adopting!!!

[ai_08]

one of my mom's friends is moving and, sadly, she cannot take her pet, shaggy, with her. she's asked if my family would like to have her and we're more than happy to welcome her into our family!

shaggy is a 10 year old yorkie. i'm worried that the transition will be hard on her. also, we have a 2 year old toy poodle. they're both sweethearts, but bentley is used to being the only baby... i was wondering if anyone has any advise?

[animallover7249]

Have the dogs met before? Just because they are sweethearts to humans doesn't mean they will be to eachother.

Does the dog have any toys/blankets/bed/ect from his old house that you can bring with him? Something familiar might help the transition.

[Wolfie]

I :smitten: yorkies! Nothing like a 100-pound attitude in a 6-pound dog. When Shaggy first arrives, you should take them on a nice, long walk together and walk them together daily. That will help show them they belong to the same pack now. Yorkies can be a bit feisty, but since Shaggy is female and Bentley is male, the introduction shouldn't be too bad.

Also bringing a blanket or bed with the scent of the old home might help, as suggested. And give her time to get used to her new surroundings, without fussing over her too much, as hard as that will be. Changing homes is hard enough without her new family constantly hovering. That tends to make a dog nervous. Let her have a crate or a spot that's just for her, in case she feels the need to get away from Bentley or her new humans for a while. And of course Bentley should have his own spot if he wants some time alone, too. When I first got my fourth dog, she'd always go off to her crate to sleep or just chill. Now, she can often be found sleeping next to one of the other dogs.

They should have separate food bowls and eating areas. Even if they love each from the start, food might trigger a fight.

I can't imagine having a dog for 10 years and then giving it up. :(

[animallover7249]

I love the walks idea.

I totally forgot to mention to try not to overly fuss over shaggy. Also, try to give your poodle the same amount as attention as s/he would normally get.

[Irizary]

I can't imagine having a dog for 10 years and then giving it up. :(

Yeah, I'm curious - why specifically can't she take the dog?

It can be helpful to have the dogs meet for the first time on neutral territory, like a park near your house where they can hang out for a little while and get to know each other without territory issues.

[screechingninja]

i love wolfies ideas. Aww congratulations :) Yorkies are sooo cute. I imagine itwill be hard for her after 10 years though. Good luck!

[Glitterpixie]

Remember that dogs still have strong instincts when it comes to socialisation with other dogs and even the most people friendly dogs can turn into monsters when faced with their own kind. Your off to a good start with two dogs of different sexes (hopefully both neutered?) and of similar sizes. Where you may have a problem is the time that they have spent as only dogs particually the yorkie.

How are the dogs usually with other dogs out and about? This should give you a good you an idea of what to expect with the introduction. First meetings should always take place on neutral ground and never in either dogs house as they could become territorial. If for any reason on the first meeting they become agressive take them apart and try again only when they have calmed down and in a different place.

When at home together feed the dogs apart and remove objects of high value from the enviroment such as toys and chews. Ensure that both dogs have their own quiet area in which they feel safe and don't have to defend. Dogs unfortunatly have no democracy and one dog will always have a higher status than the other. At the start it would be wise to give your current dog the most attention and to ensure that he recives attention first. This will help to prevent jealousy and he is most likely to be initial leader as it is his own territory. Be prepared for the pack dynamics to change and shaggy may raise her status in the pack, if this happens start giving her attention and treats first. Good luck, hope all goes well :)

[kpickell]

I always hate to see people get rid of elderly dogs.

We had someone return a 12 year old shepherd this week to our animal shelter.. The reason why was because it's in poor health and had started having accidents in the house, so they were keeping it outside now. Also it had cataracts and couldn't see very well so it would growl when startled suddenly. It's teeth were rotten which means it probably had an infection that spread, leading to a urinary infection that caused the accidents.

I was pissed off that owner for returning the dog and I was pissed off at the shelter for taking it in. It should be euthanized. Instead it's going to suffer in a kennel until it dies.

[Wolfie]

I don't get it. How can they just dump an elderly, sick animal? I seriously hope they get the same treatment when they're old and sick.

Fortunately, 10 isn't too awfully old for a Yorkie or most toy dogs. Not usually anyway. My Yorkie lived to almost 18 and only went downhill for about the last year or so.

[Glitterpixie]

It's always shocks me but never surprises me that some people can own a dog for so long and then just dump them when they reach old age, after all thats what happens to many elderly people as well. I agree with wolfie that 10 years old isn't old for healthy toy breed.

Moving house by itself is not a valid reason to rehome a dog IMO and I hope there is a bigger reason than just that.