Seven year old Standard Male Poodle

Question
I have the possibility of adopting a 7 year old standard poodle from a breeder.  My questions are as follows: 1.  I have a 4 year old female boxer.  How do I bring him into the home with out cause a whole lot of commotion?  2. Is 7 years old too old to neuter? 3.  Is this dog too old for me to take?  Txs

Answer
I have placed many older dogs.

When you bring him home, have your bitch put away and put the poodle in a crate and let them meet through the crate door. Play musical dogs for awhile until she appears to have no further interest in him, and then let him out with her. (This could be only a matter of hours, or a day or two, depending on your dog.)  You could also have them meet elsewhere first on neutral territory, like a park or something.

No, seven is not too old to neuter. I have placed dogs older than that and they were just fine once they adapted to the new home. What I do with mine is make three home visits with them first and then leave them on that third visit if things are going well. This way the dog does not feel totally abandoned, has met the new family a few times, and has been able to explore the house and yard a bit first.

Here is an article I wrote on rehoming: http://members.aol.com/mrbritmor/rehoming.html  It is from a schnauzer standpoint, but dogs are dogs in the end.

Karen