Senior Citizens and Young Dogs

I just got a phone call from a man who I will call Rob. Rob's father (Ben) is 82 years old and has a one-year-old Golden Retriever who I will call Parker. Rob called me because his father needed help training Parker. Ben is currently in the hospital with a broken hip, which happened when Parker saw another dog across the street and pulled Ben off the curb to get to the other dog. Ben was in good shape -- he walks several miles every day -- but Parker was just too exuberant and too big for Ben to control.

I wish this was an isolated incident by a caring child who wants to help his senior parent. Unfortunately, it's not that uncommon. Does this mean that seniors should not have dogs? Absolutely not. But THIS situation was not a good one because Parker was too much dog for Ben to handle.

Puppies and adolescent dogs are a lot of work for people of *any* age. It may seem logical that senior citizens who may have lots of time on their hands are perfect candidates, and in many cases that can be true. But puppies have their own timetable and needs, and adolescent dogs are full of energy -- and full of themselves -- and many seniors don't have the physical AND mental energy to devote to them.

A large adolescent dog is a handful for someone of any age, even if the dog was trained as a puppy. They're adolescents, which means they basically have one paw in puppyhood and one paw in adulthood and are testing which works better for them. Adolescence is also a time when animals of any age -- humans included -- pull away from their parents and become more independent and begin to voice their opinions on anything and everything. It definitely helps for the dogs to have a solid foundation in obedience and to have been well socialized.

I have successfully worked with seniors who have dogs. If you're in the Los Angeles area and would like to work together to help both you and your dog, please call me toll free at 1-877-7-DOGGIE so we can get started right away.