New puppy with incontinent adult dog - bad idea?

[scrappimonty]

I currently have a 7 year old dog who needs a friend to wrestle and run around with, and a 13yo arthritic dog who is incontinent of faeces. The 13yo is still very silly and playful, and tries his best to keep up with the excitement, and still does love to play, but he is a wobbly legged old gentleman. I am semi considering starting to think about getting a puppy or 1-7 year old dog to play with the younger one, and also so he still has a buddy when the 13yo inevitably passes away.  

 

However, I thought I would ask if anyone had advice or experience regarding toilet training a puppy/dog while they have an incontinent dog... I am concerned that Scrappi pooping inside could be confusing for a younger dog, who might think that it is okay. (Obviously we do not reprimand Scrappi, we just try to prevent accidents by taking him outside and encouraging toileting every few hours). 

 

Thanks in advance :) 

[coneye]

Think you answered your own question , how can you train one dog  when the dog next to him goes where he wants ,,,   I know  been there ,   always had two dogs ,  , but once had a rotty  who  was good never ever messed in the house once ,  then when i brought another rescue dog , in who did'nt have the same manners it turned into a contest , did'nt help they were both males , but heh  ended up with me  having to set up a  shed and a run for them  , sort of spoiled things because for the first time ever i ended up with  what we could call outside dogs  at least until the rescue dog passed , then the rotty went back to living inside and doing OK ,,  i've found usually its the older dog will teach younger dogs manners , but in this case its going to be bad manners ,

[_PL_]

No. It's not fair on your older dog to bring in a puppy. Leave things the way they are. 

[Dogsfevr]

For me no i wouldnt bring in a pup but my reasons are different .
The oldie has enjoyed a homelife that is simplistic & its norm for a long time ,it still has its fun when it can with its buddy .
Make the most of enjoying the harmony .
As for the younger dog this is a great time for you to step up & offer different enrichment & be the buddy .
3 dogs can work great or be a total disaster.

[BlackWhiteGrey]

On 14/11/2022 at 7:08 PM, Dogsfevr said:

For me no i wouldnt bring in a pup but my reasons are different .
The oldie has enjoyed a homelife that is simplistic & its norm for a long time ,it still has its fun when it can with its buddy .
Make the most of enjoying the harmony .
As for the younger dog this is a great time for you to step up & offer different enrichment & be the buddy .
3 dogs can work great or be a total disaster.

I completely agree!  An older dog that has been in your home for many years isn't going to welcome a young playmate, especially if your other dog chooses to spend time with the new arrival over the older dog.  I would wait for your older dog to cross the bridge before considering an addition.