Companion dog for a senior dog?

[sanford]

A response to my recent post prompts this question...

I assume that my adopted cairn would enjoy having a playmate & companion, (besides me). But the fact is that he's a senior. He's also an alpha and sometimes gets scrappy with other dogs or doesn't show much interest in them. He's been an "only" dog all his life. My gut reaction tells me that he wouldn't easily accept another dog, but I'm not expert enough to know for sure.

Does anyone have advice/experience with this sort of situation? I'd like to consider the possibility of a companion for him, if there was a chance it would work, but I wouldn't want to make a mistake and regret it. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[tena]

Logically he would adapt to a compainion, and simply be alpha to that critter. I only have one dog, but intergrated the dog into an established cat household. So we had some blending issues....so to speak.

I'm a trust the gut kind of person. For instance when I got Sophie from the pound I looked at other dogs the same day. She came home because despite being scared silly, she had a curious but not aggressive reaction to the cats at the pound. FOR ME that was a big one. There was another dog that had less condition issues and was much less frightenend, but had a more "alert" reaction to the cats. My gut told me that Sophie would most likely warm up to me, and that she was not cat aggressive. I was right.

Probably didn't help much and others who have more dogs can better advise you.

On a side note....I would not bring a kitten home now, not sure that temptation would be wise.

Tena

[kayharley]

Winnie was about 10 when we got Madison and she took to the puppy just fine. It really helped her stay young and active because she'd play with Maddy. Now with Elliott in the picture I see her running after the other two and often instigates the play sessions.

I think it has to do with your senior's personality and temperment. Winnie has always been laid back so it was easy to introduce others into our household.

[kjwarnold]

Willie was 15 when we brought Packy home. He was pretty tolerant, but then he always was a good-natured guy. If Packy bothered him too much (and it took a lot), then Willie let him know. They did play together, but not as much as Packy would have liked! To be honest, I think Willie could have cared less whether he had a companion at that age or not.

[bonniebelle]

I think our Tristan would be devastated if we brought another pup into the house now. He is 16, and years ago when we brought another puppy in, when Trissie was about eight, he was heartbroken. It was obvious that he felt VERY displaced at first, then seemed to acclimate ... the new puppy had health problems, we lost her at about nine months, sadly.

Of course, I wouldn't dream of bringing another in with him at this age. He is the King of the Castle, and wouldn't understand ... If your doggie has always been an *only* and he tends to be Alpha, I would probably not bring in another one if he seems perfectly content. (YOU are his favorite companion in his eyes; I doubt he sees a need for another! )

[Eliz222]

That's a very hard decision to make. I understand how two dogs could keep each other company, but at your dogs age, and the fact that he is alpha, I would (personally) not bring in another dog.

We adopted Finch when Scout was just 2 years old and she adjusted right away to having another dog in the house.

Is there any way you could have a friend bring over their dog to see how well they get along? Maybe you could have the other dog spend the weekend with you. I think this would give you a better idea of how your dog would accept another dog in the house. Just a thought.

[JerryLv]

Shoe.....good idea. Dogs are like people some are gagarious some are not.

My dog, Zen, loves EVERYONE, other dogs, cats, children, grown ups. Anything alive is worth getting to know for him. At one year of age he doesn't seem to have a mean bone in his body. I could bring the entire team of animals from the Humane Society home and he would be a happy dog. But as you say...A good test would be to have another dog stay the week end. That should do it.

[JerryLv]

Shoe.....good idea. Dogs are like people some are gagarious some are not.

My dog, Zen, loves EVERYONE, other dogs, cats, children, grown ups. Anything alive is worth getting to know for him. At one year of age he doesn't seem to have a mean bone in his body. I could bring the entire team of animals from the Humane Society home and he would be a happy dog. But as you say...A good test would be to have another dog stay the week end. That should do it.

[JerryLv]

Sorry about the pic. Thought I knew what I was doing but apparently not.

I just went into 'my pictures' and attached it. What happened?

[bradl]

Looks like it didn't finish uploading, is all.

[JerryLv]

OK another try.

[bonniebelle]

I will have to respectfully disagree with other posters who suggest bringing in a friend's dog to see if they get along. Because .... he might love and get along fine with that dog, BUT you could bring another one home and have him take an instant dislike to it. Sometimes the chemistry isn't there AT ALL, no matter how sociable the dogs may be.

[kayharley]

And I think it's the same with people.....good point, bonnie