Try blending it together about 70/30 mix of old to new and as he/she gets used to it start mixing the blend so it goes to more of the new food. I have done it in the past with no issues.

Yup, this is good advice.
 
My wife and I have been married for 3 years now. I'm 55 and she is 50 and has never had children. She desperately wants 2 dogs and says those will be her babies.

Here are my concerns:

1) We love to travel, sometimes on the spur of the moment; dogs will put an end to that as we don't have anyone to watch them on short notice. I can deal with this concern.
2) At some point over the last 20 years, pets have become true members of the family and people will spend obscene amounts of money for surgeries as they would for their own children (and I hear that pet insurance is a slight tick above worthless, and at great cost).
- I ask my wife to answer this question: Say we have $100,000 in the bank and that represents our life savings. If our dog is 12 years old with a life expectancy of another 5 years, how much would you spend if the dog needed surgery to save his life now? All of it? $50K? $25k? She can't answer the question.

Her sister just spent $4k for surgery on her own dog; he had swallowed a big piece of a stuffed animal he had ripped apart and was very sick. My guess is that she didn't have $4k in savings...
We have another friend that spent $8k on a surgery for her dog that was already 15 years old!

For my own child, there's no question; I'd beg, borrow or steal after spending every nickel I had to save my child's life. My problem is that I fear my wife would feel the exact same way about a dog.

My suggestion is to wait until we can move to Mexico where at least vetinary costs are not completely insane. I don't know what else to do...
 
My wife and I have been married for 3 years now. I'm 55 and she is 50 and has never had children. She desperately wants 2 dogs and says those will be her babies.

Here are my concerns:

1) We love to travel, sometimes on the spur of the moment; dogs will put an end to that as we don't have anyone to watch them on short notice. I can deal with this concern.
2) At some point over the last 20 years, pets have become true members of the family and people will spend obscene amounts of money for surgeries as they would for their own children (and I hear that pet insurance is a slight tick above worthless, and at great cost).
- I ask my wife to answer this question: Say we have $100,000 in the bank and that represents our life savings. If our dog is 12 years old with a life expectancy of another 5 years, how much would you spend if the dog needed surgery to save his life now? All of it? $50K? $25k? She can't answer the question.

Her sister just spent $4k for surgery on her own dog; he had swallowed a big piece of a stuffed animal he had ripped apart and was very sick. My guess is that she didn't have $4k in savings...
We have another friend that spent $8k on a surgery for her dog that was already 15 years old!

For my own child, there's no question; I'd beg, borrow or steal after spending every nickel I had to save my child's life. My problem is that I fear my wife would feel the exact same way about a dog.

My suggestion is to wait until we can move to Mexico where at least vetinary costs are not completely insane. I don't know what else to do...
These are all very good things to consider before adopting a dog. You’re doing the right thing asking those questions before adoption.
 
Well, Maverick has elbow dysplasia in both front legs. Doctor wants to wait a couple weeks to let him grow some more before doing surgery on both sides at once. Should be a quick recovery with no lasting effects if we don't let him get overweight. Now, how to keep a puppy from getting too rambunctious for the next month...
 
We said goodbye to Wyoming today. I’m absolutely gutted. This was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. We made sure he had the best last day ever.
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My wife and I have been married for 3 years now. I'm 55 and she is 50 and has never had children. She desperately wants 2 dogs and says those will be her babies.

Here are my concerns:

1) We love to travel, sometimes on the spur of the moment; dogs will put an end to that as we don't have anyone to watch them on short notice. I can deal with this concern.
2) At some point over the last 20 years, pets have become true members of the family and people will spend obscene amounts of money for surgeries as they would for their own children (and I hear that pet insurance is a slight tick above worthless, and at great cost).
- I ask my wife to answer this question: Say we have $100,000 in the bank and that represents our life savings. If our dog is 12 years old with a life expectancy of another 5 years, how much would you spend if the dog needed surgery to save his life now? All of it? $50K? $25k? She can't answer the question.

Her sister just spent $4k for surgery on her own dog; he had swallowed a big piece of a stuffed animal he had ripped apart and was very sick. My guess is that she didn't have $4k in savings...
We have another friend that spent $8k on a surgery for her dog that was already 15 years old!

For my own child, there's no question; I'd beg, borrow or steal after spending every nickel I had to save my child's life. My problem is that I fear my wife would feel the exact same way about a dog.

My suggestion is to wait until we can move to Mexico where at least vetinary costs are not completely insane. I don't know what else to do...

I've had lots of dogs and never a vet bill of more than $1,200. If you're concerned about the cost of surgery you can buy pet insurance for a few hundred per year.
Your wife wants two dogs so get one dog now and maybe get a second dog within the next year or two. Dog (s) will enrich your home and your life.
 
We said goodbye to Wyoming today. I’m absolutely gutted. This was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. We made sure he had the best last day ever.
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Our dogs are such a big part of our lives. They are our best friend, they are family and they are always there waiting for us. It is heartbreaking when they are gone and no words can make it easier. So sorry to hear that he is gone but im sure he didnt just have a great last day im sure he had a great life.
 
We said goodbye to Wyoming today. I’m absolutely gutted. This was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. We made sure he had the best last day ever.
View attachment 8955437

Sorry to hear this news, I know exactly how you must be feeling as we have had to do similar in the past
 
I've had lots of dogs and never a vet bill of more than $1,200. If you're concerned about the cost of surgery you can buy pet insurance for a few hundred per year.
Your wife wants two dogs so get one dog now and maybe get a second dog within the next year or two. Dog (s) will enrich your home and your life.
Yes we both love dogs and look forward to that aspect of dog ownership. The feeding, walking, grooming, picking up poo and all the other labors of love are no problem - it's just the potential for devastating financial impact that concerns me.

My brother's Basset Hound swallowed rocks from the yard twice - $800 and $1000 for those 2 surgeries. I house sit for my brother's 1-year old Beagle and went to the vet 3 times over last Summer - allergies, a slight limp (found out it was from a thorn) and a weird issue with her gums one day - anyway, those 3 visits were about $700. That brother has spent thousands on this dog for various reasons, at least half of it related to allergies.

Most of that concern would be alleviated if we can wait until we can move to Mexico, but the wife is pining hard now! lol
 
Yes we both love dogs and look forward to that aspect of dog ownership. The feeding, walking, grooming, picking up poo and all the other labors of love are no problem - it's just the potential for devastating financial impact that concerns me.

My brother's Basset Hound swallowed rocks from the yard twice - $800 and $1000 for those 2 surgeries. I house sit for my brother's 1-year old Beagle and went to the vet 3 times over last Summer - allergies, a slight limp (found out it was from a thorn) and a weird issue with her gums one day - anyway, those 3 visits were about $700. That brother has spent thousands on this dog for various reasons, at least half of it related to allergies.

Most of that concern would be alleviated if we can wait until we can move to Mexico, but the wife is pining hard now! lol
The money issue can be real. We lost 2 dogs last year to old age and their collective health issues sure piled up.

Our Lab developed benign cysts. One had to be drained and then eventually removed because it interrupted her bowels. Another on her back leg swelled and burst on its own. That was disgusting. So that one needed to be removed too.

Of course, we could've forgone surgery and dealt with the inevitable regrowth and releasing over and over, but that's gross. Or, we could've put her down at 11 years old, at the time. Only, she was otherwise very healthy and the cysts were little more than a skin disorder.

I think the total cost for both procedures was in the $1,200 range. Didn't break the bank but she wasn't the only aging dog requiring care.

Our Cane Corso Clyde had hip dysplasia, we were already paying for his regular meds when he developed the mother of all skin infections.

I had to treat him 2x per day for the last year of his life, also giving him frequent showers in the backyard. He actually loved them and same as Carly, was a happy vibrant dog so putting him down wasnt a consideration.

We lost him when his heart gave out at nearly 12 years old. Carly's spleen went at nearly 13. If I had to guess, we probably spent $4,000 on necessary vet visits between the 2 of them over their last 18 to 24 months.

We still have Foley the Shiloh Shepherd, he'll be 11 in September. Over his entire lifetime, he's been very low maintenance, never a vet visit outside of scheduled well-care. But now his hips are going too.

Big dogs equal big bills and I don't mean just vet bills. When we had all 3, just their food, medications and assorted supplements ran us about $300 per month. Vet visits were in addition to that. As an example, an 80 lb Lab, 120 lb Cane Corso and 110 lb Shiloh went through a 30 lb bag of dog food every 10 days. So in just food, that was $180/month.

The money was never an issue but the issue of money can be very real. When you love them... you love 'em.
 
The money issue can be real. We lost 2 dogs last year to old age and their collective health issues sure piled up.

Our Lab developed benign cysts. One had to be drained and then eventually removed because it interrupted her bowels. Another on her back leg swelled and burst on its own. That was disgusting. So that one needed to be removed too.

Of course, we could've forgone surgery and dealt with the inevitable regrowth and releasing over and over, but that's gross. Or, we could've put her down at 11 years old, at the time. Only, she was otherwise very healthy and the cysts were little more than a skin disorder.

I think the total cost for both procedures was in the $1,200 range. Didn't break the bank but she wasn't the only aging dog requiring care.

Our Cane Corso Clyde had hip dysplasia, we were already paying for his regular meds when he developed the mother of all skin infections.

I had to treat him 2x per day for the last year of his life, also giving him frequent showers in the backyard. He actually loved them and same as Carly, was a happy vibrant dog so putting him down wasnt a consideration.

We lost him when his heart gave out at nearly 12 years old. Carly's spleen went at nearly 13. If I had to guess, we probably spent $4,000 on necessary vet visits between the 2 of them over their last 18 to 24 months.

We still have Foley the Shiloh Shepherd, he'll be 11 in September. Over his entire lifetime, he's been very low maintenance, never a vet visit outside of scheduled well-care. But now his hips are going too.

Big dogs equal big bills and I don't mean just vet bills. When we had all 3, just their food, medications and assorted supplements ran us about $300 per month. Vet visits were in addition to that. As an example, an 80 lb Lab, 120 lb Cane Corso and 110 lb Shiloh went through a 30 lb bag of dog food every 10 days. So in just food, that was $180/month.

The money was never an issue but the issue of money can be very real. When you love them... you love 'em.
That's exactly what I'm talking about. The procedures/surgeries they are doing on dogs is so wide and varied (and crazy expensive); in the 70's and 80's everyone loved their dogs but would let a lot of health issues go until the dog suffered so much they would finally put them down. Even if you're lucky enough to avoid serious complications, the routine costs of dog ownership are just insanely high these days.

Of course dog owners love their dogs; it's the equating them with human children that I'm afraid my wife would succumb to. That means spending 100% of our savings (she says she wouldn't but I know she would), and it also means that when (not if, but when) the dog dies, she will feel it exactly as a mother would losing her child. I love my wife for her sensitive and beautiful nature; but I know how that will translate into being a dog owner too...

In Mexico, there are a ton of stray dogs and I think it would be a great idea to adopt a couple of them.
 
In Mexico, there are a ton of stray dogs and I think it would be a great idea to adopt a couple of them.


When are you moving to Mexico ?
 
When are you moving to Mexico ?
We lived there most of the past 3 years but had to come back to the States for a few years to help with the in-laws; they are having health issues. I was hoping to get a full-time job and save cash during this time so we can move back in a few years and buy a home with no financing, but COVID!!! damn...

Anyway, I'm guessing 5 years or so before we can make the move. We want to live in the Los Cabos area, probably near San Jose or in El Tezal.:D
 
We said goodbye to Wyoming today. I’m absolutely gutted. This was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. We made sure he had the best last day ever.
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My deepest sympathies. My wife and I love Labradors, and we have 3 right now. They are wonderful companions.
 
We lived there most of the past 3 years but had to come back to the States for a few years to help with the in-laws; they are having health issues. I was hoping to get a full-time job and save cash during this time so we can move back in a few years and buy a home with no financing, but COVID!!! damn...

Anyway, I'm guessing 5 years or so before we can make the move. We want to live in the Los Cabos area, probably near San Jose or in El Tezal.:D

Well, I don't mean to be disrespectful to your concerns, but the reality is that there are lots of things which can potentially cause financial stress and harm.
If your wife truly wants a dog I think you should get one now and try to enjoy your life with the new dog rather than worrying that the pet may in the future need expensive surgery. I think 5 years is too long to make your wife wait for something she really wants, and her request seems reasonable to me. Again, no disrespect intended here.
 
Well, I don't mean to be disrespectful to your concerns, but the reality is that there are lots of things which can potentially cause financial stress and harm.
If your wife truly wants a dog I think you should get one now and try to enjoy your life with the new dog rather than worrying that the pet may in the future need expensive surgery. I think 5 years is too long to make your wife wait for something she really wants, and her request seems reasonable to me. Again, no disrespect intended here.
No I sincerely appreciate the feedback and I told her we could start looking now. Another concern we both share is that she wants two Labs and we're currently renting an apartment. We have plenty of outdoor areas to walk them but we are thinking 2 Labs in an apartment might be a bit much.
 
No I sincerely appreciate the feedback and I told her we could start looking now. Another concern we both share is that she wants two Labs and we're currently renting an apartment. We have plenty of outdoor areas to walk them but we are thinking 2 Labs in an apartment might be a bit much.

There are two different kinds of Labs. One is American and one is English. The American lab are more energetic and English are a little calmer. So, with that being said my English lab is barking at me, and my two American labs are starting to get worked up. Let the howling begin!!
 
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No I sincerely appreciate the feedback and I told her we could start looking now. Another concern we both share is that she wants two Labs and we're currently renting an apartment. We have plenty of outdoor areas to walk them but we are thinking 2 Labs in an apartment might be a bit much.

She wants two dogs because often no humans are home and she believes one dog would be lonely ?
 
She wants two dogs because often no humans are home and she believes one dog would be lonely ?
We work from home so we'd be there 95% of the time. She thinks that it would be good for them to have each other if we go out to eat or just in general.
 
We work from home so we'd be there 95% of the time. She thinks that it would be good for them to have each other if we go out to eat or just in general.

I've had single dogs , currently have two dogs, and can't say one situation is better than the other.
I know homes have made every situation work well; from two of the same gender to one of each, two of the same age to a large age difference etc.... But I think what's commonly thought to be a good set up is two dogs of different gender separated in age by 2 to 5 years.
Would your wife be enthusiastic about getting a puppy now, which the two of you can train and enjoy, and then maybe after a couple of years consider adding a second dog at that time ?
 
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