I've had a lot of dogs in my live that lived into old age. (I'm 52).
While it is possible to get a puppy into a home with an elderly dog, personally I never liked the idea. Your dog is 12, and you say energetic, which is great, but from personal experience, I can tell you that when they start to act old...the progression is very fast...one year you have a dog that doesn't seem old and the next, it's barely able to move because arthritis kicked in, or it's eye sight or hearing have great diminished.
I call it the downward spiral...and with month that goes by, it's like one of t hose 'twists' in a spiral...they get smaller and things move along faster with each twist.
The last thing I ever wanted for my elder pets, was to be pestered by a younger dog on days when they were not feeling good, or their energy levels ran out after a half hour of play but a puppy can go almost all day.
There's always time to get another dog in one's life...but you have only a limited amount of time with the pet that you have....and once their gone, you might regret all the hours you never spent with your current pet because you were sidetracked playing with a new puppy and teaching it things while your older pet sat off to the side and watched.
I know we don't get a vote in this....and again, I also know people successfully put puppies into a house hold with older pets....but my slant is don't do it. Let you dog have you and only you just like he's had it for all of his life and don't let his last years be something where he is now having to wait for it because another dog has come into his life and he has to now share you with that dog.
btw, I've always had 2 dogs in my life...but they were always acquired within months of each other and their ages where usually very close to each others...and that works out because they do share the same energy levels and see similar slow downs as they aged and were use to having me paying attention to the other dog..
Stormy
While it is possible to get a puppy into a home with an elderly dog, personally I never liked the idea. Your dog is 12, and you say energetic, which is great, but from personal experience, I can tell you that when they start to act old...the progression is very fast...one year you have a dog that doesn't seem old and the next, it's barely able to move because arthritis kicked in, or it's eye sight or hearing have great diminished.
I call it the downward spiral...and with month that goes by, it's like one of t hose 'twists' in a spiral...they get smaller and things move along faster with each twist.
The last thing I ever wanted for my elder pets, was to be pestered by a younger dog on days when they were not feeling good, or their energy levels ran out after a half hour of play but a puppy can go almost all day.
There's always time to get another dog in one's life...but you have only a limited amount of time with the pet that you have....and once their gone, you might regret all the hours you never spent with your current pet because you were sidetracked playing with a new puppy and teaching it things while your older pet sat off to the side and watched.
I know we don't get a vote in this....and again, I also know people successfully put puppies into a house hold with older pets....but my slant is don't do it. Let you dog have you and only you just like he's had it for all of his life and don't let his last years be something where he is now having to wait for it because another dog has come into his life and he has to now share you with that dog.
btw, I've always had 2 dogs in my life...but they were always acquired within months of each other and their ages where usually very close to each others...and that works out because they do share the same energy levels and see similar slow downs as they aged and were use to having me paying attention to the other dog..
Stormy
