Puppies are adorable. Many people fall in love with them easily. But adopting a puppy is a big commitment. Oftentimes, especially around the holidays, kids beg their parents for cute puppies as gifts.
What parent can say no to their kid when they’re begging for a cute little puppy. They don’t realize what a big decision getting a dog is until it’s too late. 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?
The first thing to consider when adopting a puppy is your lifestyle. Are you hardly home? Are you single, married? Do you see kids in your future? Are your children of a mature age if you do have any? How old are you? Are you someone who’s gone most of the day, like say more than 4 hours at a time?
If you’re someone that’s hardly home, that doesn’t necessarily bar you from adopting a puppy. What it does mean is that you’ll need to hire a dog sitter.
Since puppies have lots of energy, you’ll have to find someone who is going to play catch or frisbee with him. Considering the breed you plan to adopt is critical. 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? Have your kids been pestering you for months now and you’re finally worn down and feel you have to give in? Those are not necessarily good grounds for adopting 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 major responsibility. It takes a lot of patience and time. Training an adopted puppy requires patience. When training a puppy there’s bound to be accidents. 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 patience, you’ll have to teach him to socialize with other dogs.
Do you work long hours? Do you hate to be bothered once you come home? To thine own self be true. 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. Just like kids need to socialize with their peers beginning in nursery and kindergarten, so do puppies. This kind of socialization will provide mental and physical stimulation.
Puppies love to test their dominance with each other. Roughing each other up for them is considered great exercise and fun! Do you like to exercise yourself? Can you see yourself going to the park and playing frisbee with your adopted puppy? Are you lazy? Again, to thine own self be true!
Have You Owned a Dog Before
I remember when I so badly wanted my dog Lily, I was lonely. 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. Not. I must have spent over ,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 cramped space, you and your dog could be at each other’s throat. 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!
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