Good idea or bad?

Hi all

As you all know, we had to give Ruby up, Diesel has taken it very badly and although is starting to eat better now he really misses his playmate and just has no get up and go in him anymore.

To cut a long story short, we have been offered a pup they are only 2 weeks old at the mo so nothing would be happening for a couple of months but i really dont know if getting another one is a good idea or not, on the one hand, i would love to get another one as i do feel 2 dogs are happier than just one (in D's case anyway) but on the other hand, i'm not sure if this is too soon, just considering it makes me feel very guilty about Ruby.

What do you guys think???

IMO, Jules, it's too soon.

Give D a bit more time - he'll come round soon, I'm sure.

x0x0x

Thanks Vicki, the thing is, the way D is behaving now, is how he was before we got Ruby and is the reason we got her in the first place. He is a very playful dog but when he has no-one to play with (we are not a good enough substitute for play fighting) he just lays around not wanting to do anything.

Another dog will be on the cards at some stage, its just whether these particular ones are a little too soon as they will be ready in 6 weeks

Doesnt help that she sent me a pic

Well if it was me........see how D is when the pups are ready to leave, if he is still behaving sad, then maybe that's what he needs.

Dogs do fret though, Reah missed Meg badly for a few weeks but she did pick up....then again we did have Skye.

Whatever you decided I am sure it will be for the best xxxx Good luck

It's a tough decision. I guess with a pup you won't have the "cat chasing" issues, once you've trained it.

I couldn't have a pup "from scratch" as it were, as I work, and there's just no way I could cope.

I did this once, many years ago, and ended up rehoming two beautiful labradors through no fault of their own.

It's definitely not a place I'd recommend anyone to be. I still cry for them now, and this was in 1994.

Think long and hard honey, then follow your head, rather than your heart. It's the best advice I can give.

x0x0x

I've never had a pup, only adult rescues, so I wonder can you actually tell at such a young age whether or no a pup will turn into a cat chaser? Can you actually train that out of a dog that has it in them?

I think, from my experience with D and our first dog "Bo" that if a pup grows up with cats there shouldnt be a problem, when we got D he was 7 weeks old and we already had 2 cats and he never chased them even then, he just accepted them as part of the family and does now Ruby has gone. It was never a case of having to "train" him not to do it, he learnt very quickly that the cats were not to be messed with and were for cuddles only

Ruby on the other hand was 7 months old and had never lived with cats and was allowed to chase any cats that came into her garden, hence the problems we had with her.

But would the cats acept another dog, given that they know Diesel is ok but that Ruby wasn't?

I had Tonto from a pup but the cats will never be friends with him and Inca.
Abigail, the oldest cat, tolerated our GSD Sacha before she had to be taken back to her breeder, and she will tolerate the dogs but never mixes through choice.
I'm lucky in that I have a big house so the dogs have downstairs and the cats upstairs, but would you cats be ok with a new pup after their Ruby experience?

I used to have a cat, pharaoh was a teeny puppy when I got him and Kalikat was an adult cat used to living with two other dogs, Selkie and Jackjack, but even as a tiny puppy Pharaoh could not leave poor Kalicat alone.. he'd pester and pester her to play with him, in the end she snapped and began to hit him scratching his nose and once putting a nasty scratch across his eye. This made him angry and the war broke out... Pharaoh and cats do not mix... After some soul searching. i rehomed Kalicat with a friend.

We do not walk anywhere there are cats, but I know he'd kill one if he ever caught one.

Even puppies can take issue with cats. Personally i would not try to have both again. I am firmly a dog person now....

Any pup brought up correctly around cats, will not chase them-simple.
However as has been pointed out, your moggies may have severe trust issues with anymore canines due to Ruby so i think if you were to consider taking the pup on, i'd attempt small introductions to the cats prior to FULLY commiting.