Doggy Mentor

Posts Tagged ‘adopting a puppy’

Puppies are adorable. I easily fall in love with them.  But adopting a puppy is a big commitment. Oftentimes, especially around the holidays, kids beg their parents for cute puppies as gifts.

Usually the parents agree to buy them a pup.  They then realize what a huge commitment adopting a puppy really is.  So what usually happens 2 months down the road?  The puppy ends up abandoned or put in a shelter.  If you’re thinking about adopting a puppy, you’d better be prepared to ask yourself some serious questions.

Is Your Lifestyle Compatible With Your Puppy?

Before adopting a puppy you have to consider your lifestyle pace. Are you hardly home? Are you single, married?  Do you see kids in your future?  If so, what age are your children? How old are you?  Do you have a job that keeps you away most hours of the day?

If you’re someone that’s seldom home, that doesn’t necessarily preclude you from adopting a puppy. What it does mean is that you’ll have to hire a pet sitter.

You’ll need to find someone who is willing to play games with your puppy and keep him occuppied. An important aspect of puppy adoption is breed. Like people, dogs have distinct personalities that go along with their breed.

Would you prefer a female or a male puppy?  Another question to ask yourself is what is your motive for adopting a puppy? Is it because you’re lonely?  Is it because your kids think she’s cute and cuddly?  Think twice because those are bad reasons for adoping a puppy! There’s lots more to think about than how cute and cuddly the puppy is.

Do You Have the Time and Patience For Adopting a Puppy

Puppies are just little kids. Adopting a puppy is a huge responsibility. It takes lots of love and tons of patience. When training a puppy there’s no room for impatience at all.  Training a dog is trial and error.  For instance, when crate training or housebreaking your dog, she may pee on the bed.

Unfortunately, if your temperment is such that you get angry and are likely to scream or kick your dog, then forget about adopting a puppy.  In addition to lots of patience, you’ll need to spend lots of time with your puppy.

What is your work schedule like?  Are you the type that likes to come home from work, close your door and not be bothered?  It’s better to be honest with yourself about who you really are. No sense making the puppy suffer because you didn’t self reflect before going to the dog pound or breeder. 

Can You Provide the Mental and Physical Stimulation a Puppy Needs

This goes back to whether you have the time and patience that goes along with adopting a puppy.  Dogs need to socialize with other dogs. This kind of socialization will provide mental and physical stimulation.

Puppies love to play fight with each other.  Dogs love to play fight with each other to test their prowess!  Do you like to exercise yourself? Can you see yourself going to the park and playing frisbee with your adopted puppy? Or are you a coach potato?  Again, to thine own self be true!

Have You Owned a Dog Before

I remember when I first thought about adopting a puppy.  I actually hadn’t given it much thought.  So I went to North Shore Animal League and got my first puppy. She was 11 weeks old.  I thought adopting a puppy was going to be easy sailing. Boy, was I wrong. I must have spent over $2,000 in the first few months in vet bills.

Then, I had to learn that dogs, like people, have personalities. You have to know the breed you’re getting so that you can understand their temperment and decide if it’s a match for your personality. Luckily for me, Lily was the perfect match.

Still, that didn’t solve the dog training problems I had. 

Is Your Home or Apartment Big Enough

If you live in a tiny studio and you have a hyperactive dog or a large breed dog, this will not be conducive to your relationship. Again, having a dog is like being in a relationship! Each person needs their space. 

To Mix or Not to Mix?

Okay. I have issues with people labeling mixed breeds as “mutts.” As if somehow “purebred” dogs are better quality dogs. Not so! Still, supposedly they say if you get a pure breed, you’re less likely to have problems. Nonsense.

What I will say is that a “pure breed” puppy will have both mental and physical traits that are unique to its particular breed.  Whereas, if you have a mixed breed, you’re unlikely to know which character traits it will have. 

In the end, a dog’s personality depends on the environment in which it was raised.  Where does the puppy come from? You need to know the answer to this as well.

Where Does the Puppy Come from

Last, but not least, where are you adopting a puppy from?  Are you getting her from a shelter?  Are you getting her from a breeder?  Again, some people think adopting a puppy from a breeder is better than adopting one from a shelter. 

But some breeders are inept. They also may train them to have poor habits. Some breeders are known to have unsanitary housing conditions.

On the other hand, lots of shelter dogs are very healthy and well adjusted.  They may have come from homes that were loving and well trained.  The only reason why they ended up in a shelter was perhaps because they weren’t able to afford the pet anymore, or, they could have moved to a place where pets weren’t allowed. 

In conclusion, before adopting a puppy, avoid making the 7 biggest mistakes most would-be dog owners make and later regret!

One of the best ways to get a puppy for free is to go to a puppy adoption center and adopt a puppy.Not only will you get a dog for free if you adopt a puppy from the puppy adoption center, you also help some poor little fellow find a home. Just think of how happy that little beagle will be if you take it out of the beagle puppy adoption center and bring it home. 

Although adopting a puppy is a good idea, you should be extra careful when it comes to selecting puppies at the puppy adoption center. Bear in mind that most dogs that are rescued have gone through a lot of bad experiences in the past which made then wary about trusting people, especially strangers like you. Since most of these puppies have not really been treated well in the past, many of these are sick and may need a lot of medical attention. To make sure that you get the right puppy from the puppy adoption center, here are some things that you need to do before you decide to bring the puppy home.

Check The Puppy's Medical Record

Before you decide to adopt a puppy, ask for medical records of that puppy first. Most puppy adoption centers keep medical records of the puppies that they have rescued. Just ask the puppy adoption center records officer for the records of the puppy that you want to adopt so that you can study it thoroughly. You may also ask the veterinarian who examined the puppy about the condition of the puppy. Know everything there is to know about the medical condition of the puppy before you bring it home. You don’t want to be caught off guard when it comes to your pet’s health.

Test The Temperament Of The Puppy

Some puppies are grumpy and some are not. If you don't want to be stuck with a little dog with an attitude, you better give the little fellow a temperament test before you decide to bring it home. For instance, you can roll the puppy on its back and rub its tummy to determine if the puppy likes to be touched. Another way to test the temperament of the puppy is to play with the puppy's ears. Tug and squeeze the ears a little but do not hurt the puppy. If the puppy growls when you try to play with its ears, you would be better off if you just leave the little fellow at the puppy adoption center.

For more about puppies please visit www.puppycareblog.com