Dog Breeds for Seniors

Awww...Sassy looks like she was a sweetie. :love_heart:
 

Having made my living with dogs for 19years I found the most popular breeds with the mature crowd were shih tzu's, mini schnauzers, poodles, bichons, pomeranians and maltese.
This could be a regional preference and other breeds in different areas may have more popularity.

I am surprised to see some of the breeds listed as senior picks. Corgi's can be very snippy and are heavy shedders, with high maintenance coats. Frenchies are very cute with low maintenance coats and can make good companions, but as the article states they can be brachially challenged requiring expensive surgery, and this may not be apparent as puppies. The schipperke is not a common dog, they can make nice pets, but the one in the picture is not a good representation of the breed. Black is the most common color, the one in the picture looks more like a spitz and looks to be much larger than a typical schipperke.

Regardless of the breed that one chooses, they seem to always steal our heart!

Pappy...Sassy was a cutie and I know you miss her. I had a Sassy too, but she was a mini Schnauzer. Sassy's always seem to live up to their names..LOL
 
View attachment 2355Pappy, I totally agree that Shih-Tzus have one of the best temperaments and are just an all around great little dog. They are an easy size to carry around, and are not hyper like some of the smaller breeds tend to be . They are extremely loyal and loving little dogs, as well.
My favorite, as a great dog either for seniors, or for a family dog that wants a small size companion dog, is either a Shorkie, or a Malti-Poo. I have raised both of these small designer dogs, and totally love both of them.
This is a picture of Emme , the Shorkie ( Yorkie/Shih-Tzu). She was about 5-6lbs as an adult, and as smart as could be. Her father was Chipper, my Yorkie-poo, and her mother was Fazoli, my Shih-Tzu.
 
Before Sassy, we had 2 mini Schnauzers, Tammy and Missy. Tammy was a great, loving dog for seniors, but Missy was an egghead. I had a love, hate relationship with her. If there is such a thing as a hardheaded dog, she was it. Barked at everything, would not obey any commands given to her, was hard to housebreak, and just a royal pain in the arse.

I've got to admit though, I do miss her antics. But Sassy, the Shih Tzu, was a fine dog. One of the reasons we did not replace her was that it was like losing one of the family when she died. Too hard to go through again. Youv'e got to be a dog person to understand what I'm talking about, Right?
 
I know exactly what you mean Pappy about losing one of the family. I had a lab/spaniel cross - female called Sam that we had for 15 years. Broke my heart when she was put down, but she was suffering and it was the best thing to do for her. I waited two years before I could even think about another dog and when I went to see the puppies, ended up coming home with two. Both are a handful and about two so I'm looking forward to them settling down.
 
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We have a Pomeranian that we rescued about one year ago.. She was 4 months old at the time and was severely neglected as a pup.. Someone brought the pup to us and told us to either take the dog or he will put a 12 gauge shot to her head.. Naturally we took the pooch and have been in love with her ever since..
She NEVER barks or snaps... EVER !!!
She weighs all of 1.9kg which is 4 pounds
She is extremely loyal and friendly..
She doesn't give us allergies.. We brush her each and every day.. It only takes a few minutes.. We bathe her every month.. NEVER give her a haircut..
She eats nothing but the best food available..
She sleeps about 9 hours a night in her crate without going potty.. Is fully potty trained..
Loves the out of doors.. We live in the country with acerage and she loves the "run"..
She is ginger, light tan, beige and white in colour..
Naturally she loves to be on our lap and of course we love it as well..

I can go on and on but the bottom line is a Pomeranian isn't a bad choice as a pet for seniors..
 
As much as I like dogs, I will stick with Billy the budgie, he takes much less looking after.:)
 
Bee said:
As much as I like dogs, I will stick with Billy the budgie, he takes much less looking after.:)
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I'd never had a bird as a pet until I met a young woman who had a parakeet. He was so cool. Would return my exact whistle when I walked in the door and call out my name. That was pretty special.
 
I have had several birds as pets over the years but unfortunately I have never had one that will talk, the budgie I have now will cock his head to one side when I am talking to him but has never attempted to imitate me and yet every night when I say 'good night' to him he climbs onto one particular perch for the night,which makes me think he understands me.:)
 
I have always had a Yorkie, I love the breed. They are so smart, very loyal and just the best friend you will ever find. I have 1 year old now and her name is Grace. She was an replacement for my other yorkie which I had for 7 years but was killed by a coyote. The coyoties,2 of them, ran right up to my husband and started to attack my Ellie May and ran off with her. My husband managed to save the other Yorkie we have, Bonnie, but it took me 1 year to get over Elly Mays death. I was in such deep depression my family was worried. Had to see Dr. to help me thru it. But Yorkies are my favorite, love them.

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She is perfect! She follows me all over the place and cries if I eave the house. She is full grown and weights 4 lbs. Just a little thing.
 
Silvery Diva said:
I have always had a Yorkie, I love the breed. They are so smart, very loyal and just the best friend you will ever find. I have 1 year old now and her name is Grace. She was an replacement for my other yorkie which I had for 7 years but was killed by a coyote. The coyoties,2 of them, ran right up to my husband and started to attack my Ellie May and ran off with her. My husband managed to save the other Yorkie we have, Bonnie, but it took me 1 year to get over Elly Mays death. I was in such deep depression my family was worried. Had to see Dr. to help me thru it. But Yorkies are my favorite, love them.
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Diva, I am SO sorry to hear about your loss of little Ellie May ! I also love Yorkies, and my Chipper is a Yorkiepoo .
I lost my little Pom this spring almost the same way. We had the door open since the weather was warming up, and Sheba and Tootsie had wandered put the back door. Suddenly Toots started barking, and we ran out, but Sheba had disappeared. We searched for days, and I even put an ad out for her in case she made it out to the road somehow, but we never even found a trace, so we think a coyote must have come up in the back yard and just grabbed her. Sheba was only about 4lbs also.
 
Its so hard isn't it? Elly was a dog who was a best friend, now she is my angel. You dog is so cute, we are so lucky God gave us these little wonders of life that make bad days good. AND.....I WANT THAT CHAIR OF YOURS!!!! LOL
 
SeaBreeze said:
Here are five suggestions of dog breeds for seniors including the Corgi, Poodle, French Bulldog, etc...http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/08/30/5-excellent-dog-breeds.aspx
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Which breed walks itself and uses litter ox? That's the dog I need!

Actually, I was thinking about pets the other day. Should I have to spend any time without my husband, I don't want to be totally alone, but don't think I'll be up for any dating of serious socializing. I'll be too old, but more importantly, my husband has ruined me for anyone else.

A fellow would have to be Superman to impress me, now.
 
Bee said:
Apologies to SeaBreeze for hijacking your thread.:)
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Hijack anytime my dear, I love to hear about all kinds of pets. :love_heart: I had bought a large African Grey Parrot a long time ago, it was full grown and untamed. I had absolutely no bird experience whatsoever. I set him up with a nice big cage, and a large perch with ladder...he actually ended up having his own room, as he squawked terribly when my hubby or anyone else came near. He turned my hands into chopped meat, trying to hand tame him, LOL. Anyhoo, I ended up almost giving him away with all his toys to a lovely lady who adored him and had a big aviary in her home...so it ended well for the both of us. :eek:
 
So Sorry to read of your little Ellie May being taken by a Kyote, that would have been terrifying for all of you.
Yorkies are lovely little dogs, much like a Sydney silky I once owned.
 

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