An answer for Sarah

Besides weeding out the often illiterate and/or the spam sort of posts, comment moderation is also handy when somebody leaves a comment on an old post.  The commenter actually had such a good point that I'm going to post it here with my answer
"Hi Janet, I'm adopting a retired breeder (she's 8) and I'm wondering if you know of any resources for senior dogs such as how to start an exercise regime, weight loss program, etc. I currently have a 2 year old cairn terrier and I'm just looking for some reading to make the transition from a single dog house to a two dog house. Thanks, Sarah "
Well Sarah .... coming out of the gate its important to note that every "retired breeder" is as different as the circumstances she spent the last eight years in.  For instance ... some bitches spend their breeding years in a kennel vice living in a home.   Many retriever breeds from good breeders are used to a high level of activity if they come from field lines ... because of course the value of their pups is directly linked to the parents accomplishments in the field trial world.
From the sounds of your comment that might not be the case here :)

• Our very own SPCA here in Nova Scotia has developed an awesome collection of Educational Material that includes ( but is not limited to ) a wonderful Dog Training Guide, another one on how to introduce your dog to new dogs
• All the Best Friends Dog Resources have now been sorted into a manual called the ABC's of Dog Life 
• The Senior Dog Project is a great resource for health issues for senior dogs .... if you scroll down the front door there is a veritable potpourri of anything and everything there 
• there is a pretty neat FAQ on geriatric health issues for dogs here

A couple of things that I've found from personal experience:

• two dogs have more fun than an only dog ... and once they are settled in together your younger dog could help with the weight loss just by playing
• if your new pal eats too quickly, you can slow a bit by using one of the stainless dishes that have a rim and inverting it so they have to work a bit harder at it.
• two dogs with different nutritional needs can't have their food left down so at least its easier to manage quantities
• Oops.. what I meant to say was that my my vet says that any dog over five should NOT be eating any food or snacks with wheat and perhaps its just me but I've found it makes a difference

In this house anyway, liver makes the world go round.  Liver cookies, liver brownies, roasted strips of liver or you can always buy dehydrated liver.  I'm not a professional dog trainer but I'm telling you right now my kids will do anything for liver :)
And last but not least, if love and liver cookies doesn't do the trick, we have a few wonderful pawsitive dog trainers here in NS who could get all paws on the right path!
Good luck!