Good idea or bad to add another furry family member?

[ned4spd8874]

So I have a 10-month old that I've been wanting to get a puppy for a while now. I just think it would be nice for him to have his own best friend to grow up with and learn compassion and how to interact and care for a dog. I don't really want to wait too long, I just feel that the earlier the better.

However, we currently have two dogs now. They are both around 13 years old. Brandy is the youngest and healthiest and sure she's slowing down a little, but doing quite well for her age and history.

But Maggie is the one I'm worried about. She has Cushings, diabetes, kidney issues, arthritis, lens luxation, GOLPP...I think that's about it. Although she doesn't have the best health, she's such a terrific trooper. She's a real inspiration! She can no longer go for regular walks and just isn't able to be active anymore.

So my main concern is how she'll handle a new addition. I can see many possible outcomes. She could care less and not interact or have much to do with it. She could take offense and be aggressive to it. Although, that's not typically in her nature, but last year we did have an incident at a family gathering where a young child got super excited around her and tried to pet her. As an excited young kid would do, he just ran over and reached out to pet her head. She took exception to this and snapped at him. I don't blame her and she didn't bite him, she just scared him. This was also before we learned about her vision problems, so there's that too. So would she act the same towards a puppy? She doesn't towards our baby, when he comes too close or touches her, she tries to run away.

I'm also afraid that maybe it'll push her over the edge. As in give up on life. Perhaps take it as a her job is done, we've got a replacement, so I can go type thing. Or even just stress her out and cause her to cross over earlier than she would have if not for the pup. Then again, she could like it and maybe even mother or mentor it.

Am I thinking too much about this? Am I worrying or being to irrational? I know Maggie most likely doesn't have long to live. But as far as I see it, she could cross over any day or maybe she'll go on for another year or so. According to the doc, studies say that most Cushings dogs only live a couple years after being diagnosed. Maggie's on four years! She's getting a ton of meds and being well taken care of so I could see her living for a while longer. Although the GOLPP stuff is what's worrying me the most now. She does have a lot of rough nights. Her glucose seems to spike and with the GOLPP, she ends up heavy panting a lot of the night.

Any input, suggestions, personal experience anyone can share would be great! I'm torn. My main thing is I don't want to make life harder for Maggie or end her life prematurely.

Thanks in advance for any input!

[DoxieMama]

I don't have a lot of time right now but want to let you know I intend to respond later... Probably in the morning to be honest.

For now...good for you for thinking this decision through beforehand!! It's so easy sometimes to get caught up in the excitement of a new puppy. No matter what you decide, good for you!!!

[DoxieMama]

Hi, I'm back with a bit more time to respond.

I do want to say that this comment "studies say that most Cushings dogs only live a couple years after being diagnosed" is not necessarily true. Others are better at addressing this, but honestly there have been numerous dogs diagnosed with Cushing's that have gone on to live full lives. Dogs that were diagnosed young - 3 or 4 years old - that live for 10 years or more, and when they pass on, it's not always because of Cushing's. I think that usually those statements are made because dogs are often already seniors when they are diagnosed, so they don't have many years left as it is... others have had the disease for a time before diagnosis... and any other myriad of reasons. I am happy to read that your Maggie has been successfully treated for 4 years - another statistic crushed!! :)

As for the reason for your post, my personal opinion (and it's just that, as a dog "mom") is that only Maggie will be able to tell you how she's going to feel about a puppy. I would want to introduce them before making the decision and see how she responds. She might get along with them great, only somewhat or not at all. If only we could ask her!

In my experience, I had two 8 year old dogs when I adopted a 6 month old puppy. Visuddha was healthy, but Jupiter was in the late stages of lymphoma. I did not introduce Jupiter to the puppy before bringing him home, and I wish I had. Jupiter was so laid back with everyone, I didn't think it necessary. I also knew his disease was advanced. I brought home the puppy and Jupiter, well, he wanted nothing to do with him. If the puppy got close, he growled. The puppy responded in the best possible way... he moved away and left Jupiter alone. Jupiter passed away only a few days later. Was his disease so advanced that would have happened anyway, or was it because of any of those reasons you wonder about for Maggie (job done, too much stress, etc)? I'll never know.

Last spring, Visuddha was diagnosed with Cushing's at 13 years old. During the summer, we started considering adopting another dog. We still have that puppy, Jackson had just turned 6, and we were thinking to get another that he could play with, more his size, etc. But how would V handle it? V was not the friendly dog that Jupiter was... and he was my baby dog, my shadow, always in my lap or by my side. I chose not to adopt another dog while he was here. After he passed... and to today... we're still a one dog home.

Maybe we'll get a second dog while we still have Jackson. Or maybe he'll be an only dog from now on. We aren't in the same position as you, with a little one to "grow up" with a new dog. My youngest was 10 when we got V and Jupiter, and I had hoped he would "grow up" with Jupiter, the friendly, lovable, social lab. Nah... He liked him well enough, but didn't really bond with him, you know? My son was 18 when we got Jackson and he bonded more with him than he ever did with Jupiter. Jackson is his favorite dog, ever. When he comes home to visit, they're practically inseparable.

I feel like I've kind of been all over the map with this post. I hope something I've shared is helpful to you in your decision, or perhaps for someone else that may come along later.

Best of luck - whatever you decide!!

[Harley PoMMom]

I sure understand that you would want a loyal loving buddy for your dear boy but I think with all that Maggie has going on that it just may be too stressful having a puppy around because they are so rambunctious. However I could be wrong, so as Shana mentioned, take Maggie along to meet the puppy and see how she reacts before bringing the puppy home.

Hugs, Lori

[Joan2517]

A puppy is soooo much work. With a 10 month old and an older dog with health issues? I would say wait...I think you will be overwhelmed, but that's just my opinion.

[Budsters Mom]

OMG!!!! :eek::eek::eek: I'm with Joan. WOW!!! I would wait also.;)

[Mom2Beagles]

I have 3 beagles and now one of them was diagnosed with cushings. I love all three sooo much but it is a lot to handle and financially it is getting tough as they get older. I miss being able to easily walk my two or take them to the pet store, with 3 it's just too much. If you have plenty of time, space and financial resources then it would make sense to consider it. Please also consider a young rescue, the shelters and rescue groups are so full of dogs waiting for homes. I agree as said above, make sure the dogs can all meet on neutral ground.

[ned4spd8874]

Thanks to everyone for the reply's!

Yes, I agree it would be nice if Maggie could meet the potential new pup, but I'm not so sure how easy that could happen. First she has trouble with hard floors, so going to PetSmart would be a nightmare for her anymore. Also, although my wife has said she would be fine with a puppy, I kinda want it to be a surprise, so i'd be weird if I just took Maggie out of the house for no particular reason.

I know pups are a lot of work, but I'm not working right now. I'm a stay-at-home dad at the moment, so I feel this would be a good time since I will have more time to dedicate to raising it. Also, my daughter is coming into town for a little while and she'll be able to help. The next time she'll be in town won't be until summer. So that's also why I've been thinking about this now.

As of right now, yeah I'm still on the fence. Maybe it would be best to wait until summer when she visits again and I'll have more help here. The only worry with that is if I'm back on the job then, it would make raising a pup that much harder.

Ug, I never should have started letting myself think about this, it's making this too emotional!

Oh, and of course I'll be looking to rescue a pup. I wouldn't go any other way. And looking way in to the future, the next-next dog I'd like to be an older rescue. One that has been around for a while and nobody seems to want. I wish I thought of this when I was younger, but I like the idea of rescuing young-old-young-old, etc.

Anyways, again, thanks all for the input!

[Joan2517]

My husband surprised me with a puppy, Sibbie, one week after my precious Lena died. I was FURIOUS with him! It was a terrible surprise...and I stayed mad for weeks. We had no puppy-proofing, I was not ready, and I had to stay home from work that first week to do it all. And I was not happy. Now on top of missing my baby, I was going to miss Sibbie all day while I was at work.

I love Sibbie, don't get me wrong...but I needed more time, and because of it, as much as I know that she knows I'm Mommy, and that I adore her, I think we could be a lot closer if I had had time.

That's just an opinion from someone who was surprised with a puppy. Of course, now I don't know what I would do without her, but I will NEVER let him know that! LOL!