adopting an older sheltie

C

coopersmom

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We are considering adopting an older (8 y.o.) sheltie female that is being retired from breeding duty. She has lived with the same people for those 8 years. My sheltie is also 8 years old. When I first got him I had two other dogs. He bonded well with the female. The male didn't care much for him but was never mean to him. They have both passed on now. The neighbors have young dogs and my guy doesn't care for them, doesn't give them the time of day. He tolerates the female better than the male. My concerns are:

1) First and foremost, not hurting my guy. When he came to live with us, it broke the heart of my older sheltie. I do not want that to happen again.

2) He is set in his ways and I would assume the potential adoptee is too. Do you guys think that would be a problem, or something we could overcome?
 
Arrange a meeting in a neutral zone.

It willGive you an idea of how each dog actually feels.If they seem to get along try an overnight or just a playdate at your house then the breeders. Best of luck. Of course I will never understand how someone who breeds Shelties and then gets rid of them once they have suited the owners purpose.:mad: This makes it very difficult for the dog, she must feel unwanted and betrayed.:cry:
 
It's such a crapshoot, you should pardon the expression. Since Shelties are really little people in fur, they each react in an individual way. We added Annie Laurie when she was six and Layla and Bits were two. There was no problem at all. Yet when we tried to add Jax, he was so jealous that he attacked Annie laurie and Layla. I agree -- see if you can do a trial period of a week. Frankly, an overnight just won't tell you enough.
 
Thanks for the advice. Only problem with a temporary vist is the sheltie is about three hours away from where we are.
 
I'm with Chris on making it a one week trial.

In December, I decided to bring 3 year old Ginnie home (Bacca was about 7 months at the time). I brought Bacca out to the breeder for a playdate. Everything seemed fine, so I decided to go for it. The breeder insisted that this was "trial" only. And that I was more than welcome to bring Ginnie back if things didn't work out. I would not believe that there would be problems.

It became very clear, relatively soon that things were not going well. But we all stuck it out the full week. I was in constant communication with the breeder the whole time. At the end of the week, we made the mutual decision that this was not a good fit. I felt awful about it and probably would have tried longer, but the breeder decided it for us. I brought Ginnie back to her, and brought home 7 month old Indy.

Match made in heaven!

Last I heard, Ginnie was adopted by an older couple and no other pets, and doing wonderfully!

I think any responsible and knowledgeable breeder would understand that ann 8 year old dog just can't be dropped anywhere. I think you should be able to negotiate a long enough trial.
 
I agree with both Barb and Chris. I would see if the breeder will let you have the dog for a week to see how things go. With both of them being older, I would think that they probably will do their own things rather than hang out together, I could be wrong. Marlie is 3 and Rasha is 7, we have had Marlie for 2 years and Rasha for 1 1/2 years. They will kind of lay by each other but they don't play or really hang out together. Rasha came from a breeder because she was done with her too. Keep us posted, I hope it works out for you.
 
Callie's rescue has a 2 week trial- I told them we wouldn't need it- she was home. Callie and Happy are both older and were older when I got each- they almost touch each other when they get treats but they don't play together. Callie really doesn't play at all but Happy will play fetch and some tug. So depending on how you expect them to interact- could be no problems or could need some work. I think adopting an older sheltie is a very rewarding experience :yes:- now that so many members have gotten puppies and posted pix and video- I really want a puppy but no room right now :no:
 
First you should to determine the temperament of the new dog. If she is friendly and can accept such a big change.

Then I would try to establish your dog as the alpha. Let her out first, let her in first, feed her first, etc... so no jealously or hard feelings develop.

Good luck and I hope everything works out!

-Brenda
 
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