Should I adopt 12 year old?

[Dolly81]

I have recently had the opportunity to adopt a 12 year old girl.

Her previous owner passed away. 
 

She is housetrained, friendly and still fit for her age and able to go for walks.

Would you advise this? She will be my first dog as an adult. We had greyhounds when I was growing up.

We have 2 kids aged 11 and 6 who I know would not bother her and would leave her be as they are sensible, good boys.

I thought she may be a good choice as she will be easier to manage for a new owner (I think!).

I would be interested to hear your thoughts.

Many thanks. 🙂

[Fostr_Mom]

The older dogs make wonderful family members.  Hopefully FiveRoooooers will chime in as she always takes the older dogs.  Just keep in mind that you will have a shorter time to spend with them.  I, personally, would jump at that. 

[KF_in_Georgia]

I have a healthy 13-year-old former brood bitch in my home. I've had her for 5 years, now. She's lovely. She sleeps all day, but she does it next to me. Sometimes, she leans her head on me and appears to be watching Braves baseball with me.

Your girl would be unlikely to play with your kids, but greyhounds generally don't romp with children. But I bet your kids could read to her. (My angel therapy dog Silver sometimes "listened with her eyes closed.")

I'm in a condo with a two-pet limit, and I'm maxed out at that, but I wouldn't hesitate to take in an older dog.

[buddibear]

I would. But I never had a grey live past 12. If you can handle vet costs go ahead. There was a grey in Florida ( Genie,I think lived to 18 or 19). 

[kudzu]

I love the seniors, so you should keep that in mind since my advice will be biased. My seniors have been the best pets ever, truly. The most amazing was Luke. Adopted him at 10 years old. I knew he had arthritis and we soon found out he had chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Despite that, he joined us for basically everything including camping and other vacations. I used to do a lot of classes like obedience and agility with my younger dogs. Apparently Luke got tired of being left behind. One day he body blocked me at the door when I was trying to leave. He just stood there staring at me. He moved when I told him to but ...v e r y...s l o w l y... lol  Bless him! I signed him up for intro agility and he did everything along with the toy sized dogs. He was the class favorite.   He loved it so much I also signed him up for intro rally obedience. He loved that, too. Luke stayed in agility class until he was almost 13yo. (Remember though, he was only doing the lowest obstacles.) At 13 he started to slow down and ultimately left us before his 14th birthday.  Luke was good with kids up to a point. If they pestered him when he just wanted to rest, he would leave the room. When visiting family with kids we had a rule. When Luke went into "his" bedroom, the kids had to stay out. Some of the kids broke the rule. I tried to keep an eye and shoo them out, but one time I heard a, "she told you to leave him alone in there," and rushed down the hall. Apparently on child was in the room, laying on the floor with her face in Luke's face. Luke had growled a warning. The child backed up but didn't leave. Luke was just ignoring her at that point. From then on, if Luke went to his room I would put up a gate. That solved the problem with the pesky kids.

Sunita is my current Greyhound and she is 13 yo now. She is a very picky eater and has laryngeal paralysis. She wants to keep active but cannot go on walks, except in Winter, because the heat effects her. She still goes camping with us. However, we only take campsites with electric hook ups so I can run the air conditioner for her. What she loves most are our walks in the cool mornings or late evenings. She slows or stops at any campsite where she sees a human to give them a chance to pet her. She's the darling of the campground, meeting and greeting with anyone who shows the slightest interest in her. Su adores humans sooo much. She's still good with kids and would still be excellent candidate for a home with considerate children. Of course, you would need a way to give her some quiet time away from super pesky visiting kids, but that would be the case for any dog.

None of my greyhounds has been up for rough housing with people, but several would enjoy running with kids when  they played in the yard. One would even retrieve items, at least for the first few throws. After that she'd look at you like, "Seriously, it's your turn to go get it!"

The average lifespan of my Greyhounds has been 12-13 years. Some other people do better. I would adopt a 12 yo, but only if I though I could stand the heartache of losing one anytime from a few months to a couple years down the road. And I would have to be willing to adjust expectations to match age related problems. That applies to all dogs but with seniors it starts upon adoption, rather than years later. All that said, if you think your family is up to it then go get that dog. Seniors really are the best, regardless of the age of adoption.

Edited September 7, 2021 by kudzu

[Dolly81]

2 hours ago, Fostr_Mom said:

The older dogs make wonderful family members.  Hopefully FiveRoooooers will chime in as she always takes the older dogs.  Just keep in mind that you will have a shorter time to spend with them.  I, personally, would jump at that. 

Thank you! Obviously, I have concerns about losing her sooner rather than later but so far she is healthy. She was a good racer in her day, then was used for breeding. 

[Dolly81]

51 minutes ago, kudzu said:

I love the seniors, so you should keep that in mind since my advice will be biased. My seniors have been the best pets ever, truly. The most amazing was Luke. Adopted him at 10 years old. I knew he had arthritis and we soon found out he had chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Despite that, he joined us for basically everything including camping and other vacations. I used to do a lot of classes like obedience and agility with my younger dogs. Apparently Luke got tired of being left behind. One day he body blocked me at the door when I was trying to leave. He just stood there staring at me. He moved when I told him to but ...v e r y...s l o w l y... lol  Bless him! I signed him up for intro agility and he did everything along with the toy sized dogs. He was the class favorite.   He loved it so much I also signed him up for intro rally obedience. He loved that, too. Luke stayed in agility class until he was almost 13yo. (Remember though, he was only doing the lowest obstacles.) At 13 he started to slow down and ultimately left us before his 14th birthday.  Luke was good with kids up to a point. If they pestered him when he just wanted to rest, he would leave the room. When visiting family with kids we had a rule. When Luke went into "his" bedroom, the kids had to stay out. Some of the kids broke the rule. I tried to keep an eye and shoo them out, but one time I heard a, "she told you to leave him alone in there," and rushed down the hall. Apparently on child was in the room, laying on the floor with her face in Luke's face. Luke had growled a warning. The child backed up but didn't leave. Luke was just ignoring her at that point. From then on, if Luke went to his room I would put up a gate. That solved the problem with the pesky kids.

Sunita is my current Greyhound and she is 13 yo now. She is a very picky eater and has laryngeal paralysis. She wants to keep active but cannot go on walks, except in Winter, because the heat effects her. She still goes camping with us. However, we only take campsites with electric hook ups so I can run the air conditioner for her. What she loves most are our walks in the cool mornings or late evenings. She slows or stops at any campsite where she sees a human to give them a chance to pet her. She's the darling of the campground, meeting and greeting with anyone who shows the slightest interest in her. Su adores humans sooo much. She's still good with kids and would still be excellent candidate for a home with considerate children. Of course, you would need a way to give her some quiet time away from super pesky visiting kids, but that would be the case for any dog.

None of my greyhounds has been up for rough housing with people, but several would enjoy running with kids when  they played in the yard. One would even retrieve items, at least for the first few throws. After that she'd look at you like, "Seriously, it's your turn to go get it!"

The average lifespan of my Greyhounds has been 12-13 years. Some other people do better. I would adopt a 12 yo, but only if I though I could stand the heartache of losing one anytime from a few months to a couple years down the road. And I would have to be willing to adjust expectations to match age related problems. That applies to all dogs but with seniors it starts upon adoption, rather than years later. All that said, if you think your family is up to it then go get that dog. Seniors really are the best, regardless of the age of adoption.

Kudzu, this all sounds wonderful. I’m encouraged. What do you think about walking and exercise needs? What would you recommend? 

[Dolly81]

2 hours ago, buddibear said:

I would. But I never had a grey live past 12. If you can handle vet costs go ahead. There was a grey in Florida ( Genie,I think lived to 18 or 19). 

Thank you! I’ve no idea what to expect with regards to vet costs. I will check this out. 

[greysmom]

At 12 years old she's earned her retirement!!!  A nice short walk a day as she can tolerate them, and if it's not too hot or too cold out.  If you need to walk for potties that should be enough, but she'll let you know.

One thing to consider is how your kids will react to losing her.  Our sweet seniors can be fine one day and then go downhill quickly, and be gone, in the space of a few days.  Just one more thing to think about when you adopt an older dog.

And have a vet lined up as soon as possible so you can have her in for an initial exam.  She'll likely be a bit confused, and even grieving, from the loss and quick change over to a new family, so if she's doing OK (eating, drinking, and toileting) don't worry if she's quiet and withdrawn initially - that's a very normal reaction in new adoptees of any age - but she'll need to be seen sooner rather than later.

She deserves to spend her senior years with a family that loves her.  I say go for it!!

[Jerilyn]

The old lady hounds are lovely! I would adopt a 12 year old but you need to go in knowing that she's in the last couple years of her life. Managing an old, failing dog can be difficult, but I think it's worth it. Knowing that you're giving her a loving home when she needs it most is a great gift. 

 

[MerseyGrey]

My boy (also my first dog as an adult) is going to be 11 in a couple of months time and he still has lots of energy, for very short spells . We adopted him when he was seven and I wouldn’t hesitate to have another older dog…in fact that’s what I’ll be looking for when the time comes for another dog . As others have said, as long as you can afford the vet bills, go for it! Good luck.

[FiveRoooooers]

DesiRayMom's siggy quote says it all: Blessed is he who has earned the love of an old dog. My own tagline: Old Dogs are the Best Dogs  Because they are.

LadyBug and Zeke-aroni, siblings adopted together at 9;  MiMi Sizzle Pants was 12;  Gracie, 11+;  Seamie   11;  (Foster)Sweet 10;  Andy 11+;  Bea snuck in at 8; Trevor 10+; Bosco and Bruno were 13+ and 10+, respectively;  Dottie B 11+ (Annie and Punkin snuck in with her at 5 and 6 but they are now 9 and 10 and so are of the appropriate age lol);  Miss M 9.  Cletus KLTO, our honorary greyhound in a lab suit, was 13. They stayed from one month to several years. I wouldn't change a thing except for wishing they could stay forever.

All that said, go for it!

[macoduck]

All of my 14 greyhounds were dumped by previous owners. Of those only 2 were under age 9.

One senior (12 y.o.)was a return because he could not tolerate the kids when they began crawling. The other senior greyhound in that home. could. That family was one of the only two that I ever stayed in contact with until the dogs died.

You are asking all the right questions. My only contribution is with your young children as it pertains to escape issues. Kids forget to close gates and doors, especially when friends are visiting.
Even a 12 year greyhound can run away fast.

I'm looking forward to hearing about your old new girl when she joins your family.

[MP_the4pack]

9 hours ago, buddibear said:

I would. But I never had a grey live past 12. If you can handle vet costs go ahead. There was a grey in Florida ( Genie,I think lived to 18 or 19). 

Genie in Fla and Suzie Q in either Del or NJ both made it to 20 years and 2 months.

We all wish we'd get one of these.

 

[BatterseaBrindl]

Go for it!

We just adopted a 9yr old tripawd  

[GreyPoopon]

I would in a heartbeat.

I love senior broodies and have adopted several; the oldest was over 10 1/2 and straight from the farm. Broodies seem to remain young-at-heart even longer than other Greyhounds. I think the oldest broodie I've lost was about 13 3/4, but one of my non-broodie girls made it to 15+. There are no guarantees with an older dog, but the fact that she's healthy now is a good sign. Plus she is used to home life and doesn't have to settle in. Not everyone can handle a short time with a dog, but if you think you and your boys can, and you are able to afford potential vet bills (true for any dog, but the probability is higher with a senior), go for it!