How To Pick A Puppy
Filed Under Pets | Posted on March 7, 2008
The most important element to remember when picking a puppy depends on your own lifestyle, schedule, and ability to care for a dog. The “puppy love” state of getting a dog, is the most captivating, and is an emotional decision. It reminds you of when you were a child, and held your first puppy. But it should also be a very fun, enjoyable part of dog ownership, if you make the right choice.
It should never be a spontaneous decision to get a dog; it requires some good soul searching questions, like what breed to chose, or type of dog. Also it should never be based on looks, but more in-depth research on what type of dog suits you as a person. Are you patient, with training an animal, such as dog, or what is your history in pet ownership, in your family when you were a child?
A friend of mine, decided to buy a pet from a pet store, which turned out to be a disaster. The dog was a poodle, and was purposefully left untrimmed around the mouth. Although my friend had asked the pet shop owner to trim the puppy’s mouth, before the date it was to be picked up, the owner never did the trimming. The puppy was taken to the vet, and it was found that the pup had an overbite, which was being hidden from the buyer in not trimming the fur. How devious and illegal, for hiding this defect was against the law. It also had other health issues that were discovered later.
Buying a pet from a pet store also perpetuates the puppy mills where they come from, that breed dogs in a very inhumane way for profits. Many dogs are usually sick, mistreated and their moms become puppy machines, which is unhealthy for any dog.
Hobby breeders are usually home based businesses, where they can provide you with a look at the parents of your future dog, which is a great asset, to determine any illness or behavioral problems. At this stage, if you ask a lot of questions, about the background of the dog, history of illnesses, vet records, and vaccine schedules, it can save heartache later.
Choosing a Puppy:
The problem is most people do not take into account how the dog will adapt to you but also, how you will adapt to the dog. Go to Kennels, Trainers, and Breeders as well as Dog Shows in your area. Find out the most you can about the breed you want to chose, for example are they easy dogs to train. Or, do they require a lot of outdoor exercise, running, and lots of walking. Do take your time and read up through magazines, books, and how to care for a dog books.
Its best not to get a puppy at Christmas, or other occasion for someone as a gift
Breeds:
Firstly, you must decide on the breed of a dog, as each breed has its own benefits and downfalls. If you are an energetic person, you would normally pick a breed that is energetic as well to fit into your lifestyle. Certain breeds have inherent diseases or “congenital conditions”. This means that the certain breed can or will develop a particular susceptibility to a disease in its lifetime. It means there is a “genetic disposition” of that breed towards an illness:
Examples of these are: Hip dysphasia, heart defects, kidney disease, or liver disease. Here is where you should also consider and consult a pet insurance company that can give you a quote on that breed, to get an idea of what it can cost for dog care. Thus, we are outlining the need here for knowing what you are buying in a particular breed. You can look up the statistics of all breeds at the OFA site, the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals, where they list all the different types of illness and who ranks highest.
Puppy Testing:
There is such a thing as a Puppy Test; this is where you run through a serious of tests to determine the puppy’s personality, or temperament. Is this puppy the dominate one of the litter? The one basic test is to put the puppy on its back for 30 seconds, without talking to it An easy going puppy will lie still and start to relax, without struggling to get up. If it struggles to get free without stopping, or stiffens up, or freezes with a rapid heart rate, it is probably a willful dog, or if it bites you, it will be a dominant
dog, which translates to a life time of you being on a leash and it takes you for a walk.
One good site for puppy testing information is at: www.volhard.com invented by Wendy Volhard, which is an excellent source of dog information on puppy testing.
If your breeder is unfamiliar with puppy testing or tells you they have been tested, be wary. You should be allowed to test the puppy you chose at least for some of the tests, but also observe the puppy and how it plays with its litter mates.
Small Dog Breeds: Yorkies, Toy Poodles, Chihuahuas, are these types of dogs.
Most people pick smaller dogs, for their size, and cuteness factor, easier to pick up after, and transportable.
Medium Size Breeds: This is the in between size of dog, like a Spaniel, Collie, or a Chow.
Larger Breeds: Labs, Golden Retrievers, Setters and Sheepdogs are examples of the popular larger breed of dogs.
There should also be a test for people who decide to get a dog, in that many are in capable of the responsibility it takes to own a dog. That is why many dogs end up in shelters, and abandoned, which is heartless and inhumane.
If you are not sure about it, do not get a dog. A dog is not a cat, as you cannot leave them alone for hours on end, and expect them to be happy. So many people do not realize that is not a good idea to leave a dog at home, alone while they go to work. It is not a good life for a dog, and if the dog develops behavior problems, it would come as no surprise. Also you do not get a dog for a few years and then get rid of it, it is a long term commitment, to keep the dog for the rest of its life, and that should be the realization of owning a dog, it is for life.
Teri Salvador operates a blog all about dog health and issues. She is now giving away free memberships to her “Doggin Newsletter”. Articles written on the news on dogs, health, products, food, and supplies and dog food recalls. She gives away a surprise free gift to her new subscribers, there is an up coming contest. For more information visit: http://www.DogHealth1.com
Tags: animal health, dog behaviour, dog breeds, how to pick a puppy, large dogs, puppies, small dogs
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