Until what age do you plan to have dogs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For me (50s) it's not so much whether a dog as how big a dog. My current beast is a 60-lb mutt, and from day to day it's fine. But as he gets older and needs to be lifted or carried, I'll be getting reminders that the next dog needs to be under 30 lbs

I’m a big dog person, but we’re in our 50s now, and next dog has to be more portable. I used to hate small dogs, but have fostered some tiny ones that stole my heart, so am much more open to the idea than I thought I would be.

This happened to me. I'm the PP with the rescue toy poodle. I didn't like tiny dogs at all, my gsd mix is 33 pounds and I thought that was as small as I'd go. Then I fostered a chihuahua and fell madly in love with him. I adopted my teeny tiny poodle shortly after that.

[Anonymous]

Dogs an older people are a great mix! There are so many documented health benefits! Just make sure it’s the right dog, whether that means smaller so care is less physically taxing, or an adult vs a puppy.

I do competitive agility. The biggest group of handlers are empty nesters. Kids are gone, dog becomes the baby. My class is filled with 60+ year olds training and running their dogs. Where there’s a will there’s a way!

[Anonymous]

I was thinking fostering might be a good idea. You can to choose when to have them and you are saving their lives by giving them a temporary home!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was thinking fostering might be a good idea. You can to choose when to have them and you are saving their lives by giving them a temporary home!

+1000

And you might foster fail, and then you will have the perfect doggie for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was thinking fostering might be a good idea. You can to choose when to have them and you are saving their lives by giving them a temporary home!

+1000

And you might foster fail, and then you will have the perfect doggie for you.

Can you explain what “foster fail” means?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My parents are in their early 70s and have two dogs, abo ut 6 and 10 years old, probably 10-12 year life expectancy. My brother and I are both settled so it’s a little different, but my parents did write the dogs into their will along with $10k for whoever takes them (didn’t specify who can take them though).

For me it’s a no brainer that I take them money or not and my parents know that. But it’s definitely something they thought through and planned for.

They have always had two dogs for the past 20 years or so but I’m guessing after one crosses the rainbow bridge they may be a single dog family. These last two gave them a run for their (figurative AND literal) money! Or they may foster for the breed rescue group so they always have a dog but not necessarily permanently.

+1 Our kids know we'll always have a dog if we're not in memory care somewhere. I can't imagine living without one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was thinking fostering might be a good idea. You can to choose when to have them and you are saving their lives by giving them a temporary home!

+1000

And you might foster fail, and then you will have the perfect doggie for you.

Can you explain what “foster fail” means?

It means you fall in love with the dog and adopt. It's a joke - in that what was intended to be temporary becomes permanent.

[Anonymous]

I'm so sorry for your loss. The empty house after losing a beloved dog is so hard. We went through this last month too.

My parents (divorced) are 69 and they both have dogs. One mom is in pretty good health and active, and she has an Aussie mix who's about 2. My dad is not in great health and has very significant mobility issues. He has a goldendoodle (around 6 years old) and has had to hire a dog walker. They have a small back yard where he can let the dog out but I'm not sure he's able to walk the dog anymore. He has had a number of falls unrelated to the dog. I think the dog is important for his mental health so I'm really glad they have each other.

[Anonymous]

Second the suggestions to adopt an older dog. Also, I'm not all that old (haha) but in my will I do leave $10k to whichever of my kids takes my pet, or to a rescue if they need to donate my pet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Second the suggestions to adopt an older dog. Also, I'm not all that old (haha) but in my will I do leave $10k to whichever of my kids takes my pet, or to a rescue if they need to donate my pet.

PS, the idea is that the $10k is to cover food and vet bills. The kids already know this pet needs annual eye exams as well as regular health exams. It's not "here, let me bribe you with $10k" because I wouldn't mind a responsible foster, and I've actually mentioned a particular local foster in my will.

[Anonymous]

Strange question. If you are healthy and can afford it why wouldn't you always have a dog?

[Anonymous]

DH and I are mid 50s and our 70lb dog just died. We have always been big dog people, but not being able to carry our big lug up and down stairs made his last weeks hard. It isn’t that we don’t have the strength anymore but that I am afraid of falls in a way I wasn’t when we were 35. So we are getting a French Bulldog. We should be able to carry that much dog!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Strange question. If you are healthy and can afford it why wouldn't you always have a dog?

Only because the possibility of dying increases with age and I wouldn't want my dog to end up at the pound. Therefore I plan to foster, or to adopt an old dog when I get ancient.

[Anonymous]

We’re in our mid 50s with 2 young dogs that hopefully will live another 12-14 years. My original thought was to take in senior rescue dogs after they pass but with vet charges being so astronomical I don’t think we’ll do this. Several hundred would be one thing but vet bills for senior dogs easily get paid over 20K. I liked the idea of rescuing the older dogs no one wants, giving them a really good year or two or three but that would mean multiple senior dogs with thousands in vet bills. I guess we’ll just be dog less or get a dog from a breeder with a shorter life expectancy.

If we’re still in really good shape then maybe we’ll get a large breed that has a shorter life expectancy 6-10 years or an adult from a breeder with a track record in of taking dogs back if the owner dies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was thinking fostering might be a good idea. You can to choose when to have them and you are saving their lives by giving them a temporary home!

+1000

And you might foster fail, and then you will have the perfect doggie for you.

Can you explain what “foster fail” means?

I prefer the term "foster success" - it's when you adopt your foster. It's really quite wonderful. We've adopted two cats who we fostered - and have not adopted a handful of dogs. Now we're doing a trial adoption with a big rambunctious dog, trying to figure out if we (and our cats) can manage an energetic adolescent.