What Factors Should I Consider Before I Decide to Get a Dog?
Having a dog is a lot like adding a child to the family,
when we first consider the idea we tend to think about the companionship, the
love, the nurturing and forget that there are some very real consequences like
time, cost, inconvenience and having responsibility for another living being.
Time
There’s
no question that dogs and puppies, especially when we first get them, take a
lot of time and attention. Even a new adult
dog will likely need more attention and time from you as they acclimate to
their new surroundings and you begin training them. Puppies will obviously need lots of time and
attention as they learn to be house trained and learn basic obedience and older
dogs may need time to develop a bond with you and un-learn some bad habits.
Even
as a dog gets older, there is still a significant time commitment to satisfy
your dog’s basic needs for health and wellbeing, and your geriatric dog (as
with a new puppy) needs more time and attention than a dog during their middle
years.
Cost
Along
with the obvious costs for food and preventive medical care you will also want
to factor into your thinking costs associated with training, day care,
kenneling, grooming, supplies as well as those non-routine medical expenses
that always manage to come up. Here is
an estimation of the average cost of owning a HEALTHY dog. Remember no one ever expects their new dog to
NOT be healthy, but some are and even your healthy puppy can get sick, so
understanding your baseline costs also means understanding that extraordinary
circumstances can (and often do) occur.
A new puppy (even one from a reputable breeder) can come with parasites
or get common infectious diseases, a rescued dog may have unknown health
issues, need more training or have behavioral issues that require expert help and
any dog can have an accident that requires medical attention. Also, don’t forget as your dog ages there
will be additional medical expenses associated with getting older.
These days we have the option of purchasing health insurance
for our pets. This is a must have! http://www.petmd.com/centers/insurance
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Yearly Expense
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Type of Expense
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Food and Treats
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250 - 700
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Toys
|
25 - 150
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Beds
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50 - 200
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Leashes and
Collars
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20 - 50
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Grooming
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30 - 500
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Routine
Veterinary Care (healthy dog)
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600 - 1100
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Preventive
Medications and Supplements
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100 - 300
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Training Classes
or Resources
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25 - 600
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Pet sitters or
Boarding
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100 - 300
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Yearly
Total
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$1500-3900
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Average Monthly Cost of Owning a Dog
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$100-300
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|
The AKC has their own cost estimates that you might also
want to check out as well. http://www.akc.org/content/dog-care/articles/cost-to-raise-dog/
Fit with your
lifestyle
This
is also an important consideration, not only for picking out a new dog but to consider
if getting a dog is right for you. If
everyone in your family works, and there is no one home for 8-10 hours each day
or you travel a lot or you have a busy family with many activities that are not
dog friendly, you may want to consider an alternative pet, like a cat, guinea
pig or fish. Dogs are pack animals and
need lots of daily interaction and being left alone for long periods of time
can be detrimental to their health and wellbeing. If you are set on getting a dog, you may want
to consider being a volunteer for a local shelter or service dog organization
that look for people to take their dogs on weekends. This is also a good way to ‘try out’ having a
dog before you make the commitment.
If you think your lifestyle is compatible with having a dog,
considering how that dog will fit into your life will help you choose the right
type of dog, there’s more on that topic later in this article.
Family Rules and
Expectations
Individuals
in your family may have different ideas of what having a dog means. Some may think nothing of inviting the dog up
onto the furniture, while others in the same family may believe all dogs should
be floor bound. These types of disparate
viewpoints should be fully discussed before you bring a dog in to a household.
One common misconception parents
may have is the belief that their young children can be fully responsible for a
new puppy or that having to take care of an animal will teach their children
responsibility. The reality is that
children really can’t shoulder the entire burden of dog ownership and the
bottom line is the one that will suffer if we leave it entirely to our children
is the dog.
The
fact is, that these types of beliefs or conflicts in beliefs can result in
confusion for the dog and/or major conflicts within a family, ultimately resulting
in the dog being re-homed or harmed.
A
discussion of what it means to have a dog, from where it’s going to sleep, what
rooms it is and is not allowed in and what the house rules will be is essential
to create a successful foundation for your new addition.
Division of Labor
Now
let’s talk about who is going to do what?
Dogs, like babies and small children can’t do for themselves, and having
an open honest discussion with the whole family about who’s going to be
responsible for the dog, including; daily walks/exercise (hourly outdoor trips
for new puppies), training, feeding, keeping the water bowl filled with fresh
water, going to the vet, brushing the dog or taking it to the groomer. Be honest about how much time you have in
your current schedule and factor up the time you THINK the dog will need by
about 50% because especially in the beginning, until your skills and habits are
formed it will probably take longer than you think! Make sure all the parties in the discussion
actually agree and are on board before you agree to get a dog!
A
note on kids and dogs and responsibility.
These days our kids tend to be involved in lots of extra-curricular
activities, which means their time is as limited as their parent’s time. This and the fact that kids generally are not
mature enough to truly take responsibility for another living being means that
the notion of children under the age of 18 (or even 25 sometimes J) taking FULL
responsibility for a dog is often a fallacy.
Yes, they can help, small children can be given specific chores like
making sure the dog has fresh water in their bowl, and with sufficient
oversight (lack of water can lead to death in dogs!) this can work. Being realistic about your kid’s ability,
availability and commitment and making sure there is a backstop (i.e. parental
supervision and availability) is the key to success. When it comes to training, be aware that
children typically don’t have the hand/eye coordination or understanding of the
concepts to accomplish basic training and can often un-train your dog faster
than you can train it!
Support Staff
Before
you bring a dog or new puppy home, you should have a complete list of
resources, including recommendations, phone numbers, and locations for the
following professionals.
-
Veterinarians – have an appointment made for
your new dog/puppy within 72 hours of the dog coming home.
-
Trainers – many good trainers have limited
availability (particularly during busy seasons) so contact them before the
puppy comes home to find out what their programs are, and what their
availability is.
-
Walkers/Doggy Day Care – again, the good ones
are in short supply, if you are planning to use dog walkers or doggy day care,
contact these people before you get your dog to understand their availability,
age restrictions and vaccination requirements.
-
Groomers – If you are thinking about getting a
dog that needs to be regularly groomed, talk to your friends and neighbors
about who they use, visit their facility to check them out.
-
Kennels – At some point your dog is probably
going to need to be kenneled, don’t wait, check them out ahead of time and be
sure to make reservations for busy times (think school vacation) well in
advance. BTW young puppies (under 6
months) are typically not accepted in kennels, so alternative arrangements will
be necessary.
Realistic Expectations
Having
realistic expectations about getting a dog is key to your success. Very few if any dog come pre-trained, even
ones from fancy breeders who claim to train the puppies before sending them to
you, or older dogs that are being re-homed.
The fact is training and creating a bond with your puppy or newly
acquired older dog is a process that takes time and effort. Lassie wasn’t born
that way!
Puppies
need to be house trained, trained to certain cues (aka commands) so that you
have a way to manage them, exercised, socialized and played with. Adolescent dogs, which is the majority of
rescued dogs, often need even more training (even if they are house trained)
than puppies, because they often come with undesirable behaviors they’ve
already learned that now need to be modified.
Also, adolescence is the time dogs most need lots of exercise. Even older (senior) dogs will need time and
attention so that you develop a bond with them.
Are you ready? Here
are a couple of on line quizzes you can take that may add some additional
insights.
OK, I know I want to get a dog, what kind of dog should I get?
Pure Bred vs Mixed
Breed
Pure
bred dogs are available as puppies, through breed rescues and some breeders
even place older dogs that they no longer need.
Pure bred dogs may have certain behavioral predispositions based on what
they were bred for which may make them more predictable in terms of what you
are getting. For instance, hounds are
often bred for using their nose or eyes to track game (beagles, blood hounds,
greyhounds) so by and large people believe that hounds tend to have a stronger scenting
tendencies than other dogs. Herders are
bred to herd or guard flocks and often that breeding comes with specific
behaviors that may or may not be desirable to you, like a stronger prey drive. All that said, each dog is an individual and
breed generalizations may help us to narrow our search but aren’t necessarily a
good predictor of behavior for a specific individual puppy or dog.
Many
people believe mixed breed dogs are healthier as they are created from a mixed
gene pool and to some extent that may be true, but also true is that many of
these dogs are the product of inferior or inbred parents, puppy mills or feral
mixes which may cause both behavioral and health issues.
No matter
whether it is a purebred puppy or a “Heinz 57” variety, you need to remember
that you are picking and individual.
Observation of the individual’s temperament, structure, response to
stimuli, surroundings and/or history may be more important than bloodlines or a sad story about what the dog has had
to endure already in life.
Puppy vs Older Dog
Puppies
are a lot of work, BUT they are a blank slate (provided they are sound to begin
with), this means you will shape the dog to be the best that it can be. There are obviously some affects from a dog’s
basic genetics, but puppy’s offer us the opportunity to create the dog that we
want.
Older
dogs may come with behaviors already instilled that need to be corrected. Many dogs are rehomed between 11months-2years
because their original owners never trained them, so they have become too much
to handle. Many can still be trained and
become good dogs, but this takes as much and sometimes more time and effort
than a young puppy.
Senior dog – some people rehome
their senior dog because they can’t afford the pet bills, these dogs can be
some of the best dogs as they have often lived a good life, often are relaxed
and their only ‘crime’ is they are old and need medical care.
What Type (breed)
of Dog
OK,
let’s talk breed matching. When you have
decided whether you are going to target a purebred dog vs a mixed breed, and
then decided on a puppy vs. an older dog, now let’s narrow the search down a
bit more and decide which characteristics you want in a dog. Yes, we can and
will use breed as a guideline but remember there are plenty of individual dogs
out there who don’t act anything like their breed descriptions, so once you
narrow your search to a particular breed or group of breeds, and you begin
visiting breeders or shelters then you must focus on the individual dog.
There
are lots of breed selector tools on line.
I’ve filled many of them out and gotten so many different answers that
even I was confused as to how they were picking a breed for me. The one good thing I will say about them is
often they work to educate people on what types of dogs are actually out there.
One caveat is, rare breed dogs, (those that are hard to come by) are typically
not popular for a reason! If you want to
get something that no one else has, be sure you know what you are getting
into! Also, just because you neighbor or
friend has a great XXXX breed of dog, doesn’t mean every dog of that breed is
going to look or act like it! Have I
said you need to look to the individual dog yet?
Most of the breed selectors are
going to try and match your lifestyle with the dogs that will fit that
lifestyle the best, but some look at ‘looks’ – which in my humble opinion
should be the LAST thing you consider.
Be warned, these tools are a starting place, once you fill them in you
may get a short list of breeds to look at but don’t rule anything out!
Here
is a listing of some of the breed selector quizzes available:
Now
that you have a few breeds on your list, look them up, call breeders, ask
friends who have that breed, go to a dog show and see them and ask the people
who own them what they are like. In
other words, do some research and really get to know what you are getting into,
the good, the bad and the ugly. When you
are researching, breeds make sure you look into their known health issues and
what tests should be done on the parent dogs to ensure their offspring are
healthy. http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/ss/slideshow-dog-breed-health-problems
By
the way, once you’ve narrowed it down to 1-2 breeds you are interested in, be
sure to keep an open mind, many people in their search for dogs find that as
they do research and see dogs and talk to people, their understanding of the
breeds and dogs in general deepens. As a
result, often what they thought they wanted doesn’t turn out to be as good a
fit as they thought it would be!
OK, I know what kind of dog to get, now how do I find the right dog?
First piece of advice is GO LOCAL! In the age of the internet you can click yes
on line to a cute dog with a well written description, only to find out it’s a
lot like a dating app, until you meet them you just don’t know what you are
getting into! Never buy or agree to take
a puppy or dog without meeting the breeder or seeing the dog first.
Regardless of whether you source your dog from a Breeder a
Rescue or someone down the street who can’t keep their dog anymore, here are a
few things to watch out for:
Breeders
-
Anyone who is trying to push their dogs on you,
the “sign and drive” types. If the
breeder isn’t interviewing you as much as you are interviewing them, be careful,
they are likely to be more interested in your money than their dogs.
-
Any breeder who offers you a dog for Christmas
or let’s their dogs go home before they are 7.5 -8 weeks old (in MA it is
illegal to let a dog go home before they are 50 days old!). Dogs that are separated too early from their
dam are at greater risk for behavioral and medical issues later in life. Breeders who specifically breed for Christmas
are generally more interested in making money than breeding good dogs.
-
The breeders who will not let you take the dog
home until it has all of its vaccinations (after 12-16 weeks). These breeders (often of small breed dogs)
may mean well and tell you it’s to keep the dog safe from disease, but are
often miss-informed or ill-informed about the socialization needs of young
puppies. For more on this topic please
read https://avsab.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Puppy_Socialization_Position_Statement_Download_-_10-3-14.pdf
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Ask for references and follow up, do internet
searches, BBB searches to look for unhappy customers. Sure, even the best breeders might have a bad
review now and then, but if there are multiple reviews with issues walk away.
-
Don’t buy from a breeder you can’t visit (unless
it is a rare breed), and be warry of breeders in the mid-west and southern
states, where puppy mills still exist!
For more on puppy mills
-
Watch out for ‘breeders’ who are really brokers,
these are people who pose as breeders but are really selling puppies obtained
from puppy mills. Often the parents are not
on site and there are many different breeds of dogs available.
Shelters/Rescue
Organizations
-
Don’t do an online rescue where you have to meet
the dog at the border of a state line, MA has strict health requirements for
rescue dogs and many organizations are skirting those requirements by having
you pick dogs up in a different state.
Here’s a list of MA approved rescue organizations
-
Pet Finder, Individuals and other non-organized
pet locators – just say no. The problem
with Pet Finder is anyone can list an animal, there are lots of legitimate
rescue organizations who use it, but you can’t tell those apart from the
individual who is just trying to dump a dog that has major behavioral issues.
-
Beware on line or shelter descriptions, like
real estate ads many descriptors can make a behavioral issue sound like an
asset. ‘Loves to cuddle’ could mean ‘is
afraid to be alone’, ‘needs a house with no other dogs’ often means the dog is
not good with ANY other dogs, ‘a little nervous’ could mean the dog has major
anxiety issues and ‘lab mix’ can mean anything!
Things to do to ensure you are dealing with good breeders
and rescue organizations.
1.
Breeders
a.
compile a list of breeders from
i. friends
ii. the AKC (American Kennel Club) – be aware that
the AKC does NOT vet their breeders, and ACK designation ONLY means that the
mother and father dog were both AKC registered, NOT that the breeder is a good
one or the breed pairing was good. Here
are some good articles on finding a good breeder http://www.akc.org/press-center/facts-stats/responsible-breeders/ http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/pets/puppy_mills/find_responsible_dog_breeder.pdf
iii. Breed
Organizations – typically available through the AKC, these are local organizations
with ties to specific breed.
iv. Veterinarians
v. Trainers
– some trainers keep records of where their clients got their dogs from and may
have an idea of good breeders in the areas.
vi. Go
to a dog show and ask about the breed and breeders in the area https://www.apps.akc.org/apps/event_calendar/
b.
CALL the breeders on your list and talk to them
about
i. How
often they breed
ii. How
many breeding females do they have
iii. how
many litters has each female have
iv. How
many dogs they have
v. What
their goals are (showing, pet dogs, health, longevity)
vi. Other
suggestions on questions to ask
c.
Go See them even BEFORE they have puppies you
might buy
i. Ask
to see where their dogs live
ii. Ask
to meet prospective parents
iii. Don’t
bring the kids – all puppies are cute, even the ones you don’t want to buy!
iv. If
they have a current batch of puppies look to see that the area is clean and
safe.
v. Ask
if they do any early neural stimulation with their puppies
2.
Rescue Organizations/Shelter
a.
Compile a list
i. Friends
and neighbors
ii. Veterinarians
iii. MA
approved rescue organizations http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/agr/animal-health/shelter-and-rescue/massachusetts-approved-shelter-and-rescue-organizations-generic.html
b.
Go visit the shelter, before you are looking for
a dog, see if it is clean and well run, talk to the people who work or volunteer
there.
c.
Leave the kids at home – even the puppies and dogs
you don’t want are going to be cute to kids, get them involved in picking the
dog up once you’ve identified which one to get.
d.
Ask the shelter where the dog’s come from, how
they got here, what their health history is, if they’ve been in a foster ask to
speak to the foster people for insights into the dog’s personality, history
and/or quirks.
e.
Ask them about their transfer process if they
are getting dogs from out of state, are the dogs brought up in vans? If so how
long are they in the van, do they stop and let them out, how often.
f.
Ask about health records, what do they get for
health records on the dogs they bring in?
How accurate are they?
3.
Breed Rescue organizations – these are rescues
that specialize in re-homing specific breeds and are more likely to have dogs
sourced locally than dogs that have been shipped from different parts of the
country The AKC has a list of breed rescues
http://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/rescue-network/contacts/
4.
Some individual breeders also rehome or sell at
a slight discount puppies that didn’t sell, older dogs they thought they wanted
to show and decided not to and retired dams. So, giving the local breeders a
call, even if you want a ‘rescue’ can’t hurt.
Be prepared to pay for these dogs, but you will know the dog’s complete
history before you take it home.
I’ve made the decision, picked out the dog and it’s coming home in 3 weeks! Now what?
Make appointments with your support staff!
1.
Veterinarian – all new dogs and puppies should
have a vet check within 72 hours of coming home
2.
Trainer – many trainers have waiting times or
classes that start on particular dates, call around find a trainer you like (go
visit their classes before you get your dog)
and get the puppy in for training within 2 weeks of the dog coming
home. It is always easier to prevent bad
behavior than it is to fix them!
3.
Dog Walker – if you are bringing home an older
dog and will need help getting the dog out, make sure to make arrangements for
that ahead of time.
4.
Kennel/Doggy Day Care/Groomers – Identify and
visit other support organizations before you need them!
Puppy Proof your Home – BEFORE the puppy comes home!
Set up your house as if the dog/puppy
is living there now, get used to the set up and make sure it works for you.
1.
Gate off areas you are not going to allow your
dog into until they are housetrained.
2.
Get a crate appropriately sized for your new
dog/puppy (ask the breeder or shelter for recommended size for puppy as well as
adult dog).
3.
If you are getting a puppy or newly rescued dog
that isn’t house trained, pick up any throw rugs or carpets in the are the
puppy is going to be, easier to prevent destruction than fix it after the fact,
while you are at it think about moving the antiques out of the puppy area as
well!
4.
Remove any furniture that you don’t want chewed
on by your new puppy or dog. It may take
a while for a dog to learn what is acceptable to chew on and what is not!
5.
Puppy proof the are the dog/puppy will spend
most of its time in. Remove anything the
dog can chew on from reachable areas, this means books from bookcases,
children’s toys, electrical cords, dangerous plants, loose pillows, decorative
items on reachable tables and shelves and TV remotes.
6.
Make sure the new dog/puppy cannot get into
cabinets that have cleaners, food or other potential dangers.
Gather your basic supplies, but don’t go overboard! You will have plenty of time to add
Here’s a list of the basics
Recommended Equipment List for New
Puppies
1.
Crate – appropriately sized for the puppy or dog
as they are now! Buying a full size
crate for a puppy can lead to issues with house training.
2.
Flat Buckle Collar for tags.
3.
ID tags, also consider having your veterinarian
‘chip’ your dog, these imbedded chips can be lifesaving for lost dogs.
4.
Puppia style soft harness for walking small
puppies.
5.
6’ Leash – Cotton
7.
10’ Lead – Cotton
8.
Dog bowls (size appropriate)
9.
Dog food recommended by breeder/rescue – you may
learn you want to change the dog food, but plan to do that 2-3 weeks AFTER the
puppy/dog comes home and has settled in.
10. Marrow
Bone or Kong toy to stuff, freeze and put in crate.
11. Bully
Sticks, Himalayan cheese chew, Nylabone or other good chew toy
12. Squeaky
toy (to use for gaining attention – not for the dog to chew on)
13. One
or two different styles of dog toys, again don’t go overboard your new puppy or
dog may prefer one type of toy over another and you need to figure out what
their preferences are before you invest a lot of money in toys.
14. Good
selection of treats – test them on your dog figure out which one’s they like
best.
Great general recommended reading
On dogs and dog behavior
https://avsab.org/resources/position-statements/
On crating http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/crate_training.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/
On puppy proofing your home
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2106&aid=3283
Hopefully, this has given you a foundation for understanding
the things you will need to consider prior to getting a new dog as well as the
steps you may want to go through to decide what kind of dog to get and how to
obtain the dog. In addition to some basic idea of how to prepare for a new dog
arrival.
Nice blog and the details about it really interesting.
ReplyDeleteI liked your blog.
boarding training
Thanks Albert.
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