RecipeTin Eats founder Nagi adopts new canine companion

Nagi Maehashi, the founder of RecipeTin Eats, has hired her new "chief taste tester", a golden retriever named Jaffle.

Earlier this year Maehashi announced the passing of her beloved golden retriever Dozer, a fixture of the RecipeTin Eats brand and a devoted companion to its founder.

In a blog post on her website Maehashi says she didn't expect to get a new dog so soon after losing Dozer.

The best-selling cookbook author says she recently learned that a canine friend of Dozer's had fallen pregnant and that one of the puppies, a "chunky chunderbum of a boy destined to be big and gold" had stolen her heart.

"Just like Dozer," Maehashi wrote.

"I picked him up 48 hours ago and he's already managed to completely wrap me around his chunky little paw. No surprises there."

In February, Maehashi announced that she was taking time away from the spotlight to spend time with Dozer in his final days.

He featured across her website and cookbooks, and would taste test Maehashi's kitchen creations.

Maehashi said she missed Dozer every day, but rather than replacing him, "I'd much rather think of this as passing the baton to the next generation."

She says training has already begun, including the important lesson not to steal food from the pantry or off the counter.

"I am very happy to report that Jaffle is showing great promise for his future role as Chief Taste Tester of RecipeTin," she wrote, indicating Jaffle's early passion for cheese and distaste for kale.

When is the right time to get a dog after losing one?

Sajee Wijesena is a counsellor who works with clients on grief and loss, including pet loss, based in Bundaberg/home of the Taribelang people in regional Queensland.

She says while there is no right or wrong time to get another dog after losing one, there are signs you might be ready.

Ms Wijesena has also experienced the heartbreaking loss of dogs in the past.

For her, inviting another animal into her life shortly after a loss was helpful.

"I didn't want to continue in that grief. It's not that you forget about the old one [or that] … you didn't love them," she says.

"Getting another one really helped my mental state because I started bonding with the new one."

Tracey Taylor, a dog trainer and PhD candidate at The University of Adelaide's School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, says it is not just our emotional state we need to check in with before welcoming another pet.

"If we're lucky we get to live many, but never enough, years with our dogs," she says.

"It could be more than a decade between bringing a new dog into your life. In that time so much about our lives may have changed."

Ms Taylor says we will be older, possibly have additional responsibilities such as children, different jobs and income, and new living arrangements. 

All of those factors can come into play when thinking about what we can commit to.

Ms Taylor says being realistic is important because "every dog is a study of one".

"Sometimes it can be small things that you don't expect, like they are taller and can reach the kitchen bench, something you didn't have to think about with your previous dog," she says.

Ms Wijesena suggests people ask themselves how getting a dog will benefit them and what could be some potential disadvantages.

She says writing a list of pros and cons can help.

Ms Taylor lost her dog Gypsy two years ago and says she's still not ready to bring a new dog into the family.

"The grief after losing her was completely overwhelming. She is missed every single day," she says.