, I also think he would enjoy a companion.

NYW...I am so very sorry for your loss. Our greatest joy has been sharing our life with our little girl and our deepest sorrow was her passing. In time, we have been able to bring another pom into our home and we adore him. It takes time for our hearts to heal when our beloved pets pass and we never forget the unconditional love that was so joyfully given.

[Serenity-Now]

On 3/26/2015 phoenixbrd said:

I think you should get another pug....when I lost my little pom it would have helped so much to buffer the pain with cuddles from another puppy. I have since purchased another pom and he is three now but we are considering bringing another into our home as the pain from the previous loss just crushed us. Our little guy brings so much joy and even though he is used to being the "star" that he is, I also think he would enjoy a companion.

From what I've seen with our 5 girls, I have to agree. Although humans & dogs are wonderful for each other, we are each an individual species. Just as sometimes we need another human, I'm sure there are times when a dog needs another dog for understanding, comfort, validation & companionship that only they can fulfill for each other.

[Serenity-Now]

On 3/25/2015 K9buddy said:

On 3/25/2015 Justina rae said:

My inclination would be to rescue an older, mellow dog. I would also not just bring one home but bring your dog to the shelter to see if she has an affinity for the particular dog you've decided upon.

Didn't see your post. Completely agree, but shelters can be awful with crying and barking dogs. Might not be the best place to meet up with another dog. Rescues can hand pick dogs for your pug to meet in a quiet setting......perhaps a foster's home. Ive done that many times with my foster dogs.

My son worked in a shelter for a time. He said that you really cannot determine a dog's true personality in that environment @ the shelter, because it is so stressful for them. A dog that seems quiet & subdued may be depressed or coping by shutting down; while a hyper dog may be acting out of being nervous, & would usually be calm in a more normal home environment. Those are things to consider when adopting.

I also caution anyone thinking of adopting to realize that sometimes the people who work there are so desperate to get these dogs adopted out, that they may over-promise or over-assure things that may not always be the case. For example, my best friend was all ready to adopt an adult dog to join their family with her ailing dog, when someone alerted her that the dog she was about to adopt had a bad history of attacking other dogs. She had been assured by another worker there that this wasn't the case, & was horrified how that could have ended up. I'm not saying everyone does this, but you do need to be aware.

That said, I have 5 dogs...4 of them are rescues. They have all been wonderful pets

Oh, blast...we are down to 4, now. I'll never get used to that. We sure do miss our Sadie Mae.