Cut off age for owning a puppy Discussions

What age do you consider to be "elderly" then? I had been looking for a puppy for two years before I was told that there were puppies at the Shelter seeking a home, as I knew that Little One would not live forever.

I did not consider an older dog, especially one with no known background - for all anyone knew it could be a bicycle chaser which would have been absolutely impossible with me being a wheelie. I needed a young puppy who would only ever know me on wheels or on the odd occasion when I am using my crutches, so would grow up knowing not to get in the way of my wheels or trip me when I am propped up.

I also needed a puppy who would grow up with the amount of exercise I could give - not an older or rescue which was used to/needed a lot of exercise, and Pereg is happy with the amount she gets. She is as happy going out for long walks as she is with short ones, and as she is when I am unable to take her out.

Arrangements have been made in the event that I predecease her, with the understanding that should her epilepsy become uncontrollable they would do the right thing by her.

Maybe I was too old and too disabled but what if I had never known about the puppies and never brought Pereg home? After Little One died I would have spent the last four years of my life with no warm body cuddled up to me at night, no companion to have to prepare food for and watch the enjoyment as she eats it, nothing to care about either.

How lonely and boring those four years would have been had I not given a home to my beloved Pereg.

Personally I don't think anyone can decide but you and as long as you have contingency plans in place what's the problem?

Anyone at retirement age, but it all goes on how active the person is, plus are they able to look after a puppy or would a older dog be more suitable, I not saying older people can't have puppies at all. I mean 4 years ago I would of said anyone could of have puppies but since working in the rescue home & seeing young dogs being brought in to the rescue home, week in week out, because their elderly owners have died is heartbreaking.

Tina, I was already disabled before I adopted Little One who was also only about six weeks old and unwanted, being only able to stand and walk wearing full leg irons [one of which came up to and around my waist] and on crutches. I was even more disabled by the time I got Pereg being a full-time chair user, although I could still get up the path to a taxi wearing my "legs" and on crutches when I went to the Shelter to collect her.

And no, there were no home checks, nothing. I just had to show my ID card so my name and number could be put on a form, sign the form, and carry her back to the taxi.

Little One had been so easy to train - she was house-trained within a week, walked on the lead, was quiet but very happy - an absolutely perfect little pup. Pereg? She was The Monster Pup From Hell. House training was not so bad once she had gotten over the diabolical orange diarrhoea that seemed to last forever but was in reality only about two weeks - long enough to totally ruin my carpet though. And she was just difficult for months until she finally grew out of the Kevin stage.

And then she was struck down with Epilepsy so I have had to cope with that for over three years now - not really the sort of life I had anticipated at my age, but I would far rather have her as she is than never have had the joy, pleasure, and total unconditional love she brings me.

What's the percentage at your rescue centre of dogs being brought in due to elderly owners dying, to those being brought in for other reasons.

i was just thinking that the proportion of puppies handed into rescue due to their ‘elderly owners’ dying would be pretty small in comparison to those that are unwanted/dumped for various reasons

Oh so is it ok to rescue a puppy who's previous owner has died if you're over 60 or are only younger people allowed to adopt puppies?

At the moment I say its around 27% puppies / young dogs coming into rescue per month, might not sound much but when you add it up over the year that's 324%

27% per month is still 27% per year. There is no such thing as 324%

While helping at my local rspca we got dogs in from people who ha died. These dogs were usually young, small, trained, healthy and well looked after. They were rehomed quicker than many of the other dogs for these reasons. This is what rescue centres are for and i would rather they were filled with these kind of dogs. Because lets face it the majority of dogs in rescue have had horrid past, poor health, behaviour issues. Yes it would be nice if only the ideal people had dogs but if that were the case how many of us would have dogs. I sure wouldnt i live in a tini house with no garden and have a job that takes me away from home so phoebe ends up in kennels. Last year she did a full 7 weeks and it broke my heart but i have to work. There is no ideal owners. But i dont see the elderly as a rescue problem. Its the uneducated, christmas puppy people, yobs with dogs, sick in the head abusers. They are the problem as the dogs they put in rescue are usually harder to rehome due to the variety of issues they have or they are pts as the rescue sees no hope for them being rehomed. I think your making a issue out of a none issue and making sweeping statements is never a good thing as in life there are to many variables as no two people are same or have same situations

7 Years ago I started an dog walking club up, by Christmas last year there were 40 members ages ranging from 27 right up to 83 year old, we an a lovely couple Mr & Mrs Lees who was the life & sole of the club they were 75 & 80 year old, but to look at them you wouldn't know, you would think they were around 50-60 as they were very active, Mrs Lees would ride her bike into town every day to do bit of shopping, Mr Lees still had his window cleaning business & you would see him up his ladders cleaning windows every day.

Unfortunately Mr & Mrs Lees had lost their Boxer dog Queenie in November last year, they decided to get another dog in January this year after they had been on holiday, I received a phone call from them after they got back from their holiday, they were very excited & asked me to pop down to see them, upon entering I was knocked clean off my feet by a very boisterous Boxer pup called Ruki I could see both Mr & Mrs Lees were very much in love with Ruki & the pup adored both of them, they had brought the pup on the their 2nd day of their holiday from the owner of the hotel they were staying at.

On the 3rd of March I had a frantic phone call from Mr Lees saying his wife has had a accident, so me & my husband shot round there, we arrived at the same time as the ambulance did & saw Mrs Lees lying outside on the ground with Ruki lead wrapped her legs, we gently removed Ruki who was whining loudly then her lead from Mrs Lees legs, I told Mr Lees I would take Ruki with me while he goes to hospital with his wife. 3 weeks later I received a phone call from Mr Lees telling me Mrs Lees had died over night, it was the worst news ever hearing that Mrs Lees had died.

After Mrs Lees funeral I was approached by Mr Lees asking if I could look after Ruki for couple weeks as he was going to stay with one of his son's, no problem so I took Ruki home with me, every time we went walkies she would try to drag me to Mr Lees home, then Mr Lees son phone me to say his dad had suffered a heart attack & died.

I contacted all 3 of Mr & Mrs Lees son's asking them who was going to look after Ruki, the first son said "that dog killed my mum I never want to see it again" 2nd son said he lives in rented accommodation & there was an no dogs policy there, the 3rd son told me to "put the dog to sleep" I managed to get the 2nd son to sign the dog over to my rescue home.

Last Monday I took Ruki with me to the rescue home & handed her over to the new dogs block manager, the look on Ruki's face will haunt me forever & she was taken from me, I could her screaming howling whining as she was put into her kennel I nearly took her back but the rescue home owner took me away from the new dog block, telling me Ruki will be ok, but she wasn't when I arrived at work on Friday I found out she had broken her right front leg after throwing herself at the walls of her kennel.

Now I am thinking of adopting Ruki even thou I don't really want to, as is she is far to boisterous for me & I am unsteady on my feet, plus 2 of my JRT's Dottie & Kobi started to attack her as she would jump all over them, at this moment I am torn in two, as my heart is saying go back & adopt her but my head is saying no leave her at rescue home.

Its far to easy to say there should be no cut off age, but one as to realise what it does to the puppies/ young dogs, when they are brought into a rescue homes, we have 2 young mix breed dogs brought in way back in October last year because their owner is now in residential home, they are cute & would of been easy to rehome if they did not cower at the back of their kennel every time anyone walks pass their kennel, we tried putting them in the reception area but as soon as anyone walked in they shot under the desk & wouldn't come back out, so I am going to say yes there should be a cut off age but that is my views only.

In short, I don't think there's a right or wrong answer/specific age at all.
In long; well I lost my gran in January this year. She was knocking on for 89 this year, and was in fairly good fettle until the end. She lost her last dog, an RC X, in 2008 just after my grandfather passed. After a lifetime of rough collies, gsd and their crosses she was dogless of the fear of being in her eighties. It left her thoroughly miserable; n she often borrowed family members dogs for walks. That is one view.
Another is, you really don't know what's around the corner. I'm in my mid twenties now and have a severe form of epilepsy where the potential of every seizure could leave me severely brain damaged/disabled, a heart condition I was born with but essentially could stop ticking tomorrow, and recently discovered I inherited from my later father (its recessive so, all permitting if i wanted too i could still have children one day.) a Parkinsonian syndrome gene-not the disease but a gene which gives you a typical symptoms and can develop into a range of problems such as muscular distrophy, MS, etc. Or it could not.
Or alternately I could walk out and get hit by a bus tomorrow. It's all about bein prepared, my dogs are specifically catered for in a will I had made up last year (I like to be organised!) they are looked after financially until such a point they too go on. If they happen to outlive me which I have no intention of them doing! Forward and potential planning is best in all cases.

Well sometimes people just take on the wrong dog, an 80year old would be fine with the likes of a cavalier but a Boxer isn't terribly sensible. I also don't think you'd be doing the dog any favours by adopting it, you may be younger but your description of your health means you'd be no more able to cope than the previous owners. I can't see how age comes into it at all myself. I'm not yet 60 but have already decided I won't have another large dog and my husband is 8 years younger than me. What I'm not willing to say is no more puppies.

Tina I get what you are saying but the same accident could have happened to anyone of any age as we don’t have a crystal ball none of us know when our number will be up,!

Most dogs are traumatised going into kennels at first and personally I think it’s harder for older dogs to adjust and re-home than young ones.

As for the two young cross breeds, having been in kennels since October what is the Rescue doing to socialise them, surely foster homes could be found to give them a better chance also if kennelled together one will be feeding off the other and as its unlikely they will be homed together they would be better off separated and why cant they be crated for short periods at a time in the reception room that way they couldn’t shoot off and would gradually get used to people and different things going on around them.
Not sure what their temperament has to do with having older owners ? .

That's a sad story, but to be honest that could happen to anyone at anytime, we don't have a crystal ball and see into the future... As has been said some people take on the wrong type of dog, but again age does not dictate that.

I would suggest that maybe contacting the breeder of the pup and explain the situation they may take her back, Or why not contact boxer rescue and put the dog in their hands, they would be best placed to find her the right home for her bred.

I understand your concern, but dogs get put in rescue every day and I think the circumstances you are worried about is a small percentage.. You can't tell people when they can get a dog or they are to old to do so...

They are with fosters over night but are brought into the kennels during the day, they are brilliant with other dogs & ok with the kennel staff that are dedicated to their kennel block, its strangers they hide from & we have separated them during the day, we bring one of them out & put in play room & give the viewers toys & treats to give to the dog but the dog still hides, we do people socialize with them each day but having a dog trying to escape & snapping is not ideal, we do however know they don't like children so families with children under 12 are not going to be able to adopt one or both of them.

Tina, you still have not clarified your following numbers:

as I pointed out that

Out of 1000 dogs coming in 324 of them will be handed in by family after their parents have died