Old Dog, New Dog — The Book Everyone Needs
Are you a dog trainer or behaviorist? Are you a veterinarian? Oh wait, do you just love dogs, have dogs, or care deeply about dogs? Then, honestly, get this book. It’s sort of like the sunrise and the sunset worked together t0 create the best day ever. Kathy Callahan, of PupStart, is an expert, no surprise, in getting puppies started on the right paw. Helen St. Pierre, of Old Dogs Go To Helen, is, you guessed it, an expert in caring for elderly canines.
The reason I suggest that every dog owner/lover/consultant needs this book is not because we are all considering adding a puppy to the pack. For me, waking up to sweet, milky puppy breath is long over. But anyone who has a dog will hopefully be lucky enough to care for them in their old age, something close to home to me with Maggie at 12.5 years and Skip, with his bad heart, at 8.5. The chapter on the needs of older dogs, “Savoring the Sunset,” is worth the price of the book alone. The section on planning euthanasia versus waiting for a “natural death” will save many an old dog from dying a painful, difficult death.
The chapter, “Welcoming a Puppy,” is equally valuable, and speaks to Kathy’s knowledge about how to handle the tsunami of joy and exhaustion that floods your life when a puppy arrives. It’s full of sentences I underlined, including a favorite, about trying to walk your senior and a puppy down the sidewalk: “You’ll get really frustrated and come home and exclaim ‘This is impossible!’ You’ll be correct.” The authors continue with advice–walk the dogs separately–and important questions, like do you have time to do that?
If you are thinking about getting a puppy when you have an older dog, this book is vital. Kathy and Helen wrote it because they saw so many families get into trouble when they did just that. I asked each of them what their “elevator” response was when someone asked about getting a pup with a senior dog. Kathy’s answer, beyond “it depends (you all know that’s one of my favorites), is a question: “What is your bandwidth when it gets challenging?” It occurs to me that this is the question we should all ask ourselves about many of life’s decisions, but it is especially relevant here. Because, things are going to get challenging, right? The older dog loves the puppy, until he doesn’t. The puppy won’t leave the other dog alone. The puppy gets giardia at the same time that the elder begins to need a lot more care. This is not a reason to not get a puppy, but we all need to ask ourselves “what will life be like when things don’t go well, and how much do I have in the “crisis tank” to deal with it?
Helen’s answer to my “elevator question” will get anyone’s attention. She asked “How do you feel about death?” She asks this, because sometimes puppies are a way for people to avoid facing the death of a beloved dog, and to bring the sparkler of joy into a family facing the end of their older dog’s death. But getting a puppy might be good for you, but not necessarily your dog. Old Dog, New Dog can help you sort through the pros and cons of bringing a puppy into your home. I went through that decision tree myself when Pippy Tay was ancient and struggling. I had decided against getting a puppy for that very reason, but when life kept reminding me how much she loved puppies, I brought home Willie. It made her truly happy, but I guarantee you that Maggie would not feel the same way. Yesterday she glared at me when an older lab came to visit . . . no aggression at all, just a baleful look and a quiet withdrawal. Message received Maggie Mae, Mr. Skip is enough for now.
There are a few things I think are important that weren’t mentioned, like have the dogs meet outside when the puppy comes home if it is possible to do so safely. If the older dog dies, let the body stay in the house if possible and it’s not stressful for owner–it can help the younger one adapt. I am all in on their suggestions for people to consider getting an older dog rather than a puppy–so much less work, energy, and stress–but I do think it’s important to remind folks that you may think you “know what you are getting with an older dog versus a puppy,” but you just never know how a dog is going to respond to a totally new living situation. (Circling back to “what’s your bandwidth for trouble?”)
In spite of those additions, it’s pretty clear that I love this book. Which is not influenced in any way by the fact that in the course of Zooming about their book for an hour, I have elected these two women as “Best Women to go to Lunch with and Laugh Yourself Silly.” They are both delightful people, extremely knowledgeable, and even if I didn’t adore them, I’d still sing the book’s praises. Here we are getting started talking, Kathy on the top, Helen on the bottom:
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Skip and I had a heavenly time working dogs with others on friend Janet’s gorgeous field and well-cared for sheep.
Working our dogs was great, but so was spending time with my good sheepdog friends, Roxanne, Janet, Rowie, Nancy, and Julie.
The bumblebees have been going crazy on these flowers in the onion family. The flowers are not native, but the bees love them. There’s a honeybee on this flower too, let’s hear it for diversity!
Here is the plant as a whole; if you look closely, you can see little black dots all over almost every flower. I wonder if there is a bumblebee nest somewhere near by. Do you see the blurry white sulfur butterfly?
Speaking of butterflies--here’s a swallowtail on a zinnia. You can see its proboscis probing for nectar. Seeing the butterflies is bittersweet, because we used to see so many more. If you have a yard, do all you can to help provide them food, they are yet another vital link to a healthy planet.
The mystery of the week: Blazing Star is a native flower that does well here at the farm. Or, it did, until the rabbits decided to make game of cutting the stems off and leaving the flowers lying on the ground. See the cut stems on the left and right? The cuts are diagonal, diagnostic of rabbit damage. But nothing is eaten. The stems with flowers are still there because I put dog hair around them. They then moved to another area with the same flower. But WHY are they doing this? Nothing is eaten, and they keep it up, night after night. Please someone tell me why, and maybe I’ll be less frustrated?
Here’s a pretty set of flowers I cut myself (no teeth were involved). I thought they would be a nice way to end the post. May your week also have moments of pure and simple beauty in them. See you next time.
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About the Author
Patricia B. McConnell, PhD, CAAB Emeritus is an applied animal behaviorist who has been working with, studying, and writing about dogs for over twenty-five years. She encourages your participation, believing that your voice adds greatly to its value. She enjoys reading every comment, and adds her own responses when she can.
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Patricia is known the world over for her clear and engaging books and DVDs on dog training and canine behavior problems. You can also “meet” Patricia in person on her seminar DVDs, from The Art & Science of Canine Behavior to Treating Dog-Dog Reactivity.
I sure could have used some puppy refresher advice when I brought mine home 2 years ago. It had been at least 18 years since we had a puppy, and I guess I didn’t do a bandwidth check on myself! And he was the only dog in the house! Long story short, I am so happy we did bring him home, and we now have a wonderful 2 year old who we can communicate with (thanks to all the knowledge imparted by you and others). To repeat what you have said about puppies: It’s a good thing they’re cute! Thanks to ALL the experts who share their knowledge about dogs throughout the life cycle!
I think the key is to understand completely and absolutely that if you get a puppy it is for you, not for the other dog or dogs. When I made the decision to get Freddy it was in the knowledge that both Poppy, my toy poodle with liver failure and Sophy, my papillon then aged 12, might struggle with a puppy and that I needed to plan accordingly. I chose my puppy carefully, made introductions at the breeder’s in a neutral area, and had a pen set up ready before he came home.
In the event I was very, very lucky – Poppy simply ignored him until he pushed her too far, at which she told him off so very firmly that he did not do it again. Sophy set her own rules which he accepted, gradually allowing him to come closer to her and eventually playing with him. She taught him about dogs, people and canine etiquette; she taught me that OTT puppies need sleep rather than more exercise, even suggesting that I should apply the same rule to my baby great niece when she met her and decided that crawling babies were A Bit Too Much!
Freddy is now 4 – Poppy died two years ago still ignoring him, still peacefully enjoying her by then very small life. Sophy thoroughly enjoyed bossing him when he was a puppy and adolescent and now enjoys his company and support, even letting him sleep with her on her bed which is something she never permitted Poppy to do. For us it worked very well, but I do think a lot of the reason for that was choosing a puppy that had the very best chance of being compatible with my older dogs, and going into it with the understanding that it was my decision, and my job to protect them from his antics when necessary.
I think that it is also imperative to consider the older dog. So often I hear owners say that the puppy has “given their old dog a new lease of life”. I translate this as the old dog suddenly having to compete for resources just at the time when his faculties may be declining and he may himself be in need of additional support.
We need to be honest with ourselves too. It is so hard (I speak from personal experience) becoming a dogless person when a dog dies and it can be tempting to “pre-fill” the gap with a puppy. However, in addition to the added stress involved in caring for dogs of very different ages with very different needs, it takes time away from savouring those last precious weeks and months with an existing dog. It will also affect the amount of attention available for a puppy at a crucial time in canine development.
We need to consider this in the context of people being very poor at reading canine emotional signals. Antagonistic encounters are so often identified as being play behaviours and even where they are not, the risk of unintended injury can be quite high, especially where there is a large size difference. Undiagnosed pain could cause an older dog to react in a way that surprises the owner with sometimes tragic consequences for both dogs.
It may be different in multi-dog households where dogs may also be less strongly attached to a human and used to living with other dogs, but I usually do not advise this for owners who are usually single-dog households.
I am looking forward to getting this book. After losing two much loved senior dogs in less than a year, I knew it was time to adopt another. I still had two dogs… 9 year old Jax (Husky/Pitbull) and 16 year old Shih Tzu Baxter, along with Luca, a recently adopted Maine Coon cat. Jax’s superpower is making friends with every dog he meets. He made every foster I had feel at home right away. Every time I returned home without his two pack mates, or a foster dog, he seemed sad that yet another buddy had disappeared. Jax and I both needed a new companion who would stay. I am too old to take on a young puppy, knowing full well how exhausting that is, but I looked for a young dog. I found Archer (10 month old Pitbull) on a local rescue’s website and fell in love with his photo. His foster mom told me he was housebroken, crate trained, and knew basic commands like sit, down, shake, and touch. He sounded like a pretty good match. She brought him for a visit and he and Jax bonded instantly. I adopted him a week later. Although not a baby, Archer is still a puppy, all be it a big one, and he came with his own issues that needed some work. He picked up and dragged away everything he could grab, from giant dog beds to my pin cushion! I began teaching him: “No, that’s mine.” and substituting toys he could have. He had a brief stint where he considered a career in landscaping and tore small trees and bushes from the ground, proudly presenting them for my approval. He wanted to wrestle and play with Jax long after Jax was tired of the games, but fortunately accepted the correction Jax delivered and backed off. I soon learned that the biggest problem was that Archer is extremely reactive towards dogs he sees (or hears!) outside of home. We are currently working with a trainer on this. All this is to say that even though the young dog you are adopting looks pretty perfect on paper, there are always going to be things that need work, patience, and lots of love.
I currently have a one year old foster that is overflowing with energy. My two are 11 and 7 years old. We make walking together work. New puppy learns to have patience and it helps me teach him to walk at a heel (not easy for huskies, lol). I feed them together but police their space so no food fights occur. It ain’t easy and I do not have time to walk them separately, but it’s worth it to save a life. Now if I could just get the new foster barking under control (it’s ear shattering)…
Rabbits will ‘trim back’ vegetation that is over growing a preferred travel route. Perhaps your plant is just in the way.
Ah, Lorraine, if only I could be so lucky!
I’ve always had multiple dogs at one time. I had 3 dogs last November and I had to say goodbye to my 15 year old Sean. That left me with Pete at almost 13 but with a growth on his liver and Micah, a very young 9 year old. I had told myself that when Sean passed I would start looking for another dog. At 70, I wasn’t sure I was ready for the chaos of a puppy – it had been 9 years since I had a puppy, but I knew that Micah would need a companion once Pete passed. The puppy presented herself much sooner than I expected and Poppy joined our household January 1. Poppy is the ultimate appeasing puppy: she greets every dog and most people by wigglying up to them and flopping over on her back, exposing all that vulnerable flesh. Pete wasn’t impressed and snarked at her everytime she got too close. It didn’t phase her – she still wanted to be his buddy. But luckily after a day or so, Micah decided that she could tolerate this 4.3 lb little dervish. She became a surrogate aunt for Poppy and it was so cute to see them in the yard, Poppy following in Micah’s wake. I let Pete go in early June when his liver growth ruptured and that left me with the 2 girls. Poppy has truly been the easiest puppy I’ve ever raised and I’ve raised over 3 dozen (all border collies!). What I entered into in trepidation has turned out to be the best of outcomes for all of us. Poppy continues to be a marvelous, delightful happy puppy and Micah still tolerates her presence and proximity. I truly lucked out.
We found ourselves with three dogs for awhile, or they found us! Kira was almost 13 and fading from kidney cancer; Dooley was “old enough to know better” (about 5) and the Humane Society thought our little rescue was about 10 months old. He was taken from a hoarder and was too scared and generally traumatised to cause much trouble–but he found their presence comforting as he’d been used to 57 other dogs and almost no people.
We let Kira go three weeks later. She’d had time to show the new guy the ropes, she could still get outside to do her business on her own, but she was in pain and exhausted. All these decisions came down at once, I think we got most of it right, but I couldn’t tell another couple what to do in the same circumstances.
Thanks for the book recommendation. As soon as I finished reading your post, I bought the ebook. I have two dogs who are 13 years old, so it’s very timely for me.
Thank you for your posts, which are always inspiring, full of advice, and have such beautiful photos.
I was always used to having 2 or 3 dogs at a time but since I’ve had to live in senior housing I am only allowed one. However, with the RV happening soon I am buying a condo in a 55+ community. My Shih Tzu girl that I adopted at 7 will be turning 11 soon. She is a retired momma of 3 high quality litters and recently we saw 2 jack Russell pups that she got very excited about. Once I am settled in my new home I will be getting a puppy friend for Misty and will name her Kayleigh! Can’t wait! I am also getting that book!!!