Benefits of Getting a Puppy With an Older Dog

Does an Older Dog Hurt a Puppy?

Dogs are very socialized and friendly animals; they won't attack other dogs unless they are trained for it or feel insecure. As is the nature of a dog, if they have a new mate, they are more likely to love companionship. However, just like humans, they also have a day that they are not well, which could lead to aggressiveness. In addition, since they are getting older, their health is getting worse, including hearing or sightseeing. Hence, some older dogs might become frightened due to the loss of senses, so they feel insecure. As a result, if you bring a new puppy into the house, the senior dog could persist in playing with the lively puppy and might end up with a snap or a bite on the puppy. This could lead to tension between the two pets.

On the other hand, even though dogs are friendly animals, they are also very possessive with their food or toys. They are very protective of their things, so if a new puppy is in the house, the older dog might attack the younger one. When dogs become aggressive, you should watch out for their body language, including mouthing, nipping, and growling. Therefore, you should separate their bowls to make sure they are safe.

Older Dog's Health Issues

Just like humans, dogs can also have mental issues called dementia. Dementia is a cognitive disorder that leads to changes in behavior or affects memory. It has a similar effect as human Alzheimer's. When taking the senior dog to the vet, look for signs such as confusion, failure to recognize family members, or irritable behavior, which are all dementia symptoms. With this mental health problem, the old dog will get progressively worse.

Furthermore, an older dog is already prone to increase anxiety, social issues, and depression if they were to be kept isolated for too long. Therefore, bringing a little puppy into the household will help the older dog become more active and get up to enjoy more activities. However, sometimes older dogs are sensitive, so you should build a place for the puppy, so it cannot distract the senior dog.

How to Get an Older Dog to Accept the Puppy?

Even if dogs are lovable, they could feel insecure with each other for the first time. For the first introduction, the older dog might not like the puppy, so take it slowly and let them gradually familiarize themselves.  From the past until nowadays, dogs have been classified as social animals; however, when they are older, they become less active because there is little to interest them. However, they can become healthy when adding a puppy because a younger dog can excite and bring new life to older dogs as they play and interact with the adolescent. As mentioned, the dog will be depressed when isolated, so get them exposed to an outside environment for enjoyable sights, sounds, and smells, which create a sense of comfort and safety with these things.

Why Should You Put a Puppy and Senior Dog Together?

Creating companionship for your dogs will combat loneliness when you are gone to work. Since the senior dog is too old to play around alone, having a puppy will bring a newfound zest for life to the older dog. They will become more lively. Furthermore, since the senior dogs cannot play around much, their weight tends to increase, so having a new playmate will burn off some excess energy.

It can also help the senior dog by improving its mental and physical health.   Not only will it make the animal healthier, but you can also feel happy for saving and adopting two dogs.  The senior dog is known for being loyal, and the puppy will love playing together and grooming.

They need you to train them how to behave.  However, with an older dog, they can learn the rules of the house without having to go through all of the training. This can be a great way to reduce the amount of time that you spend training them. You should also let the older dog lead the younger one in praise and training.

Why Should You Not Get a Puppy?

Before raising a new dog in a family, you should look for a pup with the appropriate size or same breed and personality traits. You should also make sure that they can adjust to each other and be grateful for their new home. For instance, if an older dog has an aggressive streak, it should not be brought into the family.