I’m qualified to write this - I’m old after all. But what’s more, I’ve worked in the last couple of years with a number of seniors who have gotten puppies. Several of my nearby clients live in an “over 55” neighborhood and the number of dogs there must surely exceed the national average for dogs per city block. There are dogs who walk slowly along with their owners because the dog itself is older. Those dogs are housetrained and relaxed and, though they must surely all have their individual quirks, they are generally “easy dogs.” And then there are the puppies. Lots and lots of puppies.

And those people call me for help.

Maybe they’ve never had a dog before and they fell for that adorable puppy face (and who can blame them?). Or maybe they had a dog or a series of dogs in the past and they decided to get a young dog because “well, now we have time.” During the current global pandemic, people are stuck in their homes with lots of extra time on their hands, so they get a puppy. And again, who can blame them? It makes a lot of sense. Being home alone during a global pandemic isn’t any fun. And everyone knows that puppies can be a lot of work, so it just makes sense to get one when there’s little else to do instead of when life returns to normal and becomes busy again.

But still, they call me.

They call because PUPPIES ARE HARD. Very normal puppy behavior includes peeing and pooping in the house, biting hands with sharp puppy teeth, chewing on furnishings, barking, objecting (sometimes quite loudly) to being left alone, eating the houseplants, digging in the yard, needing to go outside in the middle of the night (perhaps more than once), and jumping on people. And it’s easy to accidentally train a dog to run from you instead of coming to you when they have something they shouldn’t have in their mouth or when you want to put on their collar and leash or when you want to put them in a crate for a few minutes. On top of that, during the lockdown caused by COVID, many dogs are not getting sufficient socialization during their critical window of opportunity (which may end as early as 12 weeks for some dogs) and they have serious fear issues. Fear manifests itself many ways - including biting.

In the last year, I’ve had senior clients who…

explained that they couldn’t bend down to reach their small dog on the floor to pet it, brush it, train it, or leash it.
asked for my help with basic obedience behaviors and had no idea that the dog was afraid of all strangers to the point that I couldn’t get within ten feet of the dog.
have been in tears from being overwhelmed by the effort involved in living with a very young dog.
have been injured by sharp puppy teeth to the point of requiring medical attention since our skin sometimes becomes rather frail as we age.
struggled for months with the happy, healthy, exuberant puppy, spending money of training, veterinarian costs, and supplies - only to make the agonizing decision to rehome the dog they had grown attached to, but simply could not keep up with.

Those people ALL meant well when they got their puppies. But several of the people described above are over 70 years old and, despite being in great shape for their age, are simply no match for the boundless energy and natural behavior of most puppies.

Even if the person is younger but not quite “young” (that’s where I think I fall), it can be really difficult. My friend Kristin recently brought home a new puppy. I asked her to describe the experience of living with her adorable pup, Obed.

Many people at 50 years old have college-aged children, or are grandparents; some are even lucky enough to be retired. So, in hindsight, perhaps the decision to introduce an 8-week old puppy into our lives, especially of a large breed, wasn’t the right one to send my husband and I off into our golden years.
It was all love and oxytocin when we were visiting him at the breeders and letting him crawl all over us with his sweet puppy breath. Posing for pictures when he was 6 weeks old and I could cradle him in one arm was pure bliss.
And then we brought him home.
My 50-year old knees (in good shape, but still) protest every time I stand back up after kneeling down to: wipe up a puppy accident, spread out a blanket in his crate, play with him or whatever else had me down on the floor umpteen times a day. My lower back aches from being constantly bent over to put down water, put down food, take something forbidden from his puppy jaws or deliver yet another “legal” toy into his mouth. My legs start to tingle and lose feeling during those adorable moments when he just wants to crawl up onto my lap for sleep. My energy and concentration levels flag after walking about the neighborhood several times during the day to get him exercise and waking up at multiple times in the middle of night for housetraining.
At 17 weeks old, he’s almost 50 pounds and I won’t be able to lift him into the car much longer.
All that and I consider myself lucky that he has a relatively mild temperament and doesn’t pull excessively while on leash or jump too enthusiastically on greetings.
Each of these challenges would likely have been mitigated if we’d just decided to adopt a fully mature adult or senior dog.

I’ve had the chance to romp with Obed at the beach and I can attest to his energy level. Kristin is younger than me AND she’s doing an amazing job training him (she’s a dog trainer)…and still, she has these struggles.

So what’s the solution?

I think Kristin hit on the answer in her last sentence. An adult or senior dog could be a great answer for the problems I’ve described above.

Typically speaking, older dogs are:

Housetrained - less stooping to clean up an accident
More mellow - they may be ready to go on that walk with you, but they aren’t likely going to need (or cause) quite as much excitement as a puppy
Predictable - assuming your dog comes from a rescue, foster, or direct rehoming situation so their past behavior can be described
Good sleepers through the night - less time spent standing in the rain waiting for the puppy to pee is a real plus
Trained - they’ll come when called and wait patiently while you put on their harness and leash
Past the teething stage - fewer chewed up antiques and less torn skin!
A bit more independent - while happy to be around you, they can likely tolerate your absences while you run to the store better than a puppy might
May be less expensive - programs exist in some places to waive adoption fees for senior dogs being adopted by seniors - like the program at MUTTVILLE
Still plenty fun, silly, cuddly, and a joy to be around!

I know, I know. Those puppy faces are adorable. But those sweet seniors are pretty darned adorable too with their grey faces and often calmer personalities. I urge you to consider a senior dog. Your back and knees might thank you later.

Young Dogs and Older People

So what’s the solution?