Seeking advice on 'poos

[DAVID H]

My wife's a dog lover. I quite like them too.

We've always had rescue dogs for 30 years but 8 years ago when the last one died, we bought a Cavapoo bitch, Poppy. She has, in many ways, been the best dog we've ever had.

We want to get another (as a friend for Poppy while we're out and to soften the blow when we lose Poppy) but although she couldn't hurt a fly, Poppy is no longer that friendly with other dogs.

Any advice on how or if we could proceed?

 

[excuseme]

What has your post got to do with poo's, ah, I've just seen your dog is a Cavapoo (Cavalier/poodle) cross, I presume! Is this a first cross or a mixed cross?
Huh silly me.

 

[JudyN]

Haha, I read the post wondering where the poo problem was too! I've no advice, David, but welcome to the forum.

 

[DAVID H]

Lol, sorry. That's my bad: unfair use of the apostrophe.

Thanks for your welcome.

 

[DAVID H]

Is this a first cross or a mixed cross?

It's a pure Toy Poodle crossed with a pure Cavalier. We saw the parent's papers. We were hoping it might be hypoallergenic but my son only has to look at it to explode with allergy. Ah well, it's a lovely 'dog/cat/live cuddly toy thing'.

 

[JoanneF]

A lot of these crosses are marketed as hypoallergenic but when you think about it, if someone is crossing a non shedding dog with a shedding dog, the puppies could inherit the shedding gene.

And, a lot of people are allergic to dander or saliva, so that could be caused by any dog.

 

[excuseme]

Oh dear, unfortunately being a cross you can not always guarantee that a puppy will inherit everything that you want from both sides of the cross.
.

 

[DAVID H]

Yes, I agree. Thats why I used the words "hoping" and "might". We were aware it was only a possibility. A friend had bought a similar model that turned out to be hypoallergenic. Ours induces more allergy in more people than anything we've ever experienced, including all cats! But at least it doesn't shed.

 

[excuseme]

Your Cavalier is actually a she, yet you continuously refer to her as an it!
And also in one sentence, " Ah well, it's a lovely dog/cat/live cuddly toy thing"
This sounds as if she is just an item . Do you really need another one to keep "it" company

My apologies if I am misunderstanding your replies.
.

 

[DAVID H]

No, it's I who should apologise. Fair comment.

I'm posting on behalf of my wife, who, as I said in my original post, is a true dog lover. I like Poppy but she receives far more attention than I, hence my jealousy and perhaps inappropriate use of language. Regardless, she is a very well loved and cared for dog. Our only concern is that she is left alone sometimes for up to 2 hours, which can't be good for any dog.

Forgive me, please. I sincerely and humbly seek advice on how it might be possible to determine whether another dog might be introduced to the household. My wife will love all and any dogs. I am well trained enough to like them and obediently know my place.

 

[JudyN]

@DAVID H, you sound a bit like my husband - not a dog person but very well trained! Being left alone for 2 hours is absolutely fine, assuming your dog doesn't have separation anxiety. You could try video- or audio-recording her while you're out to see if she shows any signs of anxiety.

Could you describe exactly what typically happens when your dog meets another one? To what extent do you avoid getting too near to other dogs when you're on walks? How is she with dogs she knows well? And did anything happen around the time she went off other dogs, or did she just become less social?

 

[DAVID H]

@JudyN Thank you.

It's not Poppy's fault. She was savaged by 3 German Shepherds when she was a year old. (I know the advice is to not intervene but I couldn't just stand and watch while the other owners did absolutely nothing except laugh. So I piled in to even the odds. Poppy & I came out worse.) She's been understandably wary since then, especially wary of German Shepards, at which she always barks.

She's OK with a lot of dogs but barks at those she finds threatening. She adores all people and never bites anyone. Most walks are uneventful. If a bigger dog runs at her she barks or yelps. Also, she enjoys sitting in the front window and barking at canine passers by. It's understandable that she had PTSD.

 

[Tinytom]

Its horrible when our dogs are attacked through no fault of their own...sometimes our dogs reactions after such an event are often how we behave..we can be tense which then makes the dog tense
.not saying this is what's happening in your case but it happens without us really noticing