As National Puppy Day rolls every year people post a lot of adorable cut puppy photos on social media. Every year people see those and want a puppy. Same at Christmas and again at Easter. Before you jump into the whole gotta get a puppy—or even a dog —thing ask yourself some key questions.
Do I have time?
Having a puppy truly is like having a newborn. It’s a lot of work. You have to be super attentive and work with them. You can’t just crate them and leave for a day or so. Lots of feeding, playing, training and care. If you don’t have large blocks of time at the beginning then skip the puppy stage. There are plenty of dogs waiting to be adopted that are older than a new puppy.
Do I have Patience?
Let face it as newborns grow they crawl around and then run around and mess things up, poop, eat stuff—you get the idea. Working with a new dog takes some time and of course patience. Training the dog will test your patience. Even going to puppy classes and working with a certified trainer you still will need patience.
What Kind of Dog Should I get?
Look at the various breeds and study what their key characteristics are. If you have children you’ll want a breed that is good around kids. Have lots of steps in your house? Maybe a little larger dog that can traverse the steps. Getting a rescue dog that is a mixed breed sometimes gives to you the best of many options available.
Dogs aren’t cheap. You have to feed them, get them toys, leashes, beds. You have to have annual visits to the vet for shots and tests. You also have to think through where the dog willgo or who will take care of the dog if you travel and cannot take them along.
So yes, dogs take a lot of time, patience and resources but they are worth it in the end. You just have to go into it with all of this in mind. After all dogs are family too.