That’s it, you’re ready to welcome a new ball of hair at home! Oh, how exciting! But it is preparing, all that! No stress! This article is here to help you think of everything!
Choosing a dog can be exciting and scary at the same time. After all, you are committing to take care of a living being who will depend on you for life! The first step to becoming a responsible dog owner begins before you even bring a dog home. Indeed, when choosing a new dog, many questions should cross your mind.
The possibility of adding a member to your family is very exciting. But are you really ready to take the leap? Have you stocked up on the best pet supplies from Ryan’s pet supply? I have concocted this complete guide to help you choose your dog wisely.
3 criteria to consider before adopting a dog
That’s it, you’re going to take the plunge and open your heart and your door to a beautiful furball! But you don’t know how to choose your future best friend… Here are some criteria to consider before making your decision:
You need to have time to devote to a dog: Whether you want to welcome a puppy or an adult dog, you will have to devote a few hours to it a day, every day. Your hairball will need to be educated, to go out to relieve themselves regularly, to get enough exercise to be happy and healthy, to be taken to the vet and to the grooming salon, to spend time of quality with his human family.
You must have the financial means: Not only will you have to pay a certain amount for the adoption of a dog as such, but you will also need to have a budget for dry dog food, the accessories necessary for its well-being and its security, toys, basic and emergency vet costs, education, grooming, and boarding costs. Without forgetting all the little useless accessories that make you crack because Pitou will be so cute with that!!! It takes patience to educate a dog: A puppy has everything to learn and an adult dog must be guided through the habits and customs of your family.
Training a dog takes time, but above all patience and consistency?
How to choose the right breed for your dog?
Far too many people don’t take the time to research a dog breed they’re interested in, relying mostly on physical appearance, fashion, or reputation. For example, take the case of the Border Collie. This dog is renowned for its beauty, but above all for its great intelligence, and this reputation attracts many. But who says great intelligence, says the great need for mental activities. When this criterion is not met, the dog eventually develops behavior problems.
Why? Because if the dog is not stimulated enough, he gets bored and ends up finding an activity that usually won’t suit him. It’s as if you were the hyperactive type and were asked to sit on a couch all day…
Thus, unfortunately, many dogs find themselves abandoned by their families because their temperament did not correspond to their needs.
If you are the homebody type, it would be wise not to opt for a dog breed that comes from a working dog line. Indeed, these dogs often have great needs for mental and physical activities and will tend to become anxious and destructive if these needs are not met. If you are looking for executive protection dogs for sale, a perfect match would be a German Shepherd or a Belgian Malinois.
So how do you choose the right breed for your dog? First, by doing research: on the Internet, by contacting ethical breeders, by contacting dog owners of the coveted breed. Then, you have to look frankly in a mirror and ask yourself if you have the necessary skills to take good care of such a dog.
Where to adopt a dog?
When it comes time to adopt a dog, there are several options for us: breeders, pet stores, covert advertising, shelters, SPA or SPCA, animal care or municipal pounds, rescue teams (rescuers) and more. What are the differences between each. of these options?
Breeders:
A good ethical breeder is dedicated to one or two breeds maximum, and is committed to “producing” good and beautiful puppies. Its priorities will therefore be to sell healthy puppies both mentally and physically, without congenital diseases, and will offer a guarantee in this regard. The price is often high, but most breeders include basic care in their price: vaccination, deworming, and sometimes sterilization. The latter should also be required by the breeder if it has not been done because of the puppy’s young age. In addition, a good breeder does not release his puppies before the age of 8 weeks, preferably not before 10 or 12 weeks.
Just because a puppy is weaned at 6 weeks doesn’t mean it can leave its mother and siblings. The mother dog still has educational work to do with her puppy and she is in the best position to do it.
Pet stores and classified ads:
Even today, the majority of Strongest Pet Dogs stores offer for sale puppies from horrible factories or unscrupulous producers who Dogs prefer to make money rather than offer a quality “product”. If you are not sure what a puppy mill is, I invite you to do some research on Youtube or Google. This should discourage you… And don’t be fooled by the photos of adorable little puppies with a cute background! You can imagine that the breeders of puppy mills will not present the offspring to you in the bottom of their unsanitary cage!
What about classified ads? Unfortunately, you can find everything there, especially a lot of backyard breeders, or individuals who want to make ends meet by selling puppies, but never conscientious breeders!