Good choice! If you are thinking of adopting a life partner, especially a dog, this article is for you. Unfortunately, there is a widespread belief that adopting an elderly pet can be problematic. From Barkibu, we want to collaborate to put an end to this totally erroneous belief.
There are thousands of elderly homeless pooches who deserve to be treated the same as newborns. While it is true that there are some pets that are taken to animal shelters for behavior problems, this happens in a small percentage of cases. In most of them, the dogs are taken to shelters or kennels for reasons totally unrelated to them. It may be that your former parents have suffered some setback that has prevented them from continuing to share life with them: change of residence, economic problems, illness, job changes or even death.
Another factor that fuels this belief is that it is assumed that the bond with older pets may not be as strong as the one formed by raising a dog from a young age. In reality, these pets miss having a family so much that they have so much love to give and receive. Therefore, this factor should not influence you when making a decision.
Today we bring you 8 reasons why adopting an elderly pet can change your life (for the better). Keep reading!
Ideal pets for beginners
If you have never had a pet but are dying to have one, adopting an older dog may be a very good option for you. There is always a first time for everything. In the case of having a pet, apart from being essential to have a lot of love to give; involves great personal responsibility .
The fact that your pet has already lived with humans can help make this new adventure easier for you. He will know how to behave, how to relate to human beings, and he will have developed certain habits that you can learn from.
It is definitely the best introduction for someone in the world of pet care. If in the future you decide to adopt a younger pet, you will already have an awareness and guidelines set to know how to proceed and act. It will be your best teacher.
They are domesticated and trained
As a continuation of the previous point, it is likely that these elderly pets have already been __domesticated and trained; and therefore they are perfectly used to living in a house with human beings.
Unless they come from a fairly troubled home, they know basic house rules and regulations. They also know how to follow orders and usually have a marked routine.
Once you and your new friend have met, he will feel comfortable in his new home, and you will be able to observe his behavior, his routines and his preferences. You can also have some prediction of their schedules and be more attentive to their needs. For cats, you only need to show them the litter box once. The animal will have it perfectly located and will know where to relieve itself.
Family lovers
Older pets know how to relate, as well as how to receive and give affection. As a consequence, they are great friends of the whole family.
If you have young children, you may have the idea that it is difficult to combine having pets with babies or small children. Well, elderly pets are super affectionate, especially with young humans. Spending time with all of them together will create an inseparable bond. Most likely, they end up loving your little ones more than you, but don’t get jealous, these things happen 😉.
In case you don’t see it completely clear, in animal shelters they have their history (in most cases), so you can know if your new friend has experience playing with the little ones and how they get along with them. .
You will be saving a life
For us, this is undoubtedly one of the most important points (if not the most). Unfortunately, not all animal shelters have the resources to feed and care for all of them. When there is a lack of resources, euthanasia is carried out in many kennels to prevent them from suffering due to lack of food or basic care. Elderly pets are the first to suffer the consequences. In the case of animal shelters or protectors, pets are sentenced to live their entire lives in cement kennels and lacking in affection.
Therefore, you may not only be making your new friend’s quality of life and happiness considerably better, but you may also be saving a life by preventing an untimely death.
Surely the shelter staff also appreciates your action, since they are the ones who least want that end for the furry one. It is a good deed that will improve the lives and consciousness of many people and animals.
They require less effort
We want to make it very clear that by this we do not mean that you can totally ignore your pet, it is clear that you should take care of it as if it were a younger one; but given their experience, they have developed skills that younger pets don’t have. They generally have greater patience and attention span.