adding a dog

i'm giving very serious consideration to adding a senior golden, BERT to my household. i already have an almost 6yr old mixed breed ALEX who has fairly well controlled epilepsy. the golden has well controlled epilepsy also. i know the dogs will sort out who is the alpha betwen them (and i better be human alpha over them! lol), but i want some advice. alex has been my only dog since i found him, and he is a bit of a mommas' boy and he has gotten used to having all the attention and cuddles. i have not had to crate alex for several years, since he's not done any damage since puppyhood. during the day he sleeps in the dark bathroom or on his bed in the bedroom. (i gave his crate to a rescue organization several years back.) i will crate bert(getting a new one) and babygate alex into my galley style kitchen. i have this question, do you think both dogs will see this as equal? i will find a local obedience class and do beginer classes with both dogs, as refreshers and to help BOTH of them see me as alpha. since they are both "special needs" can anyone think of anything else i need to do? thanks so much for any help. joyce

[ January 13, 2002: Message edited by: joycenalex ]

Joyce:
Bless you for having rescued a "special needs"
dog and considering adopting another one.
If you go to: www.ygrr.org , the Web page of Yankee Golden Retriever Rescue you can read stories about how quickly Goldens can accept a new member of the household, and you may also have some of your questions answered.
Also the American Dog Trainers Network at: http://www.canine.org
may give you answers on the best way to introduce the dogs to one another.
I hope everything works well for you and the pups. Let us know how you and they are doing.
Carina, my Golden girl, and I send love and best wishes.

i spoke to berts' rescuer today and i will be going to meet them tomorrow evening. i do have 3 reference letters, one from my vet and i strongly urged that she call my vet to talk to them so they know i'm legit. bert hasn't had a known seizure for several months and is about 8. bert has been around cats and other dogs in an outside kennel for 2 years. i will do a meet and greet tomorrow and then if things look ok, i'll bring alex over for a neutral terrority meeting on the weekend. bert will be fixed and i have asked for copies of his vet records also. i also don't really like the name bert too much(yes it was for bert of bert&ernie). thanks for the web addys. i will go look. woofs and smiles joyce and alex the wonder dog

Good luck, good luck!!!

When I added Tucker to the fold and tried to keep him cordoned off in the kitchen, he had major separation anxiety. Then I put both Hannah and Tucker together in the kitchen and nobody was very happy. It wasn't until I let them both have the run of the house when we were gone that the both of them calmed down and it was like a miracle, Tucker's separation anxiety disappeared and Hannah was content.

Every case and every dog is different but in my case what seemed like a major problem was resolved by trying another strategy. Good luck and God bless you!

i met berts' rescuers last night. bert will be coming to live with alex and i after he is fixed. :). i plan on crating the dogs, at least for the start, until i see how both dogs are during a seizure. during the day, while i'm at work there isn't any human there to supervise, but at night the dogs will be loose in the house with me. i expect bert will join us in early feb after he gets neutered (he's a senior, his face is all white), since he's lived outside in a garage kennel his next years being an inside dog will be easier i hope. do i need to watch for spraying inside? i hope not, alex has been such an easy dog to raise that he's an example of easy dog. more later. help!

One thing that is in your favor is that this is an older dog. Nothing settles a dog down like age. Plus he has been used to other dogs. I would just guess that you will be pleasantly surprised at how well this will work out, and I'm generally not an optimist.;)

Great news! Post some pics when you get them! I have one dog, Duncan but he lives with a 4 yr old golden/lab mix Jack. Duncan is only ~1 yr old and Jack is only 4 but we have had some trouble bringing the two together and working out the kinks. Duncan is very rambunctious and larger than Jack. Sometimes they squabble over things. I just got some great advice from Carrie regarding the situation. I think it's posted under Why do Dogs...? One of them has to be alpha over the other, but under you and the humans need to reinforce the pack position or the lower ranking dog will try to challenge often. This is the situation in my house with Duncan always trying to challenge Jack. Per Carrie's advice, my roommate and I need to make some changes. You probably won't have this problem since both dogs are older and well...their goldens :) but you may want to take a look at the post anyway. Good luck and I look forward to seeing Bert. And Alex for that matter!

alex & bert met yesterday and it went well!!:D they sniffed and peed and sniffed again. alex did a little bit of soft growling when bert sniffed his ears but otherwise it went well. bert will see my vet for a senior dog check up the day after i pick him up. i am so happy!!

And I am so happy for you, and Bert, and yes Alex too. I always felt that my Hannah wanted to be an only dog, but even her contentious self has learned to appreciate a nice warm body to lean up against. Please keep us informed every step of the way on how things are going. I just love the idea of rescue and even though I can't add any more to my pack, I can enjoy this vicariously. Thanks for sharing this wonderful venture with us.

Joyce:
That's such great news! It's wonderful of you to give a "senior" a loving home. Bert and Alex will probably become the best of friends once they spend some time together. And, of course, they will be your best friends too.
Hugs to them both and many thanks to you for caring so much about them.

What a wonderful adoption story! And what a caring, loving act on your part.:) I am so happy for you all. I'm sure that Bert and Alex will enjoy each other tremedously. Adopting a senior is one of the most gratifying experiences.

There's a great site, inspired by a very special Golden named Misty, that highlights senior adoptions. It's called the Senior Dogs Project.....If anyone is thinking of adopting a "senior," please check it out!!

www.srdogs.com

Click on the link below. The story of Misty is so touching!

http://www.srdogs.com/Pages/misty.htmlCHECK OUT MISTY THE GOLDEN!!