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Finding the right dog for your home.Oct 05 '06 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Finding the right dog for your home is just as important as how you treat it afterwards, educate yourself!
Finding the dog that is right for your family can be very time consuming and after each day you can end up with more questions than answers. Does the dog shed? Will it get along with my cats? Will it be OK with children? Will it bark at strangers? Will it protect me? Can I work it? Can I show it? And what the heck is a schipperke??? You’ll have many questions, many that your local Pet Smart or PetCo employee won’t be able to answer, but don’t worry! Help can be a few clicks away!! Before you begin shopping, take a note of what you want in a dog. Do you want a small dog? Do you want one who is good with children? Do you want one who will be good at showing and/or working? Do you want one for protection (disclaimer: I say PROTECTION, I do NOT mean aggression). Do you want it for service work? Write all this down; make it your dream list. Rate it all and put the most important factors at the top and work your way down. Now that you have your perfect dog on paper, start looking at different breeds. You can find plenty of breed information at the American Kennel Club’s (AKC) website at www.akc.org . You can also search for message boards, forums, UseNet groups, etc.. where they may be knowledgeable people out there (always go with the majority and look for information from more than one source, that way you have a wide consensus).When you have a good idea of what breed, go back to the AKC site and look it up, make sure it’s what you want in a dog. When you have a good idea of the breed, look for parent organizations for the dog, these will give you more information than you’ll ever need plus message boards full of experts on the specific breeds. What next? Hopefully by now you have a good idea of what breed you want, so why not see them in action! AKC has a search page for events (http://www.akc.org/events/search/ ) that will allow you to see events coming up. Don’t be afraid to drive over an hour to a show, it could be worth it, most of your knowledge will come from here. Go to the show and look around. Don’t be bashful, if you’re allowed, go into the grooming area. If you see a dog you’re interested in and the owners (or groomers, or handlers) aren’t busy, feel free to ask them about their dogs (when they’re grooming their dogs, don’t bother them, they’re going into the ring soon). Walk around the rings, see what the dogs look like, and when the breed your interested in is finished showing, ask the handler about them (don’t ask before they go in, they have too much going on in their mind). While you’re at it, check out some other breeds that you may be interested in; get as much information as possible. Also, if there’s a working or obedience show (and you’re interested in that) check it out, too! Now you should know what kind of dog you want. The question is where to buy it? Top choice: A reputable breeder. At the show, ask about breeders, sure most handlers will promote their own dogs, but sometimes they’ll give other suggestions. If you’re not interested in a show dog, you can sometimes get a runt of the litter, or non-show (a.k.a. pet) quality dog for a few hundred dollars. Sometimes you can get re-homed or retired show dogs for very little too. Interview the breeders (yes, more than one). Do they have a guarantee against genetic faults? What do they breed for? Do they rescue? Do they go along with the parent breed’s code of ethics? Are they AKC or UKC certified? (If they say APRI, don’t get the dog from them, this is explained later), are they active with the breed (showing, working, agility, etc..). This is the most expensive way to get a dog, but your best chance of getting a good example of the breed. Second Choice: Rescue. These dogs are generally picked up as strays or at shelters. Don’t worry, they’re tested by certified “testers” by the rescue organization, and the people who do rescue do it because they love the breed, there is no major pay for it (reimbursements, that’s it). They’re very knowledgeable people. Sure, the dog you get may not be top quality, but the rescue organizations have a commitment to find the best home for the best dog, don’t be surprised if you have to apply for a few dogs before you get one. You can usually get a dog though a rescue organization for around $50 to about $300, and they usually come spayed or neutered (if they don’t the rescue organization will put in the contract that you need to get it neutered and may reimburse you for it). Third choice: Local shelters. Yep. Chock full o’ animals that were abandoned, neglected, confiscated, and just left at the shelter. Going to the shelters is tough for some of us, we’d love to just take every animal home, but that would be impossible for anyone to handle. Look at the animals, talk to the workers and try to find a loving pet that you can give it a loving home. You will have a minimal of testing with the dog (our shelter goes though so many animals that they can only spend a few minutes temperament testing dogs), and the dog will not be unhealthy at that time, but you will not know what might come down the road. Usually you can get a dog at a shelter for under $50. Last choice: (And if there are any other choices, these would be above this): Puppy stores, backyard breeders, and puppy mills. The sad truth is that some people want to breed dogs just to make money and they have no ethics of the dogs’ health, just the health of their bank account. The living conditions for the dogs are deplorable (at best) and the dogs are literally bred to death. A good giveaway for a puppy mill or backyard puppy is if it’s registered though the American Pet Registry Inc (APRI). This company will register anything as anything without any verification (AKC pedigrees, both parents and all 4 grandparents need to be AKC registered). I could take my cat and have APRI give it a pedigree as a pitt bull. If you’d like, go to the Belgian Malinois rescue site and read “Pet Store Puppy” (http://www.malinoisrescue.org/whywersce.shtml ) written by J. Ellismay. I personally would *never* buy from a pet store (exception: some large pet supply stores help local shelters by offering adoptions on site, but they will openly display the shelter they are working with), puppy stores, and backyard breeders, and I would not recommend it, too. Statistically, over 90% of all puppies are euthanized before they’re a year old. There is no official statistic on this, but I’m willing to bet the vast majority of them (95% or more) are from puppy mills, puppy stores, and backyard breeders. OK, so now you have your pup what do you do? Give it a good home. Get it a comfortable bed, some toys, good food, water, and lots of love and attention. A dog is a pack animal, and it’s very important for the dog to be part of a pack, if you leave it outside all the time the dog will get depressed because it feels like it’s not included with the pack activities. I highly recommend basic obedience training for the dog, a group class or one on one with a trainer (you should be part of the training, too, the majority of the training is the human learning how to handle the dog!). One of the first things you should do (the sooner, the better) is to take it to your vet to have it checked out, and spayed or neutered if you’re not going to show it. (If you don’t know of a good vet, ask around when you’re at the show). Talk to your vet about good food, too. An extra $5 a bag now may save you hundreds, even thousands in vet bills years down the road. Just remember, dogs need love, care and affection. Be sure you are able to give 110% to your dog. If you’re going away, make sure someone (who is responsible) will take care of the dog for you. Give it comfort, toys, treats. Love it like you would love your own child, and you’ll have a loyal companion that will last their lifetime.  |
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