Thinking about adding a second dog (sorry, long)

[Caney Creek]

Sorry in advance for the long post!

Does anyone else get sad thinking about how our sweet pups won't live as long as we will? Caney is 9 and lately I have found myself randomly crying just thinking about her life being more than half over. I'm also pregnant so hormones could be playing a part here. On that note, it also makes me sad to think that soon Caney will be outnumbered by human children. I'll have two car seats taking up the middle row of my SUV and she'll have to sit alone in the back where the windows don't roll down. With a newborn and a 2 year old I'll have less free hands and less time for her.

When Creek passed, DH said he did not want to get another dog. I did, but I also was unsure of how much Caney would like another dog. What if we got another dog and it wasn't the right fit? Would she rather be an only dog than have to "share" her humans with a newcomer? What if the new dog didn't play with her? Required a lot of attention from us? These were all questions I had in my mind, but since DH so quickly nixed the idea of a second dog, I didn't dwell on it much.

Over the past few years we've pup-sat for many different dogs in our home and Caney seems to really enjoy the company, and she seems sad when they leave. She also loves running and playing with our neighbor's boxer-pit mix. And finally, just in the past few weeks, DH agreed with me that Caney seems happier with a canine companion and said that we should get another dog!


So now I'm torn. We have a baby due in February so if we did get another dog it would ideally be, like, now. That would at least leave a few months for the new dog to get settled in and for us to work on any training issues. I don't know if we have the time for a puppy right now but a young dog would be ok. But I think that our best bet would be to go through a rescue organization vs. a shelter, so that we could know a little bit about the dog we choose beforehand. But I've heard that the rescue process takes a while and we haven't even begun. For years I have been on the volunteer email list for our local boxer rescue, and I've done photography for their calendar several years in a row, but we have not put in an application to adopt.

Anyone have any advice on adopting? How does the rescue process go? Am I crazy for even thinking about taking on another dog right now??

 

[Roge]

Is there ever a right time , I believe if it's ment to be it will be ..
I'm sorta in the same situation (( not pregnant ) but we lost Spike the beginning of the year and I've always had 2 dogs , Roge will be 9 in January and that scares me !! But I'm reluctant to get another because I want to give all my attention to him and spoil him but then think that maybe a younger dog would keep him young ..
My Parents got a Boxer pup in July and boy I forgot what a handful a pup can be I imagine that you would surely have your hands full with a newborn a 2 yr old and a pup ..
If you go down the adoption route the shelter might be able to advise on the temperament and then you can choose what fits you ..
Best of luck whatever you decide and more importantly with the new baby .. Exciting time ahead I

 

[Gatorblu]

I am with Helen, if it is meant to be, it will be. I don't have kids, but Arabella doesn't like big dogs, and I wasn't really sure I wanted to go the puppy route. I put an application on file with a rescue and told them when I was done with a move and remodel I would be looking for a young male. I never got that far. A friend text me one morning because her son could no longer give his boxer the time he needed. I went and got him and prayed for the best. Arabella, who was a little over a month away from turning 9, took to Skully who was 2.5 years old immediately. They are best buds. I hope you find the perfect match too.

 

[bxrbgood]

Dogs like the company of another.

 

[Jan]

I think getting a rescue, would be an excellent idea. Don't necessarily limit yourself to rescue groups. I found Dante on Kijii. He is a wonderful dog!

 

[Independence]

You could always start fostering and then become a "failed" foster when you fall in love!! Might get you in the door a little quicker with the rescue too. And no I don't think you are crazy. Went we lost Indy at 5 1/2 we were without a dog for almost 6 months. We decided when Bode turned 5 we would start looking. We didn't want a puppy either. We got Tank who was 8 months old. Still plenty of puppy but was mostly housebroken and slept thru the night. He has turned Bode into a puppy again. It's been wonderful for him.... then we ended up with Tank's littermate, Indie..... kinda like pringles..... Best wishes on the new baby and finding the perfect pup. Keep us posted.

 

[mistydwilson]

I haven't been active on here in some time but I saw this post and just had to respond for 2 reasons. First, we had the same issue last year. We lost our older 2 Boxers within a 4 mth period last year. Our 3rd became a completely different dog. He was VERY clingy to us and very unsure of everything. We weren't ready for a new dog but agreed that he needed a buddy soon. We rescued our new one through Atlanta Boxer Rescue (which I'm assuming is the local rescue you referred to since you are in Woodstock?). Which leads to reason #2. I now volunteer with ABR processing applications! I can tell you their complete adoption process.

You will need to fill out the online application, which is a bit lengthy but thorough. The application will be picked up by a processor, which is a three step process. We call your vet for a vet check, call your personal reference and do a phone interview with you. If all of those are okay, we arrange a home visit. Once the home visit is done, you will be contacted by an adoption coordinator. She will discuss with you the criteria you are looking for in a dog and let you know about the dogs currently available. All of the ABR dogs are in foster homes so their temperament, dog friendliness, kid tolerance, crate training, quirks, etc. are all known by the foster parent and foster coordinator. Once you choose a dog, his/her foster will arrange a meet and greet with your family and Caney. If that goes well, you can adopt him/her.

As for the timeline, it can vary greatly depending on a lot of things. We try to pick up applications within a couple days of receiving and start making the calls. If we have to leave messages and wait for the call to be returned, it can extend the processing time. I'd say this typically takes a few days. Then we have to find a volunteer for the home visit, which they call you to schedule and then do the home visit. This can take anywhere from a few days to a week or more, depending on the availability in your area. Then it's about finding an available dog that is a good fit for your family and Caney. This can be easy (quick) or can take a while, depending on what dogs are available at that time and whether there is a connection with you guys and with Caney. The whole process can take as little a few weeks, or up to a month or more. Like I said, it just depends on a lot of variables. But ABR's goal is to find great homes for the rescues, and make sure each dog is a good fit for each family.

It took us probably 3-4 weeks from the start to get ours. But he is awesome and a great fit with our other one. You also have piece of mind knowing that the one you adopt from a rescue is heartworm negative, up to date on vaccines, and spay/neutered. I hope this helps. Good luck!

 

[Caney Creek]

I haven't been active on here in some time but I saw this post and just had to respond for 2 reasons. First, we had the same issue last year. We lost our older 2 Boxers within a 4 mth period last year. Our 3rd became a completely different dog. He was VERY clingy to us and very unsure of everything. We weren't ready for a new dog but agreed that he needed a buddy soon. We rescued our new one through Atlanta Boxer Rescue (which I'm assuming is the local rescue you referred to since you are in Woodstock?). Which leads to reason #2. I now volunteer with ABR processing applications! I can tell you their complete adoption process.

You will need to fill out the online application, which is a bit lengthy but thorough. The application will be picked up by a processor, which is a three step process. We call your vet for a vet check, call your personal reference and do a phone interview with you. If all of those are okay, we arrange a home visit. Once the home visit is done, you will be contacted by an adoption coordinator. She will discuss with you the criteria you are looking for in a dog and let you know about the dogs currently available. All of the ABR dogs are in foster homes so their temperament, dog friendliness, kid tolerance, crate training, quirks, etc. are all known by the foster parent and foster coordinator. Once you choose a dog, his/her foster will arrange a meet and greet with your family and Caney. If that goes well, you can adopt him/her.

As for the timeline, it can vary greatly depending on a lot of things. We try to pick up applications within a couple days of receiving and start making the calls. If we have to leave messages and wait for the call to be returned, it can extend the processing time. I'd say this typically takes a few days. Then we have to find a volunteer for the home visit, which they call you to schedule and then do the home visit. This can take anywhere from a few days to a week or more, depending on the availability in your area. Then it's about finding an available dog that is a good fit for your family and Caney. This can be easy (quick) or can take a while, depending on what dogs are available at that time and whether there is a connection with you guys and with Caney. The whole process can take as little a few weeks, or up to a month or more. Like I said, it just depends on a lot of variables. But ABR's goal is to find great homes for the rescues, and make sure each dog is a good fit for each family.

It took us probably 3-4 weeks from the start to get ours. But he is awesome and a great fit with our other one. You also have piece of mind knowing that the one you adopt from a rescue is heartworm negative, up to date on vaccines, and spay/neutered. I hope this helps. Good luck!

Yes I was referring to ABR! That's so cool that you do the application processing! I actually just submitted my application. I hope everything goes well!

 

[mistydwilson]

One tip for rescuing with ABR, if there isn't a dog available that seems a fit for y'all when you first talk with your adoption coordinator, keep a watch on ABR's Facebook page. They post pretty thorough write-ups on the dogs as they become available. If you see one that you want to meet, email your adoption coordinator ASAP and let her know you are interested in that one.

 

[Caney Creek]

Well I think we are done with the rescue application process!

Everything checked out fine with our vet and with the reference I provided, I did a phone interview earlier this week which went great, and today we had our home check!

Next step -- meeting the dogs!!