Dog/bitch, Old/young

[Pretty Miss Emma]

Well for the last 12 weeks I've been the owner of only one dog. Losing Emma still is quite devastating for me and in the perfect world I'd have her back. But that won't be happening and I'm at a point where I'm ready/needing to think about where to now. For about 11 weeks I've had my aunt and her old GR living with me, so Kenzie has still had someone around to hang out with during the day. But they will be going soon, so that will mean we will actually be a completely solo dog household. This will be the first time in Kenzie's life that she's ever really been on her own (as in there is no other dog who will be coming home in a few days, or to hang out with at night, etc, etc).

So there's a few things going on here.

I'm worried about how she will cope. She does come to work with me a couple of times a week, but I don't want her coming every day (or relying on being with me every day), and she does have lots of activities each week where she gets to see/play with other dogs.

I'm thinking that I may be ready to start thinking about another dog. Part of this is also because there may be a litter of pups in the close future that could have a puppy for me. Anyway, the bit about whether I'm ready I need to just think about and work out.

Some questions for you though (should I decide that I am ready)...

Dog or bitch? I generally prefer the girls. I am wanting a dog that will work in dog sports and obedience and from what most people tell me they feel that girls are a bit easier to train and tend to work really well. But would a boy be more laid back? And would this be a bit more calming for Kenzie? She doesn't seem to have any preference for dogs/bitches she just tends to like who she likes!!

Also if you have added another dog to your family have you found that their age makes a difference? Kenzie turns 2 in about 3 weeks time (there certainly won't be a new dog in this house for at least 3 months or so!!). I think I would really like a puppy, although a slightly older dog might be more calming for her. And assuming she is at least 2.25 years old when a new furry joins us, what are peoples experiences with that sort of age gap?

And then there is, do I just wait for a bit longer and work more with Kenzie and have some more 1 on 1 time before even thinking about it?!

Who knew it would be this hard??? Sorry for writing an essay about this, I think I'm just wanting some peoples experiences/ideas/thoughts so that I can feel like I have a balanced perspective to try and make this decision. It certainly wasn't this hard when I decided that I needed Kenzie!! But this time I think it is so much harder because it's the new dog after beautiful Miss Emma. It would be so much easier if someone just decided for me!!!

Thanks in advance!

[persephone]

Glad you've made a decision

I can't tell you what to look for ..but I would get an older puppy or young adult ..and male .

Have fun searching

[JulesP]

I've always preferred to have a male and female. I did have a male and 3 females at one stage and the girls all got on. With just Poppy & Amber now they are also fine together. So depending on the breed I wouldn't rule out 2 girls.

I've had borders close in age and a pup with an old dog. Haven't noticed much difference. It is fun watching the younger ones play though.

I personally wouldn't have a border at home by itself. I would always want at least 2.

What breed are you thinking about? After 20 years of having borders I am thinking about a different breed because events this year have been so painful. The whole replacing thing.

[mita]

I agree. So glad you've made a decision. I've been in a similar situation a few times....& each time I regretted that I didn't make the decision earlier.

In my case, I had one tibbie adult girl remaining & I adopted another adult tibbie girl from a breeder who knew her personality down to her socks tops. So there was a matching which eventually proved her right. OK, for a few weeks there were occasional hissy fits. But very soon, they settled to be like born 'sisters'.

Recently, another Brisbane person adopted a female adult to be pal for their young adult male. Once again, there was good advice from the breeder on the potential 'newie's' personality. Who just happened to be my girl's daughter with a similar nature. So we did a test run of her boy with my girl. And they got on fine.

When the new tib arrived, there were a few 'spats' but within a couple of weeks, they're like 'brother' & 'sister' born. The boy now gets worried if his new 'sister' is taken out of his sight. He adores her.

(They're all desexed pets.)

[Pretty Miss Emma]

It would be another Border. At the moment I can't bring myself to move to any other breed!! I keep looking and end up at the same place - borders!!!

If I had a bigger place then I would probably want to have 3 - then I could rotate one at work 2 at home!! But I figure even if I have another 1 it does mean I could give each a day at work, so the other would have a day to themselves and also some time at home together. A bit mixed up but I really don't want any one dog thinking they MUST be at work with me all the time, I also do like the idea of them knowing they can be totally on thier own for a bit - I just don't want them totally on their own all the time.

I completely understand the thoughts of a different breed, ideas on which JulesP?

[BC Crazy]

Sonny was 2 & a half when I got Stella at 12 weeks & the age gap couldn't of worked out better for us as they get along famously well together. Sonny is a very quiet natured boy which is great for Stella as she is quite an edgy

girl. He has taught her well. Having never owned 2 dogs at once I am amazed how much Sonny has taught her & how much they communicate. I was advised by several breeders not to get 2 of the same sex which at first really threw me

as I had my heart set on another boy. I would never have jeopardised Sonny's welfare or the wonderful relationship we have so after a very long wait for the 'right' little girl Stella has been with us for 8 months now & she is

awesome. Owning 2 furry kids isn't easy though. Very time consuming but in saying that I don't know what I would do without my little girl now & Sonny was so sad the few times Stella has been away from us i.e.Vets e.t.c. He loves

her to bits. From memory I think your Kenzie is a toy sucker like my girl, soooo cute.

In the end it is a decision only you can make pretty miss emma. I went with my heart, did my homework, brought from a very reputable breeder & got a puppy with very similar blood lines to Sonny.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do & hope I have been of some help to you. :D

[mita]

It would be another Border. At the moment I can't bring myself to move to any other breed!! I keep looking and end up at the same place - borders!!!

I wasn't suggesting that you change to another breed.. I've stuck to adopting a second dog of the same breed.....& very roughly same adult age. Not just because I like my preferred breed, but the dogs have similar breed characteristics that I've found help them bond and settle that bit more easily. Also the breeder has known their personalities & how they'll complement each other.

So I can understand you're thinking of sticking to borders.

Maybe other DOLer who've mixed the pair by adding a different breed, would have ideas about that. And their different experience.

Edited October 2, 2011 by mita

[JulesP]

I completely understand the thoughts of a different breed, ideas on which JulesP?

I was thinking Aussie Shep. We hang out with a lot of them and the girls don't mind them. I also have a breeder I like should I want one. Similar but not so much the same that it hurts to look at the pup.

I'll probably end up with another border though :D

[Bluefairy]

I too have always seemed to have girls, as I always found their personalities are great and matched mine perfectly. Though I have never had two dogs together, I have thought about it heaps, but not yet.

Archie is a male, who I got at 14 months old, he has special needs. He is everything I wasn't looking for, male, I as after female, puppy not teenager, special needs over average dog. But I have been so pleasantly surprised since I have had him (just over 2 weeks now). He is very affectionate, loves company, is very easy to train, and his special needs are hardly noticed. Plus his personality is just right for my family.

Its actually nice to have a dog that listens, that is TT, and was so quick at getting used to a crate. So I didn't have to go through the TT, repeating myself over and over until the puppy got it, and had ages of crying. I love having an older dog now....

Lynn

[dancinbcs]

I have just had to deal with the same problem. After having 2 to 5 Borders at a time, for over 25 years, I suddenly lost one of my two remaining dogs in June. She was the mother of the 7 year old male I have left and he was not coping with being an only dog. What I really wanted was a puppy by my dog but that may not happen in the near future. I have a lot going on at present so didn't want to lease a girl for a litter and then thought if I bought in a girl I would be back to 3 dogs in a couple of years if I bred a litter to keep a puppy. A male Border would be no use to me to keep my lines going unless it is by my dog, so that wasn't an option.

Finally I settled on the breed that was always going to be my "next breed one day" and last week brought home an 8 week old male Japanese Spitz. The males in JS are more placid than the females and I picked the puppy with the temperament that I know I could live with. My Border is very tolerant with the puppy and is still not overly impressed with him but I'm sure he will enjoy the company once the puppy is a bit bigger and they can play properly. The size difference is a bit too much at present, the puppy can be rather obnoxious and my Border is too placid to teach him any manners like my BC girls would have done.

In your situation I would get a male BC puppy to train up the way you want it. 2-3 years is a nice age gap and the male Borders are much easier to train and much more devoted than bitches.

[Gayle.]

I've added two adult dogs to the family this year.......the first after my 17 yo Lhasa Apso passed away and the second after Benson left us. The first time we didn't even consider a puppy because we'd recently been there and had no desire to revisit the chewed shoes and piddled on carpets in any kind of a hurry.

The second time we weren't considering anything but an adult male was offered to us so we took up the offer.

Adults are easy....both dogs fitted in pretty much straight away and after a few days of hanging back, they were soon part of the mob. They were already toilet trained and had lovely house manners so all the hard work was done. They were 5 and 4 years of age, good ages to introduce to an established pack as they aren't too old to want to just lie around and not play, and old enough that the brain (especially in the male) has matured. A younger adult or teenager might not have the sensibility to read subtle signals from the other dogs and an old dog might just want to be left alone and might feel harrassed by youngsters.

My next dog, however, will be a puppy as I want another one to show and I have specific requirements that I won't find in an adult.

[Pretty Miss Emma]

I think I really would like a puppy. And showing is on my list of things I'd like to do, so would like to start doing that with a pup. I also think Kenzie would like a pup, just in terms of playing etc (and having watched her with one of my friends BC pup - who she hangs out with every week - I'm pretty sure she'd choose a pup over an older dog if she could tell me!!!). My only worry is work, and I would be able to take some time off to bring a pup home but with Kenzie I had 5 weeks off with her and I certainly wouldn't be able to do that. But I would be able to take it to work every so often, so maybe I don't need to worry so much about that. Plus I guess there are plenty of people out there who get their puppy and are off to work the next day. Maybe I stress too much and think things through a little too hard sometimes!!!!!

[Gayle.]

When we got Isaak, we picked him up on a Sunday afternoon and both went to work the next morning. We left him inside, we blocked off our front entrance (inside the front door, its huge), so he had that and the hallway to play in. We left a covered crate with the door propped open, a comfy nest of rugs in the crate, water, toys and newspaper. He was fine, I'm sure he screamed the house down but we weren't there to hear him but when we got home that evening he was sound asleep in his crate, and that was pretty much how we found him each time we came home.

We started leaving him outside with the big dogs when he was about 3 1/2 months old, he was a big robust puppy and the other dogs were gentle with him.

With out next puppy, I'll probably also leave it inside but with Dusty for company. She loves puppies and she's very motherly and gentle with them.

[BC Crazy]

After losing my beautiful red & white boy after 14 & 1/2 years I waited about 3 months before getting Sonny & I didn't want a red fellow cause I thought it would remind me tooo much of "Redman" every time I looked at my new pup &

I was still very raw emotionally as you are so I opted for traditional, black & white for both of mine. Couldn't see myself with any other breed. Just a thought if you were getting a puppy maybe a change of colour,

fresh start Worked for me.I too am an over thinker though

Edited October 3, 2011 by BC Crazy

[spyke88]

we just got a second dog. spider is roughy 4(rescue dog. we made his birth day august 1 tho could be a little older) and our new pup is 6-8 months. she annoys him at times and i think if we had left it longer and spider older i don't think it would have worked. i think 3 years is the biggest age gap i would leave so there isn't too much of a "generation"gap going on.