11 year old bitch with a 1 year old male.

texas star

Im considering taken a male 1 year old labradoole as owner hasnt time for him.I have a ****zu X 11 years who is the apple of my eye but my feelings is she is too old for the upheavel of having another dog in our home.Any advise please?:)

tiredblondie

I've recently rehomed a 2 year old male shih tzu (3 months ago) - i also have an 11 year old female shih tzu!
Like you, she's the baby of the house and has been her whole life so we were concerned as to how to change would make her feel and the last thing i wanted was for her to feel pushed out.
To be honest, having the younger more lively dog, has put a spring in her step and a sparkle in her eye!
I won't say that she loves him or anything, she only just tolerates him - he constantly antagonizes her, she constantly puts him in his place and they do that at least twice a day - it concerned me at the start, now i just leave them to it.
He ADORES her, and when she gives out to him, he looks so hurt and upset by it haha, all the poor sod wants is for her to love him!!!

Just make sure the oldie gets attention she is used to and make sure she gets everything first i.e. dinner bowl put down first, treats first etc and i'm sure all will work out well!!

DBB

My biggest concern here is the size disparity. Assuming he's a full sized doodle, there can be problems allowing a big dog to mingle freely with a small dog, and that's when the smallie is in the flush of youth.
Big dogs can very easily inadvertently hurt a smallie during play.
They can also easily, and often inadvertently, overawe a smallie during play and other interactions such as mealtimes, interactions with owners, visitors arriving etc.
Sometimes, the above is not inadvertent, but quite deliberate on the part of the big dog.
It is also surprisingly more common than you'd think, that "predatory drift" occurs between big dogs towards smallies, whereby a scenario arises that the small dog does something to flick a predatory switch in the big dog's head, resulting in harm being done to the smallie.
So, there's quite a lot to consider, and to potentially be concerned about in this situation. A lot will depend on the doodle's temperament and demeanour towards the smallie. If he's very respectful and calm with her, then you've something to work with. However, if he's a rambunctious eejit (most doodles are ) you need to proceed with caution.

jimf

could you maybe take him for a trial period and see how they mingle

its very hard to know how this will peter out at 12 months hes just about going out of mad puppy hood

I have a friend who got a new golden retriever as his old boy was getting on 11y and slowing down a lot

after the pup arrived he was like a 2yo again and lived to the ripe old age of 15

texas star

Thank you ill consider all the above posts

3dogs

I have a now 12 year old small terrier and a large 3 year old collie and they adore each other.
He is very respectful of her size and will lie down to play while she bounces on his head and neck. I have a great time watching them together