Q&A - Why Consider Adopting A Senior Dog?


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About The Episode

Welcome to the third episode of our new Q&A minisode series, where we will feature a curious question about canine/human behavior and relationships. For this question, John Bartlett answers about why you should consider getting a senior or older dog.

Episode Transcript

People often think only of puppies when they think about adopting a dog. But puppies aren’t for everyone. Essentially, puppies are babies and they require a lot of work – which can prove daunting for unprepared, new dog owners. So why consider adopting a Senior Dog? Prior training with Senior Dogs helps them quickly adjust to their new home. Plus, older dogs also seem to know they are getting a second chance when being adopted, and appreciate it more.      

Welcome to the Dog Save the People, a podcast about how dogs make our lives better. My name is John Bartlett, and I’m your host. This episode continues our Questions & Answer series where we take listener questions. My answers are based on my own personal experience and research as well as advice from our previous podcast guest experts.  If you have a question you’d like answered on the show, reach out to us at dogsavethepeople.com, where you can email us directly or connect to us on social media. 

In today’s mini episode, we explore the question: “Why consider adopting an older or senior dog?” Dogs typically fall into the ‘senior’ category starting around the ages of 5-7 years. Smaller dogs mature more slowly than larger dogs, so they reach the senior stage starting a little bit later, around 7-9 years.

Senior dogs are very often “what you see is what you get.” You know how large the dog will get because they are already at their adult size, you generally get good insight into their current health and medical history, and the shelter can usually give you the dog’s background story - so you may get a sense of the dog’s temperament and habits. This means there are no surprises.  

A lot of times when a dog lands in a shelter, especially a senior dog, we try to get them into a foster home. Which means they’ll go into a home and that’ll give us a lot of information about how they do in a home – what their habits may be, what their behaviors are. So that we can tell the ultimate adopter a lot more about what to expect when they bring this dog home.

Older dogs tend to be calmer and more emotionally mature. All dogs are immature mentally and emotionally until they are about 2 or 3 years old, so Senior dogs are often good additions to households with children as they are better at handling overly-enthusiastic attention from kids. Senior dogs are also good for first time pet owners as older dogs require less supervision. 

Another practical reason to consider a Senior Dog is they are already trained and housebroken - which makes for a quicker, easier transition into a new home. This is in contrast to puppies who require a lot of time and effort and patience. Puppies have to be trained in order to know what to do and what not to do. And as the puppy ages, you’ll have the growing pains of chewing, getting into things, and occasional accidents in the house. With Senior Dogs you kind of leapfrog over all those frustrations right into the best friend role.

There are a number of reasons the Senior Dog is in the shelter or up for adoption, and they’re usually not the fault of the dog. They could be there because of the life changes for the owners, such as having to move or financial issues. Or it could be that the owner died and there was no one to care for the dog. So senior dogs come from happy homes and know what it is to be loved. Unfortunately, older dogs in shelters can have a difficult time finding a forever home, and are often the last ones to be adopted - so choosing a Senior Dog could mean saving the dog’s life. And we hear over and over from our guests how deeply grateful Senior Dogs seem to be from their first ride home to their strong bonding with new owners - and they just know this is their second chance to be loved again and to become part of a new pack.

For many years I’ve volunteered at a shelter in Yonkers, New York (which is right outside of New York City) and I’ve seen so many dogs that have come in. Older dogs (who) get adopted are the happiest success stories ever, where people will come in specifically to meet the older dog and those bonds are so beautiful to watch. And when an older dog leaves the shelter, many times the whole team will stand by the door and applaud because it’s such an emotional moment.

I actually had a senior dog that I rescued from the city shelter, and his name was Papa. I guess he was probably about 12 years old when he came to me. He was a little chihuahua. He only had a few teeth left, his tongue was hanging out to the side, but he had so much spunk and he just moved into our home and become part of our pack super fast. The great thing about chihuahua’s many times is that they love to be in your lap, they love to be carried around, so Papa and I were inseparable. I never had a dog like that, a small dog I could carry around, and Papa and I became one unit.

One concern people have about adopting senior dogs is that the dogs won’t be around for long, and they want to avoid this painful loss. I understand. But for me, it’s about the quality of the time you spend together, not the quantity. Similar to how a candle burns brightest towards the end, I find Senior Dogs give back such an intense love that I cherish it for however long.

Have you adopted a senior dog or are thinking about it? Tell us about it.  Reach out to us at dog save the people dot com, where you can email us directly or connect to us on social media.  And if you have a question that we should answer in a future episode, send it our way!


About The Host - John Bartlett

John Bartlett is an NYC-based fashion designer who has a passion for dogs and always has a home of loving animals. Currently, he is the proud owner of two rescues and a purebred Bernese Mountain Dog. John is a graduate of Harvard University and the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). He created his own eponymous “John Bartlett” Men’s Fashion collection in 1991, and later created a specialty line of dog-themed apparel and accessories with all profits supporting his “Tiny Tim Rescue Fund” (named after his three-legged rescue dog of the same name). Bartlett has long championed the issues of animal rights and welfare. He has worked alongside the Humane Society of the United States, the North Shore Animal League, and other animal rights organizations helping to raise awareness and spread the message of compassion.


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