Deciding Whether to Have a Dog

One of the greatest mistakes you could ever make would be to take your children to a pet store before thinking very carefully whether you can really deal with a new, four-legged, addition to your family, and what type of dog will fit in with your family and its lifestyle. If you do that, you can be sure there’ll be no turning back - your kids will connect with the cutest little puppy on show and start begging you to take him (or her) home.

It will be no good saying no then - if you do, the puppy will be rolling its sad eyes at you, your kids will be crying, and you’ll be remembering the dog you had yourself as a kid. So, before you know what’s happening, you’ve bought the puppy and a cart full of dog supplies and food.

This kind of scenario can lead to remorse, and even worse, a tendency to lay the blame on the puppy if things don’t work out just the way everyone wants. You just hadn’t considered whether the puppy’s personality would mix well with your family, you hadn’t thought about the rainy days when you’d have to take him out for a walk…

And puppies naturally make a mess, they chew things, they bark at night, and do lots of other little things that perhaps you weren’t expecting. Unfortunately, at this point some owners turn to abuse or neglect. Or, they simply give up and take their dog to a shelter.

It’s a sad fact that many of the dogs in shelters are not in any way “difficult” dogs. They just had the bad luck to be chosen by people who had never taken the time to consider what owning a dog really means or to learn what their puppy would be like when it grew up.

To avoid this scenario, you need to consider, first, if you and your family are in a position to be able to give a dog all the care and love it’s going to need. You need to be aware that some breeds are more demanding than others. Some breeds need to be in company most of the time, others can be left alone for longer periods; some dogs need more stimulating exercise and play, others less; some dogs are great with small children, others with older children, etc.

Basically, it’s sitting down and deciding which breed of dog’s characteristics fits in best with your family - which is the best fit for your home (size is important, too), for the members of your family, and for the time you have available.

Once you’ve considered this, start visiting pet stores, shelters, breeders, preferably on your own, and ask as many questions as you need. Learn to look at the dogs more dispassionately - at first you may want to take them all home, but you’ll soon learn to resist the temptation.

When you’re finally sure of the type of dog that will fit in, take the whole family - don’t worry, you’ll now be in a position to help them choose a dog that will be comfortable in your home and will be able to make your home its home, and your family its family. And that will have been worth the effort.