I've got an elderly Cavalier King Charles Spaniel called Rosie whom Ive posted about before. Im having a few problems at the moment, but my circumstances are changing in July. (my marital home sale is completing).  Rosie is now in last stages of heart failure, shes coughing and has ascites (sp) completely deaf and is blind in one eye and the other one is deteriorating. I've always been at home with her, and the children and I have been through some extremely traumatic times and Rosie has always been with us and has supported me through a stroke as well and Ive now developed a panic disorder through what Ive been through. My boys can't remember her not being around (13 & 6)). My ex and I did have two Cavaliers - a youngster called Daisy (bought to replace a rescue JRT, who died of a brain bleed aged 15months) so for the last few years Ive been used to having two dogs, but when the children and I had to leave last year. last year my ex and I decided to have a dog each, he won't give her to us which is fair enough, however now we have moved to Cheshire - Daisy is 200 miles away so we dont see her. We are going to lose Rosie very soon (possibly within the next month the vet says), my question is would you get another puppy? And would you get that puppy before Rosie goes? I just cant imagine life without a wet nose and company during the day and when Im out and about with a dog - I dont stress so much somehow? The children have had so much loss in their life - Im not sure that they will cope with the loss of Rosie at all - shes more like their best friend and someone to tell all their worries too.

Whats your opinion?

Sorry to hear about your problems Janice.  It's a difficult one to call.  I have to say I might be a little worried that a puppy might be too much for her due to her deafness and poor sight.  I think if it were me I'd be devoting all my time to Rosie, puppies are terribly time consuming.

Debs

There are two things that made me think about getting a pup whilst Rosie is still alive - the first one is that Rosie cant go out anymore, and is quite depressed really, whenever I take her to the Vets (quite frequently) Rosie becomes really animated and is all waggy tailed and seems much happier when she sees other dogs - after all its only in the last year that Rosie has been on her own - shes been part of a pair for the last few years.  The other reason is that it might soften the blow for the children when she goes, I know that children should be allowed to experience grief etc, but theyve been through too much to go through that too.

To be honest, if you think you're going to sadly lose Rosie within the next month you probably won't have time to get a puppy.  By the time you've found a reputable breeder who does all the required health testing, they'd have to have a litter ready to go, most decent breeders won't have a puppy left unbooked at 7 or 8 weeks anyway, you might find the time scale prevents it all.

Debs

I agree tough one to call - the puppy could either give Rosie a boost or stress her out and if it stresses her out then that won't be good for her.

But like Debs says perhaps give your time to Rosie then when time is right to get another pup you can give it 100% too.

All the best,

Rach

My heart goes out to you, you have had a really hard time.

If Rosie was my dog I wouldn't want to put her under any further stress by getting a puppy.  As time is short I think devoting undivided attention to your beloved little Rosie is more important and you might regret not being able to do this if your time is taken up with a mischievous little imp :)  A puppy, understandably, would want to interact with Rosie and that's probably the last thing she wants or needs.

You are going through a really tough time, don't make it tougher.  A puppy, if you decide to get one, will bring hard work but also a lot of fun and it's only fair that time and effort is given back to the puppy.  This will be difficult for you at the present time.

You poor thing, you've really been through the mill, I hope your circumstances start to improve soon.
I've got a 4 month old puppy and having witnessed her terrorising the elderly Sealyham terrier next door, I have to go along with the others that it's probably better to wait.

I can just shut the gate and bring my pup home, I think if the Sealyham actually lived with us I would spend all day trying to prevent World War III from breaking out, and my pup isn't even particularly bouncy, just playful!  Not to mention the broken nights and constant observation in the early weeks!  I do think the new puppy would take away from your time with Rosie (my pup has taken away time I usually spend with my daughter!) and I think that would be a shame at this time.

Best of luck for the future, children are very resilient.  I was devastated at the loss of my darling collie cross when I was 13 too, but I got over it and it has resulted in a lifelong love of dogs which still brings me pleasure to this day :)

Only you know your dog well enough to know what she can cope with or not, but I do have a personal experience that is the opposite of the other replies.

As you may remember I too have an old Cavalier with a really bad heart. My vet told me he wouldn't last until Christmas 2002 but here he is. As we thought we had such a short time left I booked a Papillon puppy (did never want another Cavalier due to the hearts) and I had to wait a year for that pup. We were sure Rufus would be gone by the time we got the pup, but he wasn't. He was however depressed and tired and did nothing but sleep and looking at photos of him then he looked pretty awful.

Well we got the pup, determined to not let him disturb Rufus too much so had a crate for each for time out and night time etc. That is now 2 years ago and we all swear it was Bobby that brought Rufus back to life. Yes when Bobby was a little pup we did have to separate them at times to make sure Rufus didn't overdo things, but he really has had a new lease of life and it's all down to having a friend again. Just like with you, Rufus used to be one of a pair of Cavaliers but had been on his own for a while.  So in our case a new puppy was very positive indeed and cheered Rufus up no end. But I will add Rufus was NOT coughing at that stage (still isn't) and that may or may not make a difference -I don't know.

It's a very difficult decision coming on top of what sounds like a thoroughly horrid and stressful time. However, as Goldmali says only you know your dog. What I would say is that while Rosie brightens up in the company of other dogs, this is currently in manageable doses. If you bring a pup home right now, Rosie won't have that choice unless you spend a lot of time ensuring that she is only exposed to the amount of contact she can manage. Since she's an elderly poorly girl whose routines you will want to protect, it will be the pup that has to make all the compromises and while it's quite customary to ensure pups don't outstay their welcome, so far as older family dogs are concerned, there's a difference between this and the pup's routine being based entirely around your natural desire to make Rosie's last months peaceful and happy ones. I'm not sure that this would be entirely fair on the pup and also wonder whether the arrival of a new pup right now might bring additional stress of the kind that none of you need.

Your children will be terribly upset when Rosie is no longer with you but children can be surprisingly resilient and there are some things we simply cannot (and indeed probably should not) protect them from. I recognise that you don't want them to take on any more unhappiness but I'm afraid this is unavoidable since a new puppy won't stop them grieving for the loss of Rosie. And neither should it.

I would Give Rosie 100% of your attention now.  if she likes seeing other dogs and people is there a possibility that you have a training club you could take her to, or maybe talk to your vet and see if they run puppy socilising classes and ask if you can take her along to see the other dogs and she seems to be happy.

Puppies take alot of work and possibly with Rosie how she is, she needs the same attention as a puppy and you can't give 100% to both.

Also as mentiond, it could take you at least a month, maybe longer, to find a planned litter (well bred with health tested parents and a good breeder you trust etc) let alone waiting 2 months from when pups are born to when they can go to their homes etc.

When we knew we were going to loose our dog we had previously decided to have a second dog so we didn't know if our dog would live or die..but most probably we were going to oose him but again we had no idea of how long he would be with us. I was very dependant on him and it was awful tme but I looked at breeders and litters and decided we would get a sister for him and that way while he was poorly we could think about his new sister and build a  link in our minds between the two knowing she was on the way. We gave her a name and thought about her and it helped to get through the hard times and for the children it was not replacing our beloved frend but adding t our family.  When he died the pup was ready to pick up and we then could tell her all about her big brother. I feel it helped to link the two. I think to actually get the pup while our dog was sick would have been unkind to him so we did decide to wait until we knew it was right o get the pup..so we had found two litters we were interested in one avalable a month or two  later if we needed to wait longer. All the breeders we spoke to were very understanding.

For the children we all wrote a message each in dedication to our dog and we had them engraved on dog tags to hang on a tree we planted over his grave. My daughter wrote Miss you so much..To Jack..the Best dog in the world. When we selected a pup we chose a girl who was not going to sit back and  take second place to the best dog in the world. She is a real gem.  When he died it did hit us hard. My daughter was 13 and seemed to cope well but she switched off at school and developed problems and became from top ability to a special needs child and prevented her being entered for the GCSE exams she would now be fine to take. So do make sure the school is aware what is going on. You never know at what point it all becomes too much for a child. Take care.

Poor you and poor kids and poor Rosie.  It is sad when they get old and you have another "situation" to deal with at the same time.  I can't comment on getting a puppy; I've never had more than one dog at a time.  But I do believe my cats are wonderful company for the dog.  So what about a kitten?  Kittens are less work than puppies, they should be toileting on their own by the time you get one, they can climb stairs by themselves, they don't usually need leash walking.  And in my experience kittens love dogs.  What would Rosie think?  Would just having another lively animal in the house perk her up?

Maybe, it might be kinder for Rosie to spend her final days in peace and quiet with you and the children. It will also then be a really uplifting experience for all of you to get a puppy later and something to look forward to. A puppy now will need all of your attention and although the children I'm sure love Rosie dearly, they will have more time and fun for a puppy and it could mean that Rosie gets unintentionally pushed out by them.
I guess it's a situation where there will be tears and laughter at sometime whatever you decide.

I agree with most of the others on here. When I got our second dog she tormented Sacha biting at her tail and ears with sharp teeth.
Also if the pup bonds with Rosie you will also have a very unhappy pup when she does pass away. Our youngest dog can't bare to be parted for Sacha.
I personally would spend these last few weeks giving Rosie all the love and attention she needs and then when you and the children have grieved give them something to look forward to, a new pup.
Good luck whatever you decide, It must be a very difficult situation.

I don't disagree with anyones advice about what pains in the bums pups can be to older dogs and would actually have agreed with all that has been said and tell you I thought it a bad idea too............... apart from the fact that a dear friend of mine who also has a Cav funnily enough with terrible heart problems and who basically had no get up and go in her at all went and got a pup! I actually felt it unfair but when I called over to see her recently I just could not believe the change in her older Cav, she is alive again, she has been on the 'she's only got a few weeks left to live' list 3 times now, but each time pulls through, the pup has rejuevanated her she is slow and old but her tail is wagging to death and she somehow just looks younger.

In this case the pup has I feel saved her older dogs life literally and given her a reason to go on.

I'm not saying it would be the same in your case all dogs are different but I will never be as rigid in my opinions, the two of them together are beautiful.

But, even so it depeneds on your girl if Rosie is a dogs dog she may well enjoy a pup, but if she is a total mummies girl who likes all the attention then allow her to have your full attention. :-)

Exactly Carrington this is 100 % what happened to with our Cavalier -I am sure the pup saved his life as he gave him a reason to live. It wasn't hard to stop the pup from going OTT either, just supervise play and crate the oldie for rests as he didn't mind at all -far less than the pup did. Also it's not that hard to teach a pup to not be too rough once they're a little bit older. Rufus has now lived 5 YEARS longer than the vet said. :D As he cannot cope with walks the pup was no problem at all, he went to training classes on his own and for walks on his own and so has always had plenty of attention and training and in fact the way he's going I might one day enter him in obedience at least at some companion shows. :) (Papillon.)

Goodness - thankyou for all your replies.  I took Rosie to the vets today for a checkup and her heartrate was marginally better than last time and the vet said that she was doing ok - hes joggled her med dosage as well.  In fact the majority of the checkup was spent talking about this puppy topic and how it would affect rosie and all the other issues as well, I trust the vet - and hes been very good with Rosie.  He felt that Rosie would be a very good influence on a puppy, and that she was used to pups and was very well socialised.  He also said that just like Goldmali said (and others) it may give her a reason to be a bit less depressed and that if its managed carefully it could give Rosie a boost.  Rosie always used to curl up with Daisy and before that Poppy - shes very much a dogs dog - although she adores me.  Rosie's bed is in a crate anyway - its never shut, and it was the way that we dealt with Poppy the JRT rubber ball!  Rosie used to climb into her bed and Poppy knew that was Rosies space. There are also ways in this house of putting in stairgates to divide off my dining room from my lounge so Rosie can have some peace and quiet too. Im very much into dog training classes - Ive always enjoyed them and weve always done much more than just the initial sit stay etc, and Im at home all day every day so both will get the very different sort of attention they will need.  So weve decided that together with the vets advice as well - we are going to have a bit more of a family discussion about it and take it from there.  As much as I love CKCS I dont think I will ever get another one - MVD is just a terrible disease.  Still got plenty of thinking to do - but Im not going to rush this.

I have a Cavalier(KayCee) with MVD, he's 11 in September & also has SM. Although he & Rjj(my young BC) eyeball each other over food very occasionally(KC starts it ) they are fine together & he still likes to jog up the garden when the two younger ones are bird chasing & playing.

We're looking for another Cavalier & have been for 3 years(waiting to find a breeder who has MRI scanned clear bitch with a clear dog lined up)but I will be getting another BC later this year(whenever the bitch decides to come in season-not mine of course)& I know he will be fine with a puppy who like Rjj will be given enforced time outs to allow all the dogs to rest !