Why adopting an older dog can be better than adopting a young pup

A guest blog by Jess Lovenbury, our dedicated business analyst and dog mum to Benji.

We rescued Benji our Collie cross Beagle from RSPCA Brighton Animal Centre in August 2017. He had been at the centre for over three months and kept getting overlooked because of his age - he was 7 at the time. We weren't specific about the age and we immediately fell in love with him and wanted to give him a home!

He settled in really quickly, and one of the great things about him being older is that he didn't need to be house trained. He also knew basic commands like sit and wait, and had really good recall. For those who have had to teach a young pup to recall, they know that it can be very challenging!

Benji quickly settled into life with us and came into work with me quite quickly. He has a good walk in the morning and then because he's a little bit older he will settle down and snooze for the morning. He loves his walks, and he's absolutely obsessed with tennis balls (he regularly sniffs out lost balls in the undergrowth!).

And yes you can teach an old dog new tricks!

Using a clicker, we've taught Benji to give a paw, roll over and 'touch' my hand. He's very eager to learn and his Collie brain picks things up so quickly! When we're out and about people can never believe his age when we tell them!

Benji has so much love to give, and for him to have learnt to trust and love us so quickly is amazing. We would be lost without him, and I'm so glad the centre picked him out for us that day!

Are you looking to bring a dog into your family?

While we're all drawn to those big puppy eyes, there are so many reasons why an older dog (from a few years to senior!) can be the right fit. Puppies take a lot of work and new puppy parents will need to commit a great amount of time and effort into training a young pup. A new puppy will also have heaps of energy and will need to be entertained all of the time.

While this is a perfect fit for some, for other households it may not be... If you like a more laid-back home life or generally find yourself quite busy day-to-day, an older dog might just be the perfect match for you. Why not take a look at the lovely dogs in our care all looking for loving homes right now?