What Is The Age Difference Between Your Dogs?

[RiverStar-Aura]

There's roughly 21 months difference between Zeus and Kirah. Things could've been much different though as I'd been hoping for a puppy late 2010; my breeder had rotten luck though.

It couldn't have worked out more perfectly though as it turned out I wasn't ready for a second dog. It gave me time for more 1 on 1 bonding with Zeus after having just lost my beloved Poochie and I worked on his obedience and socialisation. I'm grateful for that extra 6 to 8 months with just Zeus and it allowed me to actually decide if I was ready for a second dog.

[HazyWal]

I have a 4 yo and a 3.5 yo and wouldn't change anything :) we didn't plan it that way, we got her and then he came up as a rescue and we couldn't say no :)

I have the same.Stan is 4 and Maddie is 3.5 both rescues.I didn't plan on keeping Maddie(she was foster number 7)but Stan and I fell in love with her :)

[rastus_froggy]

Chevy is 6 and a half and we have just had 2 pups come into our lives (now 3 moths old). They are litter mates, not ideal I know, but originally they werent meant to be staying with us permanently.

I am 12 days off having our 1st bubba so undoubtedly we will get another dog in probably 5 - 7years when the child is ready for their own dog.

[CaseyKay]

My original pair of boys had 4 years between them but they died less than 6 months apart at 17 and 13, I got them both as adults at a similar time originally Now have 2 senior girls aged 12 and 10 and 2 junior girls aged 2.5 and 5 months. Life got easier for the seniors now we have Scout to play with Gael. It does mean you have a big gap between the pairs though! I didn't get Maddie now 12 until 2 years after the boys had gone.

[ElleAus]

I have a 12 yr old Lab and 14/15 yr old terrier mutt. Benefit of two oldies together is they both need shorter slower walks but the combined meds bills for joint issues and heart problems is huge! Next time I'd try for a slightly bigger gap.

[BC Crazy]

Mine are roughly 22 months apart in age & get on really well together. Maybe a little too well as I am currently trying to pry Stella, my youngest away from Sonny's side. she just adores him

to the point of pretty much Velcro'd to him most of the time. My Sonny has the temp of an angle though & the patience of a saint thankfully :laugh:

I suppose it would be a lot worse if they were at each others throats though. Not sure how I would cope with that.

Sounds like I can hear the pitter / patter of tiny paws heading your way PME, you lucky girl. So more info please :laugh: & pic's too please.

[piperspal]

I have an 11 yr old, 9 yr old, 8 yr old and 2 yr old. They have all just come along whenever, no planning was involved. Basically the old dog was fisrt, I bred him so he is special, the next one was my sons dog, she got left behind when he moved out. The 8 yr old is my baby, she is a mad ball chasing toy poodle, and the 2 yr old was arranged to give her a playmate. They all get on well, no major health issues, except for the old dog who has arthritis and I recently took him to the vets for some painkillers to make his life easier. They all still love to go for thier walk, we just slow donw when the old guy starts to knock up. I have tried leaving him at home, but he wont have any of that!!!!

I have considered another large dog to learn from the old guy while he is still able to get around. The old dog has such a stable calm temp he would be (and still is) a great role model. I would rather a young dog learn from him than any of hte others, but I dont want 5 dogs either. mine are all microchipped, heartworm protected etc, but another one might break the bank, esp if I start to find health issues with the others as well.

[Kavik]

I have a 12 1/2 yr old, an 8 yr old and a 6 yr old.

Really keen to get another soon so I can have the experience of competing with two at the same time.

[SparkyTansy]

I have a 9.5yo, 6yo, 4.5yo and 1yo. They all had their turn of being the one that looks after the youngest... the two youngest play the most (they are also the same breed and mother daughter). The two oldest are lazy setters. They played rarely when the 6yo was a puppy... I think that the oldest was too much of an old man when I got the now 6yo.

I have to say, by far the best "relationship" is between the two youngest, but I think it's more to do with breed and temperament.

[Esky the husky]

I'm hoping that our next dog will come when Esky is between 3 ( the end of this year) and 5

That way she'll still be running competitvely *touch wood* and will be able to teach the young one a thing or too about racing ;)

As a kid we had two terrier mutts, littermates.

Didn't work out too well, they were veeery bonded, and I had no idea how to train them!

(Although I was 10 at the time) My boy has passed away and now Ted is an only dog

[Guest english.ivy]

Ivy, my Groenendael, was around 20 months when I bought home Badger, the English Pointer.

Worked out well as Ivy taught Badger a lot of things, all good of course.

Think there are about three years between the Labradors but I didn't vote for them as they are my partners dogs.

[MavericksMission]

I have a 3.5 year old & a 9 month old :)

When I had my heart dog Tinka, there was a 14 year between her & Maverick.

Edited May 28, 2012 by MavericksMission

[W Sibs]

Charlie and Em are about a year apart.

Charlie was easy and was never a normal naughty puppy, so getting a new pup was easy.

I wouldn't of gotten Em, if Charlie didn't get sick though.. I would have waited till he was about 2 or 3 before getting puppy number 2.

Emmy.. well, we definitely had to wait till she was fully matured before getting another pup. She was very full on.

[Chequeredblackdog]

I/the family have four dogs.

Rocky-11

Sadie-turns 9 in December

Tess- 5/6

Reggie- is almost 1

[FHRP]

I like a 5 year gap, especially for competition dogs, and currently have a 10 year old, a 5 year old and a 15 week old (plus a part time 12 year old :)). My dogs are my pets first, but I do compete in various sports and keep that in mind when adding dogs. I find that the first few years are intense in training, and so important to get right. I want to be able to dedicate that time to just one dog. By 5 they have good foundations and are heading towards their peak and maintenance in training and competition. At 10 they are heading to retirement. In my current situation that spacing also sees me pretty constantly at my dog limit! I's also like to avoid having several old dogs at once, they are a lot of work and money and I like to give the oldies everything they need and deserve.

However things don't always go to plan, and I'd always have more than one dog. So if something terrible happened and I was down to just one dog, or one 'young' dog, I'd add another sooner. Of course, there's those times when you can't resist a certain puppy, even if the timing may not be ideal :)

[Lisey]

I had two dogs with a 23 month age difference, I think it worked well - they would both run amok together and one wouldn't wear out quicker than the other.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do now. I recently lost Lola at only 18 months old :-( Eva is 3 & 1/2. I know I will get another one day but I'm just not ready yet.

I always thought I would have 2 old dogs together and it would be sad if they died around the same time as each other. Nothing could have prepared me for this though. I'm still in shock about losing a dog so young

[BJ.]

I have always thought that 4-5 year age gap was ideal, but of course it does not always turn out how you expect. Currently I have a 19 year old, a 9 year old and a 5 year old. Up until recently I also had a 4 year old but he has moved out with my daughter. I would dearly love to be putting my name down for a new addition but my 19 year old is just to fragile to have around a large breed puppy and the important thing now is keeping him comfortable.

[Alkhe]

Great thread

I have a 4 year old, and soon will be bringing my 10 year old to live with us - though the way they interact has so much more to do wtih personality/temperament than age. Even their activity levels don't reflect their age. Mimi (10 year old) is far more active, fast and playful at the park than Maggie, and both are lazy buggers that sleep most of the day apart from that. :laugh:

[Sheridan]

Grumpy is nearly six years old than Mini. It's not so much the age gap as the personality that is important. It was very important that in getting a second dog, I not have one who was too boisterous or challenged Grumpy and in these, Mini is Little Miss Perfect. She is cheeky in the things he doesn't care about and submissive in the things he does.

[Pretty Miss Emma]

Sounds like I can hear the pitter / patter of tiny paws heading your way PME, you lucky girl. So more info please :laugh: & pic's too please.

You may well be on the right track BC Crazy!!! Wait til the weekend and all will be revealed!!!

So if something terrible happened and I was down to just one dog, or one 'young' dog, I'd add another sooner. Of course, there's those times when you can't resist a certain puppy, even if the timing may not be ideal :)

This is where I was at. My first dog it was all ok and after 2 years (as I said earlier she was 9 years old when I got her!!) we added Kenzie to the clan. Yes it was succession planning, but I also wanted a younger dog that I could start working with. Ideally I would have waited til Kenz was a little older before adding another dog, but losing Em last year has left a very big gap in our house, and sometimes there are reasons that can't be resisted!!

It has been interesting to hear from everyone about the age gaps, and what I also think is interesting is that so many of us have ideas about what is ideal, yet something seems to happen to throw those plans in to disarray and we end up with dogs at times we weren't necessarily planning!!!