So you have decided it is time for you to enter the wonderful world of dog ownership. You are not ‘sold” on a specific breed and you do know that you want a puppy. You know the downfalls of “puppy mills”. You can look to your local animal shelter for the newest doggie addition to your family. You should find out where your local shelters, rescue programs, and animal control centers are located. Plan to visit more than one. This is a decision likely to affect your family life for the next decade, so taking your time to pick the puppy is really worth the time and effort.
You must be careful when picking the shelter or center you bring home your new puppy home from. Not all shelters are created equal. If you pick a shelter that has not controlled things like “distemper” the outcome could be tragic for your family. You do not want the joy of bring home a new puppy overshadowed by the death or large veterinarian bill of the puppy. Note how clean each shelter and center is.
Do the animals appear well cared for? Is the staff committed to finding good homes for their charges? Sometimes animal rescue groups are a better choice because they keep their ‘foster” dogs in private homes The down side is you must know a breed you want in order to use rescue groups as most are dedicated to a specific breed. .
I would not take the kids on the first trip out till you narrow your choices of a potential puppy for your family. They will want to take home every “cute” puppy and let’s face it all puppies are cute. In order not to be distracted from your pet priority list leave the young ones at home, until it is time to decide on which ‘puppy’ you want. When you have narrowed down your search to a few good choices ask to interact with the puppies. Any reputable shelter or center will allow you to spend time with any animal you are planning on adopting. This is the trip to bring the kids on.
Tell the kids that you are looking at several different shelters and that the ‘decision” will not be made on the spot. Also most shelters have an ‘adoption ‘application process that can take up to two weeks to get approval on. Making your kids understand they are not going home with a “new puppy” that day can save you a lot of trouble
You should spend at least ten minutes with each puppy. Are they shy or over active? Be picky and watch your children interact with them as well. If a ‘puppy’ hides all the time from your children or overwhelms them with activity they will soon lose interest in the dog. At this point the kids input are important. If you want to avoid the hassles of potty training and leash training puppy; consider an older dog.
The shelters are over flowing these days with pets people can no longer care for. These dogs have less chance of not being put down because the lack the ‘cute ‘factor of the puppies in the shelter. If you can find a dog that is one or two years old and house broken; you may in the end have a better fit for your family. You also are no doubt saving a life.
Written by Becca1962