bonding with puppy

I do not think it is such a bad thing to compare the dogs. It keeps Hunter in your memories but you still love Scout. I compare Lucky to my dog that passed (which was a Beagle!). I also had a golden as a child and still find myself comparing Lucky to her......Ha actually funny thinking about it I just compared my dog yesterday to a face my mom made that passed awaya few years ago....

I think in time it will work itself out. It sounds like you already care a lot about Scout just for your concern.

Enjoy your new pup!

I think it's natural to compare your dogs. It's like how we say you can't compare your kids but we all do it. I think, over time, Scout will develop personality traits that will differ from Hunter but that you will come to love just as much.

maybe it doesn't sound nice, but we started joking about Sadie (who is soo different from our former lab) - that joking was affectionate, but was away to admit how different she was without sounding "dissapointed".

I found that we found ourselves laughing at the similarities with Obi to Spud, but the two of them were so different in many other ways, it wasn't hard to see the new pup as his own personality.

Scout will find his own way to get into your heart all by himself... just you see if he doesn't. You won't forget Hunter, nor should you, but to look out for the similarities is totally normal.

Enjoy the pup, they're so much fun!!!

Bless you, to have lost Hunter so young is doubly hard (have been in the same situation) but you will find Scout will worm his little way into your heart as Honey did ours, Nybble our GSP was always going to be a hard act to follow and although I thought Honey was sweet and cute etc etc I never thought that she could fill the void that Nybble had left but she has, I think of Nybble every day and miss her but believe me you will stop comparing and start to appreciate the similarities and subtle differences and love them equally.
I started a thread when we first got Honey I think it was titled lets be honest, and it was about how you felt about your pup it made very interesting reading how different people felt.
Like you we had got Honey quite soon after losing Nybble so my perspective was different to many others.
wishing you and Scout many happy years.

also remember that you are comparing a pup to a mature dog that has lived withyou for many years. I remember when we lost Jake(our first golden) ithought that Beau was completly without personality-I could not have been more wrong !! congratulations on your new dog and may you have many many happy years together.

Eventually, you'll stop the comparisons. The new pup will develop funny quirks of his own, your family will develop new routines with him, and your heartbreak will dull enough that you can remember Hunter without the tearful wistfulness. You won't even realize it when you stop comparing the two, but that will be the time you've taken Scout fully into your heart.

Annie,

We are going through the exact same thing. We lost our Riker at 13 on Valentines day and got Riley about 5 weeks later. I think it is natural to compare and we do it all the time. Riley brings back a lot of fond memories of Riker. We do know he is different and we are just starting to have a strong bond. It takes time and it is not instant. We have been spending a lot of time together and we let him sleep on the end of the bed to help with him being a part of the pack. Grrrr....he just unplugged the TIVO with his tail.

Good Luck !

Thank you so much for all your great advice. It helps to hear from others that have gone through similar situations and grown to love their new dog. I think the point about comparing my well-trained (and couch potato!) 7 year old dog with an energetic, sometimes naughty, puppy is part of it too. Sometimes when he looks at me with his sweet face I get a glimpse of the dog he will be someday.

I also think that part of it has to do with the fact that we have a 15 month old son and when we got Hunter as a puppy we didn't have kids and he was my fur-baby. I hope that Scout can become as big a part of our family as Hunter was. My son's face already lights up everytime he sees Scout so I know when they are both older (and both better behaved!) they will hopefully be the best of friends and that I am giving my son an amazing gift of growing up with a dog and the wonderful love and companionship that they offer.