4 year old vs puppy

[J]

(I tried to post this once, and don't know what happened so if this is a duplicate, I'm sorry).

We are on our breeders list for a puppy, but have been exploring the idea of asking  for an older female (4) who has had litters and is being retired. We have 2 older dogs (10,9) at home along with 4 ragdolls who are very mellow.  

How do you think it would be to take an adult and mix her in with our household?  How would the adjustment be for her, and could she adjust and be happy, after living with the breeder for 4 years?

What are the pros and cons for this situation?  Thanks.

[BG and Gavin]

I do not know the answer and do not have any input, but I think it is an excellent question and I applaud you for thinking to investigate the impact.  One question I would have is if the breeders dog is house broken or has it lived in a kennel situation.  I think that would make a big difference in how she would adjust.

[J]

She lives in the house.  The breeder does not use kennels.

[Adina P]

If she is what you want (personality, etc) then you probably could make it work.  Given your other dogs' ages, I would imagine most any young dog would be kind of 'annoying' to them to some degree.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Have you met the older female in question?  If you have and you think she's a good match with your family, I'd say it's a great option.  I think anytime you miss that first "puppy" year is a bonus....mouthing, housebreaking.

[Jennifer and Jack]

I wouldn't trade that first puppy year with Jack for anything, of course that was my first and only time I am ever going to do it ....:)  Jack will be my one and only.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We had more dog adjustment when we adopted a two year old dog - vying for pack position.  But it was way easier than training a puppy.  My concern would be where has the retiring breeder dog been kept.  Was there socialization?  I just saw that she is a house dog.  I think if you like her and think she would fit with your other dogs, it would be a winning situation.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That would be my concern, too; bringing an adult into an existing pack. Adult dogs are often more accepting of a puppy.

What sex are your two older dogs? Are they spayed/neutered? Do they socialize with other adult dogs on a regular basis? Perhaps you could have a friend who has an adult female bring her over to visit, maybe even overnight, to get an idea of how your current dogs would behave with a newcomer sharing their space.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I applaud you for asking all the right questions before bringing another dog home. I can't help but feel badly for the breeder dog. I know it is what many breeders do, but it does not seem fair to me that a dog who has lived in their home for 4 years and been a part of their family (I hope) and they have made money off of, now has to go to another home and is really being evicted from the only home she has known. My Fudge is four and I can't imagine giving her up. I always feel as if the breeder dogs in these situations sure get the short end of the stick. Now, with my rant over :) dogs are rehomed all the time and do fine, I guess. I don't know if older dogs would have a harder time adjusting to a puppy or a four year old, but I imagine it will be an adjustment with whatever you decide. I also think maybe the sex of your dogs would matter, but you would be a better judge of that then me. If you would get the four year old dog, I imagine there would be a period of adjustment for all dogs....finding their place in the pack, etc. If you really love the breeder dog, then I feel it could work with time and patience. I really hope this breeder dog ends up in either your home or another loving home and gets a life she deserves. Good luck with whatever decision you make.

[Colleen, Jake & Baxter]

I have had 7 different dogs come through my house as a foster with my doodle Jake and for the most part there have been no problems.  It has been much harder on Jake adopting Baxter our puppy.  Thank you for considering bringing an older dog into your family.  I LOVE Baxter but on our "bad" days I do think how much easier it would have been keeping one of my older foster doodles!...sorry Baxter : )

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Colleen, How old was Jake when you got Baxter? Just curious.

[Colleen, Jake & Baxter]

Laurie, Jake was almost 4 when we adopted Baxter.  Jake was a re-home doodle that I adopted at almost a year old.  It's kind of funny remembering how he was when the 1st foster doodle came into our home....I think he was in shock that another dog had entered his home and it took him quite a while to warm up to him.  Of course they were best buds by the time he left.  It was very interesting seeing how different Jake's personality was with each and every foster dog.  Some of them he started playing with right away and with some (especially a beautiful pewter doodle named Ember) he was very standoffish.  I think Jake was very jealous of Ember and he showed it by ignoring her for about a month!  Of course several days before she was adopted Jake decided he would be friends with her!  Dogs are funny.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

This is so interesting because I often wonder how Fudge and Vern would be with another dog. I guess just like people, they have opinions about each :)