When establishing your family unit, you might be tempted to ‘complete’ the entire affair by bringing in a puppy to bring the family joy at every opportunity. Your puppy is likely to provide you with love and happiness from the moment they arrive into your household. Whether you’ve bought them from an established breeder or a rescue shelter, bringing in a small puppy into your home is likely to make your smile beam.
This smile will only genuinely continue if you know how to look after this puppy though. You need to remember that while they serve as beautiful pets, they grow quickly and before long will become the adult version of themselves in both temperament and size. It’s important to understand immediately how to train, treat and maintain the health of your dog and otherwise be a great owner.
Select Your Breed
Selecting the breed of your puppy is one of the first exciting choices you get to make. If you have children, this will limit your choice of breeds, as you ideally want a dog with a more gentle temperament like a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel or a dog of a similar size. If you are confident in your ability to train the dog, why not opt for a Chocolate Labrador? Think of the utility of the dog you’re bringing into the household. Do you live in a city environment and desire a small dog to act as a companion, or are you look for a farm dog to act as security in your rural household?
No matter your consideration, you need to ensure that the dog breed you’ve selected is suitable for your family and home setup, and not just one that you’d like to have through pure aesthetics alone. Huskies are beautiful dogs, but they won’t fair well in hot weather and will need plenty of exercises each day to stay physically normal. Keep these things in mind when it comes to selecting the dog you desire.
Know The History
What is the history of your chosen pet? If you’ve purchased him or her from a shelter, this is important to know. A history of abuse can tug at your heartstrings, and make you immediately desire to rescue that pet if you have any humanity in you. However, you need to understand how this relates to the raising of that pet. Are they likely to lash out if they feel threatened or unhappy as a way of coping with their earlier experiences?
It’s not unlikely for an incident to occur in which a child is slightly too rough with a pet and is injured as a result. The fault for this doesn’t lie with your new puppy or dog, but with you. It’s important that you weigh up the benefits and negatives of each pet, and assess their temperament heavily before bringing them into your home.
Exercise
How much exercise does your chosen puppy require a day? Will you be available to walk them if it is high? Large hunting dogs will need exercise from their young age, but some smaller dogs, like the King Charles Spaniel mentioned earlier, will be happy with a few walks a week and a couple of strolls around your backyard. Exercise required is usually correlated with the size of the dog, so be sure to be wise about this and you’ll look after their needs well.
Are You Suitable?
Not only do you need to assess if a dog is suitable for your household, but you need to assess if a dog is suitable for you. If you work many hours, or will otherwise leave the dog alone in the household for extended periods of time, purchasing a dog might simply be an act of vanity, and another pet would suit you better that requires less maintenance. Dogs are social creatures, and unlike cats desire your love and affection nearly all day long. Leaving a dog in the house for upwards of 10 hours daily is plainly cruel.
You also need to assess if you can take the time necessary to train the dog suitably. This might sound easy, but it has many considerations that you need to implement in order for this to work well. Check out the puppy training 101 – bestlargebreedpuppyfood.net guide, and you’ll get a clear picture of just how much work a puppy needs. If you’re willing to provide this, fantastic. If you’re not, maybe reconsider your choices.
Another thing that can impede or benefit your new puppy entering your household is how well they will gel with the other pets in the household. If you own three greyhounds and want to bring a chihuahua into the household, you probably have a faulty idea of how comfortable the chihuahua will be in their presence. Remember, dogs always interact, so group dogs together of similar breeds and sizes for the most beneficial interpersonal pet relationships.
Follow this guide, and your days owning your new pet are sure to be joyous.
