any advice?

hi guys,

i'm moving back in 2 my parents house at d end of d month so i can start saving up some money 4 a deposit on a house. my parents hav a 13yr old pomeranian boy called brandy. he is pretty much fully deaf nd has arthritis nd over d last yr or so has become pretty narky wit any1 outside d family nd does not do well wit other animals. he will growl nd show his teeth if any1 but us goes near. he's lik a crabby old man!

my problem is... bonnie? i've had her out at d house b4 nd he was not impressed in d slightest. didn't bother me at d time bcos we were jst visiting nd bonnie was 2 busy playin wit my younger sisters 2 pay him any heed. but didn't stop him circling, snarling nd growling. any advice on how 2 introduce her better now that it's gonna b long term instead of jst visiting? or is he jst 2 old at this stage 2 change his ways?

any advice on this would b great!

I don't think he is likely to be thrilled with her but he may well tolerate her. She is unlikely to want to challenge him at all so they will almost surely manage as separate but equal pets. However you are likely going to need to manage all their interactions -- definitely for the initial weeks, and if he remains really reactive, I'd say probably permanently -- eg they will not able to be left alone together but will need to go in separate rooms.

One suggestion -- if the pom has changed this much over a year I'd have him in for a very thorough vet check. That kind of personality change tends to come from pain, and it may well be internal and not just the arthritis. An animal in a lot of discomfort will react in this way. Oldies can get grumpy but usually not such a relatively major transformation on a short timeline.

Also is he being treated for the arthritis? There are injections and painkillers as well as supplements like fishoils, glucosamine and chondroitin that can really make a difference to joint pain.

I am not really sure what to do about your situation, but I have a suggestion for the arthritis. I have a Cocker Spaniel and he is 15 years old. He was about 13 when he got arthritis and could hardly walk anymore. We seriously thought he was going to die because some days he wouldn't get up. My sister told us about Dynamite Free and Easy and he turned into a different dog. He can go up the stairs, go up steps, he's like a puppy again. Well, he is still really old, grumpy, and has skinny little legs, but I still love him to bits =)
You can buy it from here:
http://www.justamere.com/dynamite/dog.asp#Free&EasyDogs