At What Age Do We Stop Getting New Dogs?

[Little Gifts]

I might sound terribly selfish but I don't ever want to consider a life where I don't have some kind of animal, even if it can't be a dog. I would hope that unless I lose my mental faculties I'd at least be able to care for a couple of goldfish.

As I age I assume the type of dog I have will need to change but the day I can no longer own and care for any dog will be a terribly sad one for me. I'm hoping it is still at least 30 years off.

[Loving my Oldies]

I didn't realise there were so many really old people on DOL. :D :D

When my little tribe (now four dogs and one cat) cross The 'Bridge I'll be in my seventies. I can't imagine not having a dog to alert me to visitors. I plan on getting a couple of large oldies to plod around the neighbourhood with me and, of course, snuggling up to me at night or any time I plonk onto the couch.

[BarbedWire]

When I hear about rescuers refusing to let someone in their sixties have a dog because they are too old I am quite amused. When you are in your twenties forty is so old. When you reach forty, sixty is old, then when you reach sixty, eighty is old. For me once you reach seventy you are allowed to call yourself elderly.

We also need to remember that the new retirement age is seventy, and that people are living longer. The life expectancy for a woman is around eighty four.

I am retired and I love having the time to spend with my dogs and to spoil them in a way I never had time for before.

[Aleksandra 157]

I feel really encouraged by these answers! I used to walk my Keeshond and JS to "nana's. down the road until she was 90.She loved to see them but I had to be careful they didn't push her over.When she went into hospice at 92 I would take the dogs to visit.It became a regular thing and all but the very ill used to love to see them..

[cowanbree]

As a breeder I get a lot of enquiries from older people wanting puppies/dogs. My most recent was a very frail gentleman in his 80s who was so lonely after losing his sheltie but wanted my 7mth old extremely active lad who was not at all suitable.

I always consider what is best for the dog concerned and if you consider a sheltie will generally live 16odd years and the average life span for people is mid 70s it does mean that if you are over 70 with no back up in place a puppy isn't suitable. Yes you may well be able to provide for the puppy currently but odds are the dog will not live out his life with you. I encourage older people to look at older dogs or rescues.

[BarbedWire]

As a breeder I get a lot of enquiries from older people wanting puppies/dogs. My most recent was a very frail gentleman in his 80s who was so lonely after losing his sheltie but wanted my 7mth old extremely active lad who was not at all suitable.

I always consider what is best for the dog concerned and if you consider a sheltie will generally live 16odd years and the average life span for people is mid 70s it does mean that if you are over 70 with no back up in place a puppy isn't suitable. Yes you may well be able to provide for the puppy currently but odds are the dog will not live out his life with you. I encourage older people to look at older dogs or rescues.

Sorry but I dispute this figure in bold. I don't know how to post links but I have copied this from an article in the Guardian which is quoting WHO figures.

Australian men have the third highest life expectancy in the world, but women are lagging in sixth place, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

However, women are expected to live 84.6 years on average, compared with 80.5 for men.

A few years ago I attended a gym class and the instructor was in her mid seventies.

[kelpiecuddles]

I think it also depends on your family. My family adore my dogs and there is no question that if something were to happen to me they would have my dogs without a second thought. Probably harder though if you have difficult dogs(as opposed to the cruisey ones mine are) or if you didn't have family that would be in a position or have the desire to take them.

My grandfather recently lost his little dog but he would phone my mum every night and let the phone ring three times to let her know he was still alive because he was worried if anything happened to him the dog would be alone without someone to feed her.

[BarbedWire]

Yay I have worked out how to post links

This is the link to the life expectancy figures I quoted above

My link

I hope it works

[flame ryder]

I could not imagine my life without a dog so I will always have one till the day I die (if I can). To me life just wouldn't be worth living without a dog, failing that a cat could also fill the space.

I saw an elderly lady walking 2 rottis along the main road recently. I said to OH "that's one little old lady no one will mess with". But yes something else to consider when one lives alone and is elderly and vulnerable. Too many old people get robbed, home invasions ect, a good dog could not only be a wonderful companion but protection also.

[Guest Clover]

One of my favourite customers would have to be at least 85 now & walks her dog every morning and night. So age does not really have a lot to do with it.

My old person breed will be a couple of retired Greyhounds.

[Sheridan]

I think I'd probably downsize to a smaller dog when I'm older.

[cavNrott]

It's so important to consider how old you will be in say, 10-12 years when thinking of getting a dog. It's not just about 'how old is too old to get a dog but about the dog's life expectancy and your own life expectancy.

I think early to mid sixties is the limit. We may live to be eighty but we don't know what our health will be like. Because we're fit and healthy in our early to mid sixties is no indication that this will be the case in our early seventies.

My two Cavaliers are the last dogs I'll have. Eight years ago I was running around the obedience ring with my Rottweiler with folk much younger than me and I was a darn site fitter than most of them. I now have spinal problems. I can take my dogs for a short walk each day and fortunately that's enough for them because they too are elderly.

I worry that I'll fall off my perch and there will be no one to care for my dogs. It would be best if they go before I do so they are not left without me and everything they've known since they were 8 week old puppies. If they go first I will sadly live out the rest of my time without a dog.

[Henrietta]

I think I'd probably downsize to a smaller dog when I'm older.

Glen of Imaal terrier? :-D

My nan is 92 and has a whippet boy, I believe he is three or four now? They are perfect for each other and he gets regularly outings. Also, he will have a home with my parents if he outlives my nan. Unless I steal him first. I remember feeling a bit worried when nan was heart set on another dog after her old gsd x kelpie passed. But really, she has always had dogs and has a supportive family. I'm glad she has her little whippet man in her life.

[Tazar]

When I get old I will take on rescue oldies, ensuring their last years are full of love and comfort. At his stage it will be GSD's, Labs and Staffs, no doubt I will add more breeds :)

[BarbedWire]

Sheridan I agree about the smaller dog. For me it has to be a dog I can still lift if I have to.

eta but not so small that it could be a tripping hazard

Edited August 25, 2014 by sarsaparilla

[sandgrubber]

Wrong question. The concern is 'in what condition', not 'what age'. A well preserved 65 has a lot more life left than a wasted 50. Lots of people are still active into their 80s.

I'm 65 and in excellent health. For my next dog, I will probably switch to a smaller breed, and I'll eventually transition from three to two. When it seems likely that the end is within a dog's lifespan, I won't replace my dog unless I have a friend or family lined up to care for a dog after my demise.

Oldies can also deal with the finite lifetime problem by adopting older dogs . . . there's never a shortage of good old dogs in need of a home.

[kelpiecuddles]

I agree SG. There's a lady I sometimes chat to at my local shops, she trots in to the store, jokes away with the staff and pushes an enormous trolley around. If asked to guess her age I would have said around 75-80. I found out a couple of weeks ago she's 93. Totally blew my mind, I hope I'm that spritely and lucid at that age! :D

[Scarlet]

I'm very fortunate in having 4 dog loving sons who I know would care for any animal that outlived me.

One son has actually kidnapped my two at the moment; he calls it giving them a holiday and though I miss them I know they are well loved and cared for.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

I hope that i'll always be thinking of my pets first. Unless you have someone to take a pet on, then I believe you shouldn't be taking on pets that are likely to outlive you.

As an example, a friend's mother passed away - at 93. Not really unexpected but I was totally shocked to see a Facebook request to find the 4 year old cat that she owned, a new home within a fortnight or that would be that. I'm sorry but I found that to be totally selfish, as much as I'm sure the kitten would have brought some joy for an older person, there was no one in the large family willing to take the cat on.

Rescuers are always being asked to take on pets for people who've died and the family don't want the animal, or for people going into nursing homes.

There are definitely genuine cases where things can unexpectedly go wrong and people aren't that old but a lot of it has been due to selfish ownership.

I don't think 59 is too old - I just rehomed a puppy to a lady of that age.

[kelpiecuddles]

That's so sad Dogmad Rather shortsighted too that arrangements hadn't been thought through for a young cat belonging to a person of that age. While things can and do happen unexpectedly at any age I do agree that there is a time when there needs to be a firmer plan in place.