As my mother always said to me that everyone and everything in our lives are loaned to us for set time.As she explained our children our given to us for short time until around 12 years old when they get their own lives and become their own person in their own right. Before that they are really dependent on us and as they grow they grow away from us to form their own lives. People come and go in our lives so they are loaned to so for certain time. This is just the same with our pets. We do not own them . They are loaned to us so it is precious time we spend with them and have them in our lives.We are privileged to have them loaned to us. So we should always be careful not to helicopter them and think we own them and that if they show favour or love to anyone else other than us as an owner that one should not get jealous and upset about their love for someone else. This is a mistake love can not be watered down by loving someone else. Love just grows and overflows when one loves someone else. Love for your pet is wonderful thing and we should love them enough that if they love another person /or animal that we encourage that relationship and not deny this relationship because the more love a pet gets or gives from many source enriches the pet’s life which in turn will enrich the owner’s life. There is a lot of people in the world who get a pet and when the pet likes someone else the owner gets upset and does everything to try to deter the pet from liking the person .This behavior of owner is not good for the pet and changes the pet and interferes in the growth of the pet causing the pet not to grow to the pet’s potential real personality and damages the pet’s confidence and can lead to unwanted behavioral problems from their pet.So always think beyond yourself with your pet and let your pet be free to love anyone or any animal they choose as this will only enhance their lives for the better.Love is a beautiful thing.
When thinking about getting a new dog or puppy to join ones family there is a lot of things to consider. It is very important decision. There is a lot involved. The dog or puppy will become a part of the family and there is a lot of hard work and energy involved in developing a good relationship with ones dog or puppy with the family. This commitment can be for over 16 years.So be prepared.
The following key points to keep in mind when thinking about getting new dog or puppy to join ones family.
Choosing where to get new dog or puppy:The dilemma is which is better for your family a rescue dog or , puppy from a breeder or puppy someone breeding their own dogs.With regards to rescue dogsthe focus in the world is to have people to consider rescue dogs rather than puppy from a breeder or puppy somewhere else . Rescue dogs are great way to help eliminate suffering of abandon dogs. But on the other hand Rescue dogs can have many major problems because of humans bad behavior towards that rescue dog which usually brings a toll on the rescue dog which in turn the dog can have behavioral problems . So a rescue dog in most cases would need a lot of patience and possibly require professional help with the rescue dog’s behavior. So a rescue dog could entail a lot of extra hard work which might involve stopping behavioral issues for family and could entail hiring a dog trainer to help with dealing with behavioral issues which can be costly. A family that has not owned a dog before and this is their first time they will be owning a dog would be better off not getting a rescue dog as it could be overwhelming to take on rescue dog for first time owners and a Puppy from a breeder or puppy from someone breeding their own dogs would be better option.The big thing with getting a puppy from a breeder is to make sure it is a reputable breeder. Are they a member of CKC and will the puppy you buy be registered with CKC. A Puppy from a breeder can be quite expensive so you may want to go the rout of getting a puppy from a private individual. If you decide to get a puppy from an individual that is breeding their own dogs then make sure you meet the father and mother of puppy to see what shape and condition of the parents of puppy are in. Make sure they have been given all the shots required for the puppy at the age the puppy is when you get it. Puppy should be between 8 to 12 weeks no earlier.This essential to make sure puppy is socialized properly and needs that time to be weaned off mother to give good chance for puppy to be healthy. A puppy from a breeder will be a certain breed so generally speaking it will give one more likely have an idea what the puppy will look like and the behavioral tendencies . With a puppy from private individual even though one meets parents of puppy the actual breed of puppy may not really be known so one will not know exactly how the puppy with grown up to look like and what breed it will lean towards being similar to.Buying a dog or puppy from pet store is not recommended as one does not know where the dog or puppy came from so the health of the puppy or dog is unknown and sketchy .The puppy from pet store could be raised in puppy mill or conditions that not ideal for healthy growth of a puppy.
Choosing breed of dog:Deciding what breed to choose can be daunting since there is hundreds of dog breeds. First thing to think about is size of dog when grown will that be an issue . Do you live in a small unit and do not have a garden then it might be good idea to choose small breed dog example Yorkie, Shih Tzu , Pug, Jack Russel etc. On the other hand larger breeds can involve the dog needing more exercise each day. Also larger breeds like Labradors tend to eat a lot and one has to watch what they eat as they can become overweight if owner does not monitor the dogs food intake and make sure dog gets enough walks each day. There is a dog breed to suit every different family . Research the personality , size,likely health problems that associated with breed , if family includes children pick a breed that is good with children , some breeds needs a lot of grooming so decide if the family is ok with that,some breeds needs a lot of exercise so that is a consideration if that suits the family and other characteristics of breed to see if that is suitable for the family and fits in with the family. Research can be done online , also if you see a breed that you like ask an owner of dog of that breed about their dog to get more sense of that breed.
Choosing Male or Female dog or puppy: Next decision whether to get a male or female dog /puppy. All dogs and puppies have their own personality but whether they are a male or female also gives them some behavior of their a signed sex.. Generally speaking the male is bigger in size and stronger than a female in same breed. Males tend to roam whereas females like to stay close to home normally. Females go into heat and then that entails depending on breed and size of the dog that she will go into heat once to 4 times per year . A female heat last for 2 to 4 weeks. Smaller dogs tend to go into heat more than large dogs. Spaying the female dog eliminates heats so that female dog no longer goes in heat for the rest of her life . But if one decides to spayed their dog it is good idea to not spay their puppy at young age as this can be cause behavioral issues and farther down line health issues. Spaying should be done at after at least their first heat so their hormonal change to a mature dog has been established. For small dogs usually this occurs at 6 months or older and medium dogs usually at 9 months and with larger dogs can be year or year and half. With a female dog is must be understood that the female must either have puppies or be spayed as if one does not spay female dog then the dog is at risk to become ill with her uterus at risk to become infected if she is not breed and have a litter. If deciding to breed your female dog is a big deal and involves a lot .It will take a lot of time, energy ,patience and strategy playing to make sure timing is right to breed your dog with a male dog. It is not just picking a stud / male dog that seems to be good to breed so that female dog have healthy puppies from litter. The female dog may not like the stud dog and even if they get a long and like each other then even at the right time when the female is in heat at right time to pair up with stud when time to breed comes and female and stud get together it may not produce a pregnancy for your dog. Also stud dog owner will want payment or some type of compensation for example pick of the litter to own. Also when female dogs gets pregnant there is a lot work involved and also medical care maybe involved. Also puppies born will have to get their shots vaccines and care from vet which involves extra money. But it can be lovely experience to have your female give birth to puppies . Remember every time a female dog goes into heat she will have blood coming from her body and it will fall down on the ground so it will go on floor some people put a diaper on their dog while their dog is in heat. When a dog is in heat male dogs will smell that and want to be with the dog in heat and you might find dogs coming to your home/property because they smell your dog in heat.With male dog it is important not to neuter them too early because they can have behavioral trouble or bone trouble if neutered too early before they mature which is before their full hormones developed .For small dogs neuter around 6 months for medium dogs neuter at around 9 months and large dogs neuter around one year and giant dogs neuter around year and half .
4 breeds that are not recommended forpeople who have never owned a dog or people do not want to put in more than normal amount of training when getting a dog or puppy as these breeds take more training than other breeds. This four breeds are German Shepard , Doberman Pinscher, Husky(Malamute) and Pit Bulls.These are very strong and powerful dog breeds. These breeds need a lot of exercise , training and extra care to become a good dog for the family. Husky(Malamute) are popular with people as it seems such a cool and wonderful thing to have a dog that started in the new world with the indigenous people using them from a long time ago . These breeds started off as working dogs for indigenous people so they have a lot energy and strength as a dog . If they do not get a lot exercise and attention these dogs can become unruly. They require strict rules that the owner must train them to abide by and this takes a lot of work ,time,energy and patience on the side of owner. German Shepard’s are breed that are very smart and require a lot work to train them to become a good dog. They tend to protect their owner which is good but if not trained well they can be out of control and be overprotective of their owner and then it becomes a major problem to control them so that do not try to overprotect the owner when around strangers and other dogs.They are very strong dogs so if they are not trained properly by owner they will be hard to handle and become a problem for owner when walking with their dog or have them out in public.It takes a lot energy. time, work and patience to train German Shepard puppy/dog to become well behaved dog.Pit Bulls have strong biting jaw that if they use it it can kill or damage a person/ animal because it is hard to get them to release their grip of their bite once they bite into anything. With this in mind when any one gets a puppy/ dog that is Pit Bull they must be aware of this and know they take on the responsible to make sure their dog is trained that they will not bite . It is big task to take on and huge responsibility. Pit bull is very strong dog so controlling the dog to walk and other tasks is important that the owner has at all time. A Pit Bull is very strong dog with a lot of muscles so if a person is not very strong physically then it would be not a good idea to get a Pit Bull . Doberman Pinscher are strong dog breed and are very protective of their owners. Although they are slim looking they are very strong dogs. They require a lot of patience to train them because they are very strong and very loyal to their owners so owners must do a lot work to train them to be socialized and control their protective natural tenancy of their breed to protect their owners so that they do not become overprotective of their owners . If they get overprotective of their owners it can lead to dog being a danger to strangers or other dogs. They are strong dogs so if owner is physically frail they will not be able to handle having a Doberman Pinscher because it would be difficult to train the dog as it takes a lot of strength and stamina to train a Doberman Pinscher to be well adjusted adult dog.
The maturity journey of your new dog/ puppy: If you choose a small breed puppy/dog then small dog will grow to 20 pounds or smaller. Small breed puppies physical growth usually ends around one year . They are then fully grown dog but their mental / psychological development takes longer to develop and usually their mental /psychological development is usually fully developed by the time they are two years old.Large dogs can take up to 2 years before they stop growing physically and generally speaking they can take up to 3 years old before their mental / psychological development is fully developed.Medium size breeds of dogs their development varies. With medium size breeds, they can be fully grown physically from the age of 1 to 2 years old and their mental/psychological development can be developed fully from the age 2 to 3 years old.
Some challenges that must be overcome with new dog /puppy : A few things that most be overcome with dogs/puppies are to make sure they do not bite and jump up and lunge and do excessive barking.When raising a puppy they tend to nip a lot when their young puppies. This behavior has to be trained out of them because it can lead to biting strangers which is dangerous. The bigger the dog the more diligent owner must be to train their puppy to get out of nipping. Also jumping up on people is a behavior that can be problem as some people do not like a strange dog jumping up on them and of course the large the dog the more people do not tolerate a dog jumping up on them. Some dogs lunge towards other dogs they are fearful of and then the owner has to be aware of this and try to avoid dogs that trigger this behavior. Certain breeds tend to bark more than other breeds . The hound breeds tend to bark more than other breeds. Hound breeds like beagles, Dachshund , Basset and etc tend bark a lot more than average dog/puppy barks. Excessive barking can be because of anxiety , fear and loneliness.
Last point is that the most important thing is to enjoy your new puppy/dogand at the same time be a responsible owner and rear your new puppy/dog to be a well adapted,happy ,social and contented dog for your family and to your community : With patience , energy , training , care , love and consistency your new puppy/dog will be come a loving well behaved dog. Remember all this hard work will give a unique relationship with you and your dog. And as the saying goes you will receive unconditional love from your dog. So enjoy your journey with your dog because it will change your life forever.
If your dog has certain needs see if they are able to deal with those needs. And what their thoughts on how they would deal with the dog’s needs.
Do they do private walks or do they only do group walks. When dog walker walks dogs in groups then there is risk to that which can entail dogs not getting on and then problems arise.
What training does the dog walker have? Example they should have taken Pet First Aid course and is it up to date.
What is their thoughts on when they are walking a dog and the dog does something that is not good behavior . How do they go about correcting a bad behavior .
Dealing with communication with your dog walker every dog owner is different . Some owners only want to hear from their dog walker about their dog if their is issues on the dog walk. Other owners want to daily report from their dog walker about their dog on their walk . So this must be communicated to the dog walker. Also what method does the owner want used to communicate example text, email , Whatsapp etc. If the owner has a puppy or dog that has issues (example afraid of other dogs , trouble walking , other problem behaviors etc) then it would be helpful for the dog walker to video or take pics on walk so that owner and dog walker can follow progress of the owner’s dog.
Make sure your dog likes the dog walker which is very important.
Ask what area to the dog walker will walk your dog. Will it be near your home etc. Also will they be taking your dog to dog park . If they take your dog to dog park this will be a risk to your dog of the unknown as when anyone takes a dog to dog park the dogs are off leash and any dog can go their so risk of injury,communicable diseases etc. If you do not want to take that risk tell the dog walker that you do not want your dog to go to dog parks.
Choosing to go for independent dog walker or company that has dog walkers . A company usually are more focus on group walks and charge a lot more for private walks.. Also a company the dog walker walking a dog will not always be the same dog walker.Where as Independent dog walker will be same person walking the owner’s dog every walk so more chance to develop a close relationship with the dog walker / dog / owner. Also usually Independent dog walker is usually more flexible in walking owner”s dog during weekend and odd hours.
Check to see if they have a website and that could give more information on if they would be good to walk your dog and which would give more insight into them. Also check their Google rating and check reviews clients have written on their experience with the dog walker.
References from dog walker can give the owner of the dog a sense of the dog walker as a person especially if the reference is from a person that dog walker has taken care of the reference’s pet. But the dog owner’s gut instinct should be more important.
Experience is good for a dog walker to have but does not necessarily the winning factor to choose a dog walker. A good rapport with dogs/animals can be more important.
