How Adopting a Dog Transforms Retirement: Joys and Challenges

By Joyce Wayne

While everyone I know was worrying about the election and tariffs, my husband and I were fixated on collecting our new puppy. His name is Teddy. Teddy is an eight-week-old, 8 and 1/2 pound Bernedoodle. My husband and I first met him a few days before the federal election, and it was love at first sight. I held this little dog in my arms, and it was nothing but kisses. How could I resist? Although in the back of my mind, I realized a puppy would transform our lives.

In the past few weeks, transform our lives he has. Teddy might be tiny, but his presence is enormous. In his little heart, I believe he’d prefer to set the tone of our home. He does this when we rise, when we sleep, when we eat, and when we play with him. If possible, he’d prefer we play with him all day long.

For two people our age, that isn’t altogether easy. The same day we agreed to pick up Teddy from his breeder, I attended my monthly book club meeting. I’d sent the members of the club a photo of Teddy earlier that day, and almost everyone in the club responded. Over the years, I’ve noticed that book people are often dog people. Reading makes you empathetic, according to psychologists, and after spending my first weeks with Teddy, I see how having a puppy brings out the same quality.

Challenges of Adopting a Puppy After Retirement

Yet, some of my book club friends were hesitant. “A puppy,” Jane said. “That’s awfully brave of you. Do you know what you’re getting into?” she asked. Others nodded in agreement.

Marla, another book club member, looked surprised. I think she was worried about us. Had we lost our minds? She went on to recount the first few months with her new puppy, when he had to be taken out every two hours throughout the night. That won’t happen to me, I surmised. Teddy can sleep in our bed, nestled between us. He loves that, and so far, although he roams about the bed finding his best resting spots, he’s up around six a.m. every morning. Still, Marla had every reason to show concern. Teddy has, more or less, come to run our daily lives.

Bernedoodles are described this way:

“When bred well, the Bernedoodle is an intelligent, social, fun, crossbreed with character and charisma. On the whole, Bernedoodles tend to be quite similar to Goldendoodles in nature, with the most notable difference being that the Bernedoodle can be headstrong. This is more pronounced at the puppy stage and tends to disappear when the Bernedoodle is older and trained. Every dog has a different personality, but the two breeds have much in common, and those traits make them excellent family pets.”

House Training a Bernedoodle

As for house training, well that’s a different adventure altogether. Teddy is part poodle so he’s a clever little dog with a definite mind of his own. Spunky and inquisitive. His preference is to eat whenever he likes and find his own spots around the house to relieve himself. As my book club friends warned me, training this little guy would not be easy.

By the end of the first week of sharing our home with Teddy, my husband and I were at a bit of a loss about what to do. Then my daughter kindly sent me various website pages about puppy training. In case you’re interested, here is the one that is really helping us train Teddy in the best and kindest way possible: https://www.humaneworld.org/en/resources/pet-owners

We’re working on it. Slowly but surely, Teddy is catching on.

The Joys of Adopting a Puppy

In the meantime, Teddy has brought laughter, activity, and lots of love into our home. Teddy certainly keeps us busy. He hasn’t destroyed anything as of yet, and I must admit that having this little guy cuddling in my arms is about as lovely a feeling as there is.

Looking back over the last few weeks, I can’t say they’ve been easy. But they have been wonderful, in their own Teddy-like way. Older people like us are sometimes hesitant to take on new challenges, and believe me, adopting a puppy is indeed a challenge. Yet, raising a young little creature is worth the trouble and the work. He brings joy and laughter into our lives. He keeps us busy as can be. It’s fun to be around him.

What more could anyone ask for?