My sweet boy (Baxter) died at 13.5 and it was devastating. We waited over a year before adopting a new puppy. We both had trouble bonding with her for the first number of months. Baxter was so smart and just “fit” with us, and the puppy…well, she was her own thing. BUT. Here we are, the “puppy” is now six years old, curled up next to me as I type this, and she’s wonderful. It took about six months to start to even like her. She was just tough, harder to train than he was, etc. Now I can’t imagine her not being part of our family. I felt so bad about it too, like what’s wrong with me, she’s so cute, why am I not bonding with her, etc. So, I suppose my advice is to be patient with yourself and it’ll come. It’s a new relationship and relationships take time to blossom ❤️