What to Look for When Adopting a Dog
Adopting a dog can be exciting. You give these animals a chance at happiness by providing a safe home where they’re treated with love. You also have a companion, and you help many dog rescue groups and shelters by freeing up space so they can cater to more dogs.
However, adopting can also be nerve-wracking. You’re either worried about its personality, health, or behavior. It’s not enough to choose the cutest fuzzy friend. This article will discuss essential factors to consider when adopting a dog.
What to Look for When Adopting a Dog: Five Important Factors
1. Consider Your Lifestyle
Before moving to the nearest shelter to adopt a dog, consider your lifestyle. Can you commit to caring for a dog?
Active or Passive Lifestyle
Adopting a dog may not be the best option if you work in a corporate environment that requires you to be at work 9 – 5 or is always on the move. With an active lifestyle, there’s barely enough time to commit to caring for the dog. On the other hand, a passive lifestyle is great because you’re always there to pay attention to their personalities and needs.
Time commitment
Bringing a pet into a new home requires special attention and commitment to ensure they’re well settled. You should ask yourself if you can put in all that time.
Living Arrangements
Your living arrangement also matters when adopting a dog. Say you decide to adopt a large dog. Is your home spacious enough for them to play around freely?
2. Determine the Right Breed
The dog’s breed next should be considered. Of course, you may have a specific breed you want to adopt, but there are several things to consider when choosing the right breed.
Size and energy level
A Lhasa Apso is a relatively small dog with a low energy level but a Siberian Husky with high energetic traits. You need to decide if you’re active enough to keep up with the energy level of the chosen breed.
Temperament
It would help if you also considered the temperament of the dog you’re about to adopt. If you’re adopting a dog into a family with little kids, consider a Golden Retriever because they’re highly friendly, sweet-natured dogs. If you stay alone, you can opt for other choices.
Health concerns
The dog should be healthy. Unless you’re adopting a dog with special needs, get a full medical report from a vet before carrying on with the adoption process.
Grooming needs
A dog’s grooming needs depend on its breed, size, and health. Some dogs may not enjoy regular pet food due to allergies or health-related issues. Also, some dogs may require more regular trims or visits to the vet than others; all of these should be considered before deciding to adopt a dog.
3. Age of the Dog
Puppies vs. adult dogs
It’s up to you to decide if you want to adopt a puppy or an adult dog. Puppies are cuter and more fun, but you must put a lot of initial resources into training them. However, adult dogs already have a personality, and you need less commitment and fewer resources, but they can be harder to control.
Health and Medical History
A medical history report of your pet makes it easy to detect and determine the cause of unusual behavior. It also helps determine the best treatment for the condition. If you do not have a medical history report, regular checkup is essential to help build one.
Importance of regular checkups
Regular checkups make it easy to track your dog’s health and ensure they’re in sound health. Frequent stops at the vet also make it easy to provide early diagnosis and treatments once your dog falls sick.
Medical conditions to be aware of
You should learn about several medical illnesses your dog may suffer, e.g., diabetes, kidney disease, pancreatitis, chronic allergies, etc.
Vaccinations and preventive care
Vaccinating your dog not only protects you and them from illnesses, but they also need specific vaccination to travel with them.
5. Cost of Ownership
Initial adoption fee
The adoption fee can be pretty expensive, depending on the shelter or rescue home. The age and size of the dog also determine the adoption cost. Puppies usually have more costly adoption fees than bigger dogs because they’re more desirable.
Ongoing expenses
Consider the grooming, medicine, feeding costs, and other ongoing expenses such as boarding or daycare before adopting.
Cost-saving tips
Learn to groom your dog yourself instead of paying a grooming center. You can also consider buying cheaper food options, checking discount stores, or thrifting for toys and other dog products. It’s also essential to feed your dog appropriately, as this can cause a huge dent in your finances if you’re not careful.
6. Finding the Right Shelter or Rescue Group
Adopting your pet from a reputable shelter, rescue group, or home is important.
Researching reputable organizations
Use Google to research reputable dog shelters and rescue groups. It will highlight all the shelters around your location. For folks in San Diego, The Heroic Tail is a reputable San Diego-based rescue group well-known for rescuing dogs, keeping them in safe environments, and rehoming them in happy homes.
What to look for in a facility
One thing to look for in a facility is the neatness of the place. You should also check their reviews and testimonials, and finally, how the staff treats clients and dogs in their care.
Working with a rescue group
You should consider working with a rescue group if you need more clarification about adopting a pet from a dog shelter. Reputable rescue groups aren’t just concerned with reducing dogs; they’re also concerned with offering free training to dogs so that owners have the best experience with them after adoption.
Frequently Asked Questions
There’s no specific age for adopting a dog. However, most people usually adopt dogs between 8 and 9 weeks old.
Some great questions to ask include: Where is the dog from? What is the health status of the dog? Is this dog friendly? Is the dog potty-trained?
Watch out for excessive growling or barking and excessive quietness – check that they don’t have anxiety or other medical issues. You should also look out for overly energetic dogs, as they may be hard to keep up with over time.
Conclusion
Adopting a dog is beautiful because you give them a chance to grow in a loving home. However, you should consider these factors before bringing one into your home. You don’t want to have a dog that’s difficult to control or create more problems for yourself and the dog. Always be certain of your decision to adopt.
Eager to adopt a dog? Click here to get yourself the most adorable furry best friend.