to old for irish pup?

[rosie beere]

have any of you been told as you are nearing or are in your 60s you are to old for an Irish?

it is so good to find on this site lots of people that must be in that age group.

golly i think i am more enegetic than most of the younger generation of today.

cheers Rosie

 

[Eunice Marott]

yes lots of old foggies enjoy your new pup

[Ossian]

I suppose you look at it from a breeder point of view - they want to think that the dog will be in one home for its life but I dont know if that is realistic. I think i would rather have a "Rosie home" than one where there is a call when the dog is about two saying "we are having a baby do you want to take the dog back?"

[Eunice Marott]

and that happens all too often

[Dee Rance]

I breed a litter a couple of years ago...and one of my puppy owners is a little bit older than me...I did think that I shouldn't let her have a puppy....then thought, well I am not that much younger than her...I am in my mid 60's and she was in her 70's the only question I asked was.....''if anything happened to you, do you have anyone who will take the puppy???'' and this could be said of even the young people...lets face it anything could happen to anyone..at any age...so its not age is whether the pup can be looked after if disaster strikes...I always put a claws in my agreement that the pup comes back to me if the owner can't for any reason look after him/her....

And I am looking forward to getting another puppy soonish...

So no at around 60 you are not too old...

[Norma Pape]

I sometimes think that I am too old at 64 for my 18 month old Irish Derry but he doesn't care and he keeps me young as I have to play chase, run through the park and roll around on the floor being another 'puppy.'  I walk for 3 -4 hours a day with him and am contemplating getting a companion for him i.e another I.S  puppy as I wouldn't have any other breed.  Do you think that this will make me younger and fitter still or will I go mad? - who cares we have fun and I love my life with him.

[Val Martin]

You are only too old for an Irish when they are nailing the lid on......if you get my drift!

[Corinne Wakefield]

Absolutely .....

[Dee Rance]

Well said...

[Hilary Crosswell]

Thank you for that comment Val, made me laugh out loud, very funny :o)

[Margaret Sierakowski]

I'm 69 , have nine IRWS at home and one FT bitch away from home being trained,and some more in co ownership,  and still breeding. But starting to think about cutting the numbers down gradually over the next ten years

I dont have any problem managing the dogs at home,and still spend at least three hours a day walking them,  but beginning to find travelling long distances with dogs is getting irksome, and glad to have  help with handling if I go to an occasional show

When I have a litter of puppies, I often find the best prospective buyers are "younger" retired couples, people in their late fifties or early sixties, but still very fit and active. Their children have grown up and left home, they are often experienced dog owners, and have lots of time to take their dogs out for long walks, and are at home all day

I have had some bad experiences with younger dog owners in their twenties and thirties , too busy getting married, having children, making a career, working long hours to pay the mortgage, and havent got time for an active young dog. These are the people who leave puppies alone at home while they are out at work, then complain that the bored and poorly trained puppy is becoming a problem. And they get divorced all too often. Of course there are exceptions - Danielle Rowles who is still very young is doing a great job with a young male IRWS that she co owns with me

 

Sometimes older people dont want to take on a puppy but will take an older dog. Recently I was given an eight year old working IRWS, well trained and well behaved,  whose owners were emigrating. She has gone to Coral Pickard , now in her mid seventies, who has owned IRWS for nearly thirty years, and had just lost an older bitch, but was thinking she ought not to start another puppy at her age. The placement has turned out to be a great success, the perfect home for a very sweet  bitch

[Martin Rowles]

Thanks for the vote of confidence Margaret!!  I must say i am only in my mid thirties and danielle is younger... (a lady does not reveal does she???? lol), but no matter how hard I work during the day every spare minute I have is spent with all my lovely pups and I currently have 6.  Not being a pensioner doesn't mean you can't spend quality time withyour dogs!!

[KC and the boys]

Very pleased to hear that one is never to old for an Irish... however, I was a little concerned about the ageism creeping into this discussion suggesting that young(er) folk neither have the time, dedication nor the patience to keep an Irish. I agree that keeping any (!) dog whilst also trying to juggle a career, mortgage and family is a quiet a mean feat which not everybody is carved out to do but how come a large number of ES members have enjoyed the company of Setters for as long as 40+ years? Surely this site is not populated solely by a bunch of retirees, "ladies who lunch" and the landed gentry...