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Is It Fair To Get A Puppy With A Senior Chihuahua?

Do you have an older chihuahua at home and aren’t sure if it’s a good idea to get a new puppy? You’d like to add another dog to your family, but only if your old chihuahua can handle the change and stress of having a new dog. Is it even fair to give an old dog a puppy?

Let’s talk about whether or not you should get a puppy if you already have a senior chihuahua dog and how to make a decision based on your lifestyle and the personality of your dog.

Questions You Have To ask Yourself Before Taking Action

old chihuahua and puppy
source: pexels.com

Should I Get A Puppy With A Senior Chihuahua?

Before you add another dog to your family, there is one thing you need to be sure of:

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You should really want a puppy and be ready to take care of him or her. Your older chihuahua doesn’t need a puppy, and he doesn’t have to raise him or her.

If you want another dog and you’re going to train, exercise, play with, and take care of the puppy, that’s great! But you shouldn’t think that the older dog will like being around the puppy, playing with the puppy, or even helping you train and raise the puppy.

No matter how tolerant and friendly your older Chihuahua dog is, he probably won’t want to be around the puppy all the time. You will need to give each dog its own space. Your older dog will need time away from the puppy, especially when the puppy is acting “crazy.” He needs to stay away from your senior dog if he is acting crazy, biting, or trying to play rough.

Does My Old Chihuahua like Puppies/Other Dogs?

One important thing to think about is whether or not your old chihuahua dog likes other dogs in general. If you already know that he doesn’t like other dogs or has shown aggressive behavior in the past, it will be hard to get him a puppy. You should be ready for the two of them to spend a lot of time apart, maybe even most of every day.

The less tolerant your old chihuahua has been of other dogs in the past, the less tolerant he will be of a new puppy.

On the other hand, if your chihuahua is friendly, he will probably adjust to having a puppy around more quickly.

Is my old Chihuahua in perfect physical shape?

Sadly, old chihuahuas are more likely to get a number of different diseases. such as kidney disease, joint problems, dental issues, and even cancer. Make sure your old chihuahua is healthy and does well on the quality of life test before getting a new one. You don’t want to have to take care of a sick dog and a puppy at the same time.

If you give your old dog a good supplement, he will be a healthy weight. Make sure that his yard is safe and that he can’t get out.

Get him a ramp so he can walk safely into the car or onto his favorite place on your couch.

Do You Have Enough Time To Take care of a senior Chihuahua and a New Puppy?

You should ask yourself if you have enough time to take good care of both an older chihuahua and a puppy. They will need very different ways to train, play, and learn. Don’t think that you can meet the needs of both dogs at the same time.

Your puppy will want to wrestle, run, and play, while an old dog might want to take a slow 20-minute sniffing walk around the neighborhood. It is not fair to make the puppy live like an old dog, or the other way around.

You should pretty much plan to train and exercise each dog on its own. At first, it will take at least three hours a day to take care of the needs of both dogs. Do not get a puppy for your senior dog if you work 12 hours a day and just want to watch TV when you get home. You won’t have enough time to take care of both of them well. That’s unfair to both your old dog and your new puppy.

Smart setups

The younger the puppy is, the more you should plan to keep the two dogs away from each other. Again, it’s not fair to think that your older dog should train and care for the puppy. He does not want one. He thinks of a puppy as you think of someone else’s toddler. It might be fun to play with for an hour, but not all day, every day.

You should plan to have a space in your house that is safe for your puppy. This could be an exercise pen or a space with baby gates. When you can’t watch and control how your dogs interact with each other, the puppy needs to be in that enclosure. Don’t think that your old dog will just leave the puppy alone. This isn’t fair, and he might not be able to do it anyway.

You should never let a puppy bother a more experienced dog. If you allow this to happen, the older chihuahua dog will learn that he can’t count on you to step in, and he might take matters into his own paws and make the situation worse. This will be terrible for the puppy and for their relationship.

Some old dogs are also too tired to fight back when a puppy acts silly. In this case, they usually just give up and shut down. They will spend their last years being annoyed by a younger dog, which is not fair and shouldn’t happen.

How long does it take for your older chihuahua to get used to a new puppy?

This depends on your set-up, the way your older dog acts, and how your new dog acts.
In fact, the older chihuahua will take much longer to admit your puppy if he is more crazy. If you have an aggressive senior chihuahua, you should try to get a puppy that is quiet and easygoing.

You can also help them get along well by being proactive about how you run the business.

Don’t let the little dog bother the old dog. Always keep an eye on them. Make sure the old dog has plenty of time to rest and relax when there are no puppies around.

When you get a new puppy, you shouldn’t forget to spend time with your old dog. It’s not fair to the older dog to stop spending special time with him or her all of a sudden. You and he should still do the same things every day.

Most older dogs get along well with puppies between 8 and 12 weeks of age. They still sleep a lot and aren’t as crazy during this time. When they are between 3 and 4 months old, they usually become very active and wild. Between 4 and 16 months, your older dog probably won’t like the puppy very much. Around 18 months, most puppies slow down a lot and start to grow up. Then, your older dog will probably get along much better with the puppy.

How to treat the old dog and the new dog fairly

older chihuahua and a pupppy
source: pexels.com

To improve your chances of success, you should:

  • If your older chihuahua is aggressive or reacts badly to other dogs, don’t get a puppy.
  • Have enough time to give both dogs their own training and exercise.
  • Make time to go out with your old dog by yourself, without the puppy.
  • Choose a puppy whose level of energy is most like that of the older dog
  • Keep them apart and keep an eye on them. Never let the puppy bother the older dog.
  • Make safe places for your old dog to rest and relax when the new dog isn’t around.

Last Word

Basically, you should be ready for the two dogs to lead pretty different lives. If they like each other and like being with each other, that’s even better. But you can’t count on that happening.

If you can be sure that both will get enough exercise, training, enrichment, socialization, and time with you, then get the puppy. But you shouldn’t get a puppy if you think your older dog will raise it for you. Neither he nor the puppy will like it.

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8 facts about senior chihuahuas

Senior chihuahua care tips

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