How to Choose Your Puppy

Selecting the perfect pup for your family requires a little leg work. The worst thing to do is to run out and get your pup just by looking at him. There is much more to choosing a dog than seeing how energetic and friendly he is. Also, do not pick a dog breed because your neighbour/best friend/cousin has a dog of that breed and they are a wonderful dog. More than likely, your requirements for a dog will be different from theirs. And definitely, do not pick out a puppy because it looks cute or the adult dogs are beautiful. In doing that, you may have a beautiful dog, but what is beauty if you have a dog that you can’t control?

Each dog breed has been bred to enhance certain traits and characteristics. Some breeds are more aggressive than others, some require a lot of exercise. Some are good at hunting while others are good at curling up at your feet. Some dogs demand a lot of your time and others are low maintenance. Some dogs will do very well with strangers, others are protective and wary. Still other dogs require a job to do such as guarding or herding, otherwise they become bored and destructive.

Get out a piece of paper and pen, then go through each of the sections below. Jot down your answers and any notes to the questions in each section. Answer as honestly as you can and when you are finished, you will have a profile of your ideal dog.

Grooming
Determine how much time and money you are willing to spend on grooming your dog. Some breeds need to have their coats clipped on a regular basis, others only need to be brushed. The frequency with which you need to brush also varies between breeds. Some require daily brushing, others you can get away with once per week. All dogs will need their nails clipped. If you are planning on doing it yourself, a dog with light-coloured nails will be easier to clip than one with dark nails. All dogs have a vein running through their nails called a quick, which will bleed if cut. In light coloured nails this is easier to see.

Shedding
How much shedding are you willing to put up with? Some breeds hardly shed at all, but will require grooming. Others shed constantly, meaning you will have to sweep and /or vacuum daily to keep your house from looking like a fur pit. Even if you don’t choose a heavy shedding dog, at least twice a year you’ll have to deal with your dog losing it’s summer or winter coat. Most dogs are in between, but are you willing to have dog hair all over your house? Inevitably you are going to find dog hair in some pretty interesting places.

Allergies
Do you or someone in your household have allergies to pet dander? If so, you are going to want to pick out a pup that is hypoallergenic, which means they do not shed or shed very little. But the flipside to this is regular trips to the groomer.

Where You Live
Do you live in a house with an average sized yard, an apartment or smaller house or on a farm? Do you live in the city or country or suburbs? Giant breed dogs will do best on farms or large properties, smaller dogs or toy breeds are ideal for smaller apartments. Some breeds need to have lots of room to roam around or need jobs such as herding or guarding to keep them busy and happy. Others are content to romp in your yard, then curl up by the fireplace.