Thinking of another dog....

[DieselsMom]

Hi everyone, just looking for a little advice.I have a 7 month old Rottweiller and I had an 11 year old Husky, she was very sick and as of last week she has crossed to Rainbow bridge. My problem is that my Rottie wont eat and is very sad, i know as time passes he will get better, but i was thinking about adding another medium breed dog to my household, like a Lab or another Husky.Idont know if i should wait until he is older or to do it now so he has a mate. Any advice????????

[spidey]

Sorry about your Husky. :(

If you're thinking of a puppy, I'd would wait until he is older. Two youngsters are a lot to deal with, and introducing a puppy when you have a solidly-trained adult (which you should have in a year or two) makes dealing with puppyhood that much easier (the adult dogs helps a lot). But if you're thinking of adopting an older dog from a shelter, pound or rescue group, I think it's a great idea. Good luck, let us know whatever you do.

[Rott-Wiley]

Yes, I have to agree with spidey. It isn't fair to a 7 month old Rottie to add another pup to the household. Even though he does miss your Husky, he may not want another puppy to share what he now has. Especially your attention. Sorry about loosing your Husky.

[Luvs]

I am very sorry to hear about the loss of your Husky.
I do agree with the others about waiting until your puppy is a little older before adding another puppy to your household. Your puppy could probably benefit from some extra attention from you now though.

[Judi W]

Yes, the loss of a companion is sad, but please consider this is your opportunity to develop that special relationship with Diesel that is built one-on-one with you being the most important thing in his life. Spending that exclusive time together doing special things and learning new things will build a bond so deep. He will not only recover and be fine, he will be even better. I would suggest not bringing in another dog until Diesel is where the two of you want him to be. You can find a neighborhood playmate if you wish for him to have run and jump fun with, but you will be his primary and best friend.

[Carina43]

I too am sorry for your loss.
I agree with the others on a second dog, though - spend the time doing activities and cheering up your Rottie; when he's more stable and grown up you can get him a buddy.

[thoradopter]

I am sorry about your husky.

While the others make a good point about you focusing in on Diesel, I just wanted to let you know that we have been in the opposite situation- bringing Phoenix as a 6 mo rottie into our home with Sienna, our then 7-8 yo chocolate lab (adopted at @ 1 yo, now at the Bridge).

We feel that Phoenix really benefited from having a mature (spayed) female lab as he was growing up. Phoenix at 24 mo really missed Sienna and now gets along very well with Molly, a 1 yo spayed chocolate lab who we adopted about 1 month after we had to have Sienna PTS.

I just wanted to share our experience with you, since you said you were considering a lab.

Linda

[LavenderRott]

I think that if I was in your situation and going to get another dog, I would go with an older dog from a rescue or animal control.

I had a friend who had a lab puppy that would literally climb the walls to get at things to chew.