Questions to ask before you decide to buy a dog.
It’s pretty obvious and logical, but I thought I’d still give you some guidelines.
- Do you really want a dog?
- Can you commit to a dog?
- Does some one in your family have a dog allergy?
- Will you take responsibility for the dog? (Remember if you buy a the dog for your kids you’ll probably end up taking care of it anyway)
- Can you afford dog food, veterinary care, training (if you can’t manage by yourself) and grooming (if you don’t have time for it yourself.)
- Will you have time to exercise the dog? You can pay someone to walk it, tough it’s best to do it yourself, as it is a chance to bond with the dog.
- Will you have time to give the dog attention?
- Do you simply want a guard dog or will you love your dog? Do you have time to house train the dog?
- Do you have permission to get a dog from the corporate body (if you live in a complex)?
- Do you have enough space for a dog?
- Are you willing to live with digging in and damage to you garden? Especially for the first year.
- Will your children (wit you have any) adjust to the dog?
- Have you considered who would look after the dog when you travel?
- Will it be an inside or an outside dog?
- Have you chosen the right breed?
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Pick a puppy.
So you want a puppy. Where do you find one? With recent talk in the media of puppy mills, more people are adopting. If you want a specific breed it’s still a good option to buy a puppy, if you do so in a responsible manner. It’s better NOT to buy from pet shops. Reportedly many pet shops buy from puppy mills through dealers. At a pet shop you usually cannot see the puppy’s parents. Ideally pet shops should only be used for dog food and accessories.
If you are looking to adopt a specific breed directly from its owner, before it ends up at a rescue organization you’ll also be to look for one in the classifieds. In that way you will most likely get a dog that isn’t traumatized if you’re cautious of going the rescue route. If you do want a rescue puppy some organizations like Wet Nose and FORA have pictures an descriptions of the pets available for adoption. In that way you can look at the pets before you go there. Some of these organizations have a “no-kill” policy so if you really want to save a life the SPCA is still worth a visit. Getting a puppy is a serious decision. Remember dogs only remain puppies for a few months and when they get older you will still remain responsible for them.
Related sites:
myspca.co.za
adoptapet.co.za
< a herf=”http://www.peta.org>PETA
Picture courtesy of www.freepphoto.com
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