Would you rehome an older dog?

[Big_Tag]

Something has been floating around in my brain the last couple weeks and since I generally get sound opinions here, I thought I’d pose the question.
Let’s just say you have to give your dog up. I’m not going to judge on circumstances; let’s just say it’s inevitable. Is there an age, or perhaps health status, by which you say it’s kinder to just put the dog to sleep?

I don’t ask this for me but rather, I casually follow the local Craigslist and Facebook groups re: pet rehoming. I’ve seen a rash of older (read:10 to 12yos) being rehomed that I sometimes think, would it just be kinder to put them down? Or do some dogs readily adapt to a new life at that age?

It seems to me like a lot to ask of an older dog to acclimate to a brand new home; but I will say, I adopted an “eight” year old JRT who is likely pushing 15 really, but she’s adapted just fine (if not slightly neurotic, but probably not really a reflection of her age so much as her general temperament).

What are your thoughts?

[jetsmom]

I’ve found older dumped dogs. They adjusted well and we’re great dogs. I’d say if they are healthy, or even with some maintenance issues and you can find a good home, I’d do it. If they would have to go to a shelter (and not a foster home ), I would probably euth. Being stuck in a kennel fir months or yrs is too hard on them

[msj]

The last 4 dogs I’ve had were/are older dogs. An 8 yr old Cattle Dog mix and and 8 yr old Chow mix. Chow mix and I definitely didn’t get along so I took him back to the shelter after 3 months. He would be better with someone else for sure. The Cattle Dog mix was my heart dog. I miss her very much. :sadsmile:

Then an 11 yr old Shar Pei mix that I found at a no-kill shelter. She’d been there for 6 yrs. I wasn’t about to leave her there another day. A very sweet little girl.

Last year ended up adopting a 13 yr old beagle/golden retriever mix. A really sweet guy with a loud hound bark!!!

Unfortunately they don’t last forever. The Shar Pei mix I had for 2 yrs. I’ll be happy to have the beagle/golden retriever for that long. Not sure if dogs get dementia but I think he’s showing signs of it or something like it. But I love him just as much.

[Foxglove]

I’m with the rest of the group --dogs adjust --with the right home, even a really, really old dog can have a lovely final few years.

Foxglove

[smoofox]

One Craig’s List ad I saw was seeking to rehome an 11 year old Golden Retriever - in the ad it said that he did not get along with their new puppy. :mad:

So he had to go - 11 years of devotion to his family meant nothing. He was now slow, stiff, grey, inconvenient and in the way.

This raised quite a furor on local dog BBs and with dog clubs.

A Golden rescue in the area picked him up at a shelter (his people did not even wait to get a response to their ad) and found him a home where he was appreciated for the wise old man he was…

I cannot imagine him sitting in the shelter, worried… but “knowing” his family would come back for him - hadn’t they always?

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

I would love a small, senior dog. When I adopt a dog I would have no problem getting an older dog–mellow and housebroken sounds pretty good to me! For older people or couples who work outside the home, a dog who is already trained and whose temperament is known can be the perfect match.

The example cited above with the Golden Retriever is so tragic But at least it had a happy ending.

It’s also worth pointing out that for smaller breeds, 10 or so isn’t very old at all.

[dkcbr]

I would not jump to euthanizing older dogs in need of homes without exhausting every other chance for rehoming. I guess what I’m thinking is that an adoptable dog is an adoptable dog - good temperament and reasonable health. I do think it depends entirely on the dog’s temperament, as currently I have two dogs that would adjust to another home easily, and one that wouldn’t.

I got a 9 year old out of a shelter. He adjusted to my house and three other dogs almost instantly. Truthfully, I pulled him from the shelter to foster as part of our local breed rescue group - and became a foster failure within 24 hours. He had health problems, but we got to enjoy three years together regardless.

I feel as though dogs (and horses) are more generally resilient than we think. Which means give some effort to finding a home, with euthanizing only as a last resort.

[vxf111]

[QUOTE=smoofox;8750324]
One Craig’s List ad I saw was seeking to rehome an 11 year old Golden Retriever - in the ad it said that he did not get along with their new puppy. :mad:

So he had to go - 11 years of devotion to his family meant nothing. He was now slow, stiff, grey, inconvenient and in the way.

This raised quite a furor on local dog BBs and with dog clubs.

A Golden rescue in the area picked him up at a shelter (his people did not even wait to get a response to their ad) and found him a home where he was appreciated for the wise old man he was…

I cannot imagine him sitting in the shelter, worried… but “knowing” his family would come back for him - hadn’t they always?[/QUOTE]

Special place in hell for people like that

[Hannahsmom]

Older dogs do very well. Sometimes circumstances require it (someone having to go to a nursing home, a death) so everyone who gives these sweet seniors a home are angels to me. Thank you! For the Craig’s List person, well there is a special place in hell waiting for you.

[pony_baloney]

In April I adopted a tiny senior dog; she’s probably a deer-headed Chihuahua, totally deaf, and I was told 10-11 years old (my vet thinks she may be older). Apart from having the world’s tiniest bladder and needing at least 7 walks a day, she’s adjusted just fine. Totally glued to my side, has fell into my daily routine, great with other dogs and people…just perfect. Her deafness hasn’t even been an issue—I can “clicker” train her with a thumbs-up sign instead.

It breaks my heart to think that she had a home all of her long life, and then she was given to rescue. Better than a shelter, but still. And to see her so devoted to me in such a short time, I think how her tiny heart is open to loving someone new after being broken by her old family.

As for rehoming, I would try to do it on my own rather than turn to a shelter or rescue. If the animal had a lot of health or behavioral issues, I would consider euthanizing because I wouldn’t trust someone else to care for them properly.

Of course, no major health problems yet, which is expected sooner rather than later with an older dog. I don’t know what my home situation will be like 12-15 years from now, so having a dog for a shorter time was an easy choice. Older animals are just way cooler than younger ones to me.

I’ll say now that I’d adopt another senior again, but if her time comes sooner rather than later, I may have to rethink it. Well, no, we’re enjoying every day and living in the moment.

[msj]

I’ve said it earlier that I’m a sucker for the older dogs as well. :yes: The current one that I have is the 13 yr old beagle/golden retriever mix that I found at the shelter last year. I asked about him and the people had him his entire life and were getting divorced. Usually the dog is one thing that people fight over but not in this case unfortunately. The shelter people said every time they took him out or brought him in to see new people he went around the room searching for his previous family. He’s such a good boy and so well mannered. Gets up to go out whenever I ask him (usually 6 times/day). He always has barked more at men than women so I almost think that in his previous home the husband may have been abusive. I like to think that he was more the woman’s dog and she had a job where she had to travel and couldn’t keep him but I don’t really have any idea of the circumstances. :sadsmile:

I’m just glad I can provide a home for him. I’m retired and home most of the day and he will just follow me from room to room and lie down, curl up and nap till I move again. The only supplement he’s on is Cosequin DS + MSM. He does tend to be a bit chubby so I try to take him out for about a mile or so walk every nice day. Last year he was able to go 2 miles but this year he’s definitely had it at the end of the mile. We don’t go out in the heat and humidity or bitter cold and strong winds though. I tried last winter to take him up to my indoor and walk him in there but he really didn’t like it so I have decrease his dry food in the winter months and add green beans to his diet for bulk so he thinks he’s getting a lot more to eat.

[Nezzy]

i would never give up my dogs. but if i absolutley had no choice, i’d rather euth than take a chance that my dog would end up in a horrible situation. it happens all too often.

[Casey09]

I know a couple that have taken in several dogs at around age 10, because they enjoy senior dogs. The dogs seem like they do well as long as they have beds to lounge around on. The problem I think is that it takes a special person to take in a senior dog, and they can be difficult to rehome.

[Rallycairn]

[QUOTE=vxf111;8750469]
Special place in hell for people like that :([/QUOTE]

I certainly hope so! How horrible!

[foggybok]

I would not have my wonderful Ozzie if it were not for the rehoming of a senior dog. My friend responded to a desperate plea to save a 10 year old spayed female BC just days before her 60 days were up… She adopted Maggie and a few days later she called me to say Maggie was acting weird…going in the closet and digging around… Maggie was nesting. The 10 year old spayed female was not spayed, but rather she was pregnant… She had 3 puppies (had to have by C-section) and I ended up with one of them. She lived for a few more years and had a wonderful life. Since then my friend has adopted a number of other older dogs and all have done great!

For the poster that was worried about the fate of the dog, most people who will actually adopt an old dog are the kind of folks that will love and care for the dog.

Here is Maggie at 14 and two of the pups at all at play

Anyone want to guess what the father was?

https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/38906_149118255104185_2137575_n.jpg?oh=8b965a56f7c939f9119b46d14b2d49dd&oe=582EACB1

https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/38906_149118258437518_4288482_n.jpg?oh=d36018609105a45e5f3a35c3277078ee&oe=582F25AE

[clint]

I took an older dog, around 10, from the shelter. I think he hadn’t had the best life, as ear infections made him almost deaf and he came with some separation anxiety. Once he realized that his life was stable, he became a very happy, affectionate dog and got along just fine with other dogs, cats, and horses. I was delighted to give him those final good years.

[JBD]

I found a very beat up, old, arthritic shepherd dog standing in a neighbor’s driveway as we were going to dinner on Christmas Day. It was raining and he looked so hunched over and miserable that we thought he might have been hit by a car
We loaded him up and didn’t see or feel anything so took him home and set him up in the barn with food, blankets, etc. I contacted a local rescue group that partners with the city shelter and they promised to get him what he needed if I brought him to the no kill shelter. So I did and cried when I dropped him off.

It turned out that his main problem was old age and hindquarters pain. He also had an URI and the rescue was asking for a foster so he could be treated in a better environment. We fostered and eventually adopted Nick. He lived more than a year with us and although he was good about asking to go outside, he hightailed it back to the house as soon as he did his business. He never wanted to stay out.

I think we made him very happy but it was bittersweet knowing we were not going to have him a long time.

[fordtraktor]

We moved my older JRT from my family farm, where he’d lived for 11 years (he stayed when I went to law school), to my farm when my parents divorced. He did great. Of course he was still on a farm and he was quiet by then but he settled in here extremely well. The only issue we had is that he didn’t like my baby at the time. But I work from home so he had a ton of time with just me, and at night after the baby was asleep…and he slept beside me. So really his life was very similar to what it was before and when the baby was up I made him a safe space near us but on the opposite side of a baby gate so he could be private. We had him a few years before he got cancer at 14. I don’t regret it. He deserved a soft landing and he was happy here.

When I got a new dog, though, I purposely got a young adult because it is emotionally taxing to lose them often! Bless those of you who do it on purpose! I have enough stray cats to deal with who are old or have issues. If an old dog showed up I am sure I wouldn’t turn it away because of age. The Fordtraktor Family Humane Society does not discriminate.

THe biggest issue with the old dog was, like others, urinary. I had to get up multiple times every night to let him out for the last year. It is like having a newborn! I am a light sleeper so he didn’t have accidents in the house but he would have if I didn’t wake up every time he stirred.

[Field_of_Dreams_Mini]

I adopted Frankie when he was 10, but I think he was older. He was a black Lab with some issues, but we worked it out. It was more like he was a retired gentleman at a senior home than my pet. I fed him and let him out and played with him, but mostly, he did his own thing. He had dysplagia in both hind legs and an elbow, at the end walking was difficult. I had our vet give him cortisone shots every few weeks, till they just stopped working. I knew I was moving 1300 miles in a few months, and that he’d never be able to do steps in the new house. I let him go. He’s buried on the old farm, with my old Arab gelding and Mini mare, plus a few kitties and Zoe, another house dog, who I found dead the day after Frankie passed.

[dkcbr]

Adding that I have known a couple of older people (in their 70s) that chose to adopt older dogs precisely because of the fear of their dogs outliving them. One adopted one of my older fosters and it was a perfect match! So ya just never know…