My wife and I have always wanted to have a dog and out of an interesting turn of events, we have the opportunity to adopt a 2 year old dog that a family friend cannot take care of anymore (they developed an illness that radically saps their energy).
Super excited but a little worried about making sure the doggo is taken care of properly. We’ll have to drive him back in our car for 3h30 and we have an old overly-affectionate cat.
What do people think? Any tips? Relevant stories? Give me your thoughts and have an awesome day!🙂
We were just thrust into this scenario with an elderly family member, and now we have a cute senior dog. It’s going okay, but it’s been an adjustment.
First, get vet records and/or go ahead and establish care at a vet. Vets are extremely busy after everyone adopted pets during COVID - so better to go now, and make sure pup is doing okay.
Second, you’ll need the basics immediately - food, bowls, leash, collar, bags, etc. Hopefully your situation is easier and your friend can pass that stuff along.
You’ll also need to figure out potty timing. Dogs love being on a schedule. I don’t. So it may be a big adjustment to not sleep in, and to go for 5 walks a day at the same time every day. But congrats, that’s what you’re signing up for. Our dog is also a tiny breed and was never trained properly, so we are getting up at 4:30am to avoid accidents in the house. Does it suck? 100%. But we are still learning how long he can hold it overnight without an accident. We’re up to 5 hours now and we increase it a little bit each night. There may be a learning curve for you too.
Lastly, we also have an elderly cat and he’s fine as long as the dog stays ~3 feet away. The dog is terrified of him, so it’s usually fine. If he does get close, the cat hisses and growls so they mostly have a détente. I do keep any eye out on eating time, because the dog is scared to eat if the cat is like 3 feet away staring him down. We’ve also tried hard to make sure they get equal attention and love. Still, the cat isn’t thrilled about having all this hyperactive little brother energy around. We’re all just doing our best!
Sounds like our cat when any other dog is in the house haha. Maybe in a year or so they’ll warm up to each other but as long as they’re okay I’m happy.
Sorry to hear about the late night bathroom bouts. That’s what we’re expecting although his owners have him trained to tap a door when he wants to go out so here’s hoping we have an easier time. Appreciate the advice!
Oh, that’s so great that the dog is trained to signal to go out. I hope it’s an easier time for you, too! Best of luck!