i have a six year old flat coat retriever bitch and would love to get another as i think they are wonderful dogs.i am worried whether my six yr old girl will cope with a new puppy as she gets all the attention now and i would not want her upset.She loves to play with other dogs but at the end of the day is a bit of a mummys girl!! Has anyone any experience of introducing a new puppy or should i give all the attention to my existing girlie?

Hi :)

i was in a similar position, i have an 8yr old Min Schnauzer he is so livley and playful and i think that dogs are happier with a play mate, so i have decided to get another (monty comes to live with us in just under 2 wks) My dog has all of my attention, but i am sure that he will love the pup. All you have to remember is to always fuss your older girl first so the pup realises that she is higher in the ranking, also your older girl will appreciate this as you are still showing her that there is no threat by the pup.

Dogs are pack animals and im sure that once settled they will get along fine, infact your girlie probably wont be interested in you, and will want to play with the pup! lol!

I must admit tho in my case the decision to get a pup was for my dog not for me, he is 8 now and i dont want to leave it till he is 10 as the pup may jade him, so it seemed like a good idea to get it now while he is fit and healthy so they can play and bond. I love him and i wouldnt want to upset him by bringing in a pup when he is old and wants to be left alone.

hth, Roxanne

I have a 4 year old male gsd and have introduced our new male gsd puppy who is now 11 weeks old, I was worried about the same thing as you, as my older dog is my big baby and I wouldn't do anything to upset him, he was a little jealous the first few days but as soon as he realised I still treated him the same and always fussed him first he was fine, infact a lot of his puppy behaviour has come back again? and he is very playfull with the pup and constantly wants to play with him!! he will always come first and I just keep reassuring him that everything is OK, it is nice to see him like a 2 year old again!! and he has a new playmate of his own as he loves playing with other dogs as well, hope this helps?