Dog in your retirement plans?

The last year or more, I've been giving some thought as to what I'm gonna do when I retire in about 6 more years. One of those thoughts has been around another dog. Some ways it's been nice to go motorcycle riding, go bping in Parks where dogs are not allowed, travel without having to look for a shady spot to park. Over the weekend after cutting firewood, I was thinking back to when my late dog was with me, bping, biking, camping and even cutting firewood. I was thinking the few places a dog can't go, is small in comparison to places a dog can go and the companionship a dog provides. As much as I still get out now, it is lonely without company, my stoves are my only solice.
Duane

I've been thinking about that with Hysson's situation (he's still in remission, still bouncy). I am thinking of waiting to get another dog until late fall so I can do a few National Park trips. One I've always wanted to do is to Enchanted Valley in the Olympic Mountains. Of course if a dog turns up before then (my daughter is actively looking), I'll get the dog, of course!

When our last dog passed away we had this discussion. And since we are both young (60 or so) and full of trips and travel, we really didn't want to have to worry about a dog when we went to Machu Picchu, or took ten days off to hike somewhere that dogs aren't allowed.

I can see us changing that once we can no longer travel as much or as long...but right now it is pretty sweet to decide to walk out the door and just do it.

Duane. Every dog I've had liked (German Shepards, Labs, and the gsp) hunting gophers. Just saying that might be another upside. It does help to have a good caretaker lined up so you can leave without the little beastie on occasion.

A few times at one of my few previous jobs, I had to farm the dog out to a kennel unfortunately. A feistly Jack Russell might be too much, but would be good on gophers and moles, bear dog. Thinking more of another lab or retriever.

The other thing I've been working with is how to travel and camp when I retire. Tent trailer, trailer, camper shell, camper. Will I like being away from home so long and what will I do to keep from going stir crazy? I was thinking of being one of those snowbirds, but may miss home too much and then the expense of fees if staying in a CG/Park. Time on my hands to figure this all out.
Duane

Not to drift too much, but one vision I have had of "retirement" is to have a place where I can keep horses, dogs, and other animals. I love working with animals, but with this kind of setup that is what I'll be doing all the time (don't know if you have worked horses or not, but its a lot of work). Since my wife is not into animals much, just the dog(s?) is a good compromise. At least that's what I think. If I had my druthers, I'd have 5 or 6 dogs AND a couple of horses, chickens.... but you can't do everything and you have to choose. Either way, good luck with your decision. If you need help naming your new pup, let me know Maybe get a dog that will fit into a side car. They have seat belts for dogs now.

I think that quite a bit of the decision depends on whether you live alone. I do, and Hysson (still in remission, BTW) has been a wonderful buddy for me. I got my international travel bug satisfied the first two years after I retired, and not long after that I got that famous call from my daughter--"Mom, I have a puppy for you!"

OM, I'm single, will likely stay that way unless a well heeled lady comes along and wants a simple, no issues guy. I do have time to ponder all this, too much at times to get planned out. I used to have chickens when I worked in town, but since I work away from home all week, that was not an option. They all tie you down. Maybe a yappie ankle biter for a dog.
Duane

I'm in a position similar to you with retirement 7 years away. Well, 7 years, 3 months, and 2 days.

I love Ember more than anything but the reality is she is 16 years old and not likely to make it to my retirment. I don't think I will get a dog right away or the first few years of retirement. Mainly because of the leave-dog-at-home-while-I-travel aspect. I plan to hike the AT imediately upon retirement and then perhaps some cross country RVing. I also enjoy international travel although haven't really contemplated long-term international travel. Except maybe a year in Greece where my family has a small apartment in Athens (dad is Greek). I don't think my plans would be fair to a dog, at least not for me.

Pre-retirement, I'd consider a cat as I view them as needing less care and OK if left alone for a weekend. I may be wrong about this though.

If I slow down with the travel in my later years I will again consider a dog.

One thing to remember is that dogs retire too. As they get older they get easier to handle until they sort of tire out.

There's a lot of dogs out there who need someones love, and kibble. My wife and I say "the dog finds you, be patiet", but bring him home when he appears. People give me dogs and I keep some and give some away in turn. Right now I have a huge mean pitbull NOT, thats scared of her own shadow and lets her 5 pound chijuajua little sister push her around.

A 5 pound dog thats a couple years old is easy to pick up and put on your lap and loves to be wrapped inside your robe on a cold morning while I drink my coffee. HOWEVER I had to install hundreds of feet of new smaller hole fence along the bottom of my old 8 foot fence, because the 5 pound dog can run through field wire, AND the vet told me that a hawk or eagle or owl could get her outside, so the dog yard was cut to about 50 by 60 feet from 1/2 acre and has 3,000 feet of bird net over it like a fish hatchery.

ANyway I kinda think that as one dog gets a few years you get another, like every 2-3 years add another dog...

Chickens and rabbits are hobby animals, not effective food producers, they will take up your time, either keeping you busy or keeping you from other things. Most plants and animals are things that you "husband" simply because you love to. I'm a farmer and I never get to leave even for a night except to go camping locally overnight. Fortunately I can sit on my deck with my dogs with an awesome view and the next neighbor to the west is 85 miles away in Eugene. And speaking of retirement, its nice to have a place like this where the only thing we hear is the phone, the wind, birds, dogs and an occasional car. Not only is it spooky quiet, its dark. Theres a county ordinance about light pollution of the sky and NO street lights...
Jim

6 years is a long time yet. Hard to say what will happen in the mean time. Dogs give company in more ways than just being with you. I learned this with kids. Move to some new place with kids and immediately you have lots of freinds (parents of the kids your kids play with). Funny thing, same with a dog. We got a dog last summer and I have met more neighbors in the last few months than in years- just walk a cute puppy and everyone comes to greet you! Our puppy (now 10 months old) is becoming a good companion. BUT, we have put a ton of work into this dog - LOTS of training and she goes everywhere with us. Dogs are easier to raise than kids, but if you have never raised kids or dogs, you probably have no idea of how much work it is. When you see someone elses good dog, what you see is the end result of years of work and dedication.

I obedience trained all my dogs and kept with it. My last dog Pooch, a rescued dog from the pound, was started by me in SAR, but after a bit, I could not afford to take time off from work to work with our group. What a great feeling when he did his first alert, taking you to the "lost" party.:) I want to do more bping when I retire and if I am still able, but I also like to garden. We'll have to see what gives.
Duane

Even with an older dog, I get lots of requests from the neighborhood kids to pet him. It's actually a great educational opportunity. First, I praise the kids for asking first (not all dogs are friendly). Second, I show them how to approach the dog and to pet him on his back, not on top of the head. For many dogs, this is a dominance issue; they will let their owners do it but don't like strangers doing it. And then, of course, there's the issue of stroking gently, not going "whack, whack." If the few minutes' delay in our walk should keep even one child from being bitten by a dog in the future, it will have been worth while!

Consider that 6 years is half (or more) of a dog's life span.

Hysson and I spent over 3 years in obedience training classes. It wasn't cheap, but it was worth it. I learned more than the dog did! Of course, we still review the lessons daily during our walks and around the house.

When I took my dog Mina to obedience training the trainer said it was more to teach the owner than the dog. Best money/ time spent, she minds so well. Almost like she's reading my mind.

I only took one class thru the county Rec Dept. one year with my male Dobie, otherwise, I just worked with my dogs at home at the start of our walk. 5 to 10 minutes of training then OK and let the dog enjoy itself. Pooch was taught a few hand signals also. In SAR, one of the CARDA people we went to see that were a couple hour drive away, complimented my dog and I, said we read each other well, this just by his brief observation.
Duane