What You Should know Prior to Adopting a Dog Part II

Do you really want a dog?

A dog can bring a lot of fun, but they are a lot of work too. Carrying out the adoption of a dog or purchasing  one means attending to their needs. This ranges from physical and mental stimulation, as well as feeding, grooming, and cleaning.

Can you provide your dog with the socialization he needs?

It is quite common for parents to behave somewhat reluctantly with respect to the care that children should have with dogs and the behavior of the pet at home. This brings reluctance that is usually reflected in the decision to keep the dog out of the house.

Some parents often have the thought, ” This is how dogs always stayed, and that’s how it should be .” In fact, dogs are more commonly kept as indoor pets than they once were. But living conditions are very different too. In the same way in times past it was rare to see the dog alone, and to be alone, it was not outdoors, causing a problem with the animal that by nature has an instinct for socialization.

The dog needs company for its mental health as much as it requires food for its physical health. Another side of it, dogs that stay or live outdoors are badly socialized since they do not have or are not taken into account as members of a family that gives them affection. This leads them to acquire bad behaviors such as barking, digging, escaping, destructiveness and aggression, and other behavioral problems. You can keep a dog outside, and he or she will still be mentally and physically healthy, but it is a task that requires a lot of work.

Do you have time to spend with a dog?

You have to keep in mind the amount of time you need to dedicate to be with a dog. A puppy needs more time than an adult dog. It is an arduous job to teach all the things a dog needs to know to be a fun and healthy dog.

How much time do I need to dedicate to my dog? Let’s start with adult dogs: The average adult dog needs you to play with it, exercise it, teach it good manners, give it love, food, and water, also get it out to do your needs. Having at least half an hour every morning, and an hour every night is enough. Some dogs take more time and puppies even more.

If you are adopting an older dog, find out as much as you can about where the dog came from and what language may have been spoken. I say this since I know several people who adopted adult dogs and swore they couldn’t train them, to only find out the dogs came from Spanish speaking countries or islands. Once they made some modifications in their training, they were able to communicate with their dogs.

What you need to do is make a list of basic commands to see what the dog may already know and begin training from there.

The younger the dog is, the more time you will have to dedicate. For very young puppies you will have to take them out to relieve themselves every two hours. That’s one reason why busy people often start with an adult dog instead of a puppy.