This post is going to be a little longer than usual, but it’s important information for those of you considering getting dog during this holiday season. I am going to have more posts dedicated to this topic, which will go into more detail but I want to make sure that when considering getting a dog, you’re truly ready for the years of commitments and expenses that come with it. Unfortunately, a lot of dogs are surrendered to shelters this time of year due to being given as presents to people who weren’t ready. Then there are the people who give up their senior dogs to “make room” for a new puppy.

Be Ready For Training

If you’re considering adding a new dog to your family, make sure you are ready for the commitment of training. Unfortunately, some people don’t fully take this into consideration when getting a new dog or especially a puppy. There’s so much work that goes into training a puppy. People often neglect to train correctly which results in a lot of unresolved bad behavior from the dog. This can lead to accidents in the house, unwanted chewing, and unwanted nipping or biting for attention. 

Training is not an overnight process, and “my dog is still a puppy” is absolutely not an excuse for them to not be trained. Training starts from the first day you get the dog and doesn’t ever stop. When you get a dog, you now take on the responsibility for teaching your dog the opposite of right and wrong. They won’t see a difference until you show them. 

I have seen dogs being given up and put into shelters. Simply because their owners didn’t take enough time to train them as a puppy, and now the dog is older and the behaviors have gotten worse with age.

As winter approaches in these upcoming months, be mindful of how training will be. Potty training will take place in the freezing cold mornings, afternoons and evenings. Alongside side other training that may have to occur in the snow outside, depending on where you live. 

Long Term Commitment 

Most dogs have a life expectancy of anywhere from 8-10 years, this is a very long time to care for your pet. Puppies don’t stay puppies forever. Your puppy will eventually become a senior dog, which will require extra love and care. As the dog becomes older, there tends to be more medical costs as well. While you may not be thinking ahead 10 years from now, it is something to keep in mind. 

One other thing to keep into consideration is children. While you may not have kids at the moment, if you plan to within the life span of owning the dog, you’ll want to make sure the dog you get does well around children. If you’re getting a puppy, exposing them to children from the beginning is a great way to get the dog used to being around them.

It absolutely breaks my heart to see these poor senior dogs who once had a loving home for years, be surrendered into a shelter to live out their last couple years, because the owners grew tired of them, or simply didn’t want to care for them any longer.

Extra Expenses

Between vet bills, buying quality food, leashes, toys, bed and other supplies. A dog is very expensive commitment.  There can be times where a medical emergency may come up that you weren’t expecting. As I mentioned before, these expenses are a long term thing. Make sure you have the financial stability to be able to provide for your dog. Whether they are a puppy or a senior dog, anything can happen. 

Losing Your Freedom To Get Up And Go Anywhere

Having a dog means that you now have a commitment to make sure your dog is a first priority over your own. This means, that before you can just get up and leave the house. Have a plan to be back in time or have someone you trust let them out while you are away. 

Your ability to just go on a quick trip or vacation without any worry will now be a thing of the past because you either need to take the dog with you, or make accommodations for them to stay with someone while you’re away. If you work all day, you may need to get a dog walker to come in once or twice a day to come in and walk your dog. Anything you do now will revolve around the puppy or dog. These things also fall into the “extra expenses” category because you will need to pay someone to help or pay for boarding.

Knowing Your Breed

I feel this needs to be mentioned because recently I’ve seen two stories of dogs being given back to the shelter simply because of their breed. One dog was happily living in her new home until the owners did a DNA test on her and found out she was 25% Staffordshire Terrier. The owner was apprehensive over that knowledge and gave them away, even though the dog was a complete sweetheart. 

Another dog was adopted out, and then returned because the owner claimed the dog was sniffing too much on walks. The dog was a hound mix, which are known for their sense of smell. While this is a major characteristic of the breed, sniffing on walks and pulling on a leash can 100% be corrected! With some proper training the dog could be just fine. 

Some people will get dogs that are a little difficult to work with, and that are classified as working dogs. Malinois, shepherds, huskies, Australian shepherds, etc, these dogs are bred to have a job, and are highly intelligent. They’re very cute, but if you do not know the actual breeds and their behaviors, and are not willing to work with and most importantly EXERCISE THEM, they are not the dog for you. Not properly training these dogs, and not exercising them enough will absolutely result in unwanted behavior.

One more, if you are planning on getting ANY kind of doodle, make sure you are ready and have the resources to exercise them. Doodles are very popular right now, but they are a lot of work and extremely energetic dogs that require a lot of exercise and stimulation. Unless you have a lot of experience with dogs and high energy breeds, I highly suggest you enlist the help of a professional trainer to help properly train them. 

Working From Home With A New Puppy

If you’re like the millions of other people working from home right now and considering getting a puppy, I just want to point out a few things. Some companies may have a lot of zoom meetings throughout the day that take up a few hours, please make sure you can plan your day around taking the dog out. If you’re potty training a puppy, make sure you have enough time for the frequent bathroom trips. 

Also, make sure that you have time for exercise and play time, you’ll want to tire the dog out as much as you can. A tired dog is a happy dog, and is also less likely to cause trouble while you’re working. Puppies have tendencies to be very loud, so if you are on phone calls a lot or as I said previously, zoom meetings, make sure you take this into consideration. Consider your long term plan for the dog in the event you do go back to work.

When all is said and done, please make sure that you have considered all of the work that goes into owning a dog. If you’re getting a puppy for your kids as a present, please understand that you will most likely be the one caring for the dog. This means it will take up most of your time and you will be the one taking on the training. 

It deeply saddens me seeing dogs ending up in shelters or given away because of things that could’ve been prevented in the first place. Make sure you are planning on adopting a forever dog and not just and until dog. 

Stay safe and Happy Adopting!!