Choosing a Dog
When choosing a puppy or dog many things need to be taken into consideration.
- Time and Commitment – they are very sociable animals and require a large amount of time to train.
- Space & Exercise – The size of your garden needs to be considered or the amount of time you can put to exercising your dog as this will depend on what breed you choose. Different breeds have very different requirements. So choose carefully.
- Expense – it is not only the cost of buying your puppy that you need to allow for, feeding, vets bills and preventative treatments can be costly, and general care such as grooming and kennelling. These costs will be for the rest of their life the larger the dog the larger the price generally.
- Age – do you have the time to put to training a puppy or would a rescue dog or older animal be more suitable?
- Experience – some breeds of dog are far better for first time owners as these can be less demanding.
Things to also consider are
Pedigree or Crossbreed? – you can research about a pedigree dog and straight away see what the breed characteristics are. However with a crossbreed puppy you will not be able to judge and it may take a little longer to find out the dogs true character. Some diseases are linked to pedigree dogs.
What Size? – generally bigger dogs require more exercise, more space, more feeding and cost more with vets bills. Also larger breeds have a shorter life expectancy than small breeds.
What sex? – Male dogs tend to grow slightly bigger than females and can be more territorial than females which potentially can lead to behavioural problems. Bitches will come into season twice a year unless spayed. This can be messy and brings its own complications. The cost of castrating a male is cheaper than having a bitch spayed as the operation is less complicated.
What coat type? – long or short coated? Long coated breeds need more grooming and daily attention. But shorter breeds often shed hair a lot more. Some breeds require regular clipping or stripping by a professional groomer.
Puppy vs. Older Dog – puppies are fun, lively and haven’t learnt bad habits yet, it’s up to do the training for how you want them to behave. However they are often time consuming, destructive (chewing while teething) and can be messy while going through the housetraining process. Older dogs hopefully will have had the basic training and can be less messy but be cautious as to why the animal is being re-homed before you take on an older dog.
