Choosing The Best Dog For Your Lifestyle

 

Choosing a dog is not just picking the best dog, it is also being able to match the dog breed you are interested in to your lifestyle and personality. Of the many breeds of dogs, there are probably just as many personalities in humans. The hard part is pairing them up so they are comfortable with each other, and not based on emotional factors. The main thing all dogs have in common is they love unconditionally!

Remember this: when you come home and your dog greets you, tail wagging, and happy beyond words…is the breed the one you have chosen, the one that makes you just as happy and responsive in return…without the tail wagging, of course. Many wise people indicate there are no bad dogs, only bad owners. A dog is taught, with its owner as the teacher. Not vice-versa. If you regret purchasing the breed after a time, you will not be able to include them in your life with any avenues of quality.

What Factors Are Important?

How many of us have viewed online the pictures where the dog and owners are look-a-likes? Well, there may be slightly more than that for a match made in heaven between dog breed and owner! Issues like your lifestyle, how you live, how much time you have for the dog, whether you like to spend time grooming or not, etc…all need to be matched with the best dog suited to those issues.

People who bring home a Border Collie either find them highly intelligent, affectionate and loving or their herding instincts, such as nipping at the ankles, will drive them crazy. They require lots of human attention time to keep them busy, while other breeds are laid back and sleep all day. Recognize your limitations and what you enjoy doing…and not doing…before choosing a dog!





Questions to Ask Yourself

  • Not all of us find the same dog to match our needs, and these needs should be examined before choosing a dog:

  • Why do you want the dog? Do you want someone as a companion, friend, watchdog, to show in competitions, or because “it’s cute”.
  • Look at your living space. Is it large or small, how much are you going to need to exercise the dog, does your dog need exercise or do you want a “couch potato” type? Is the space large enough for your needs and that of the dog?
  • Spending from 10 to 15 years with a dog devotes a lot of time to it. Training, vet exams and shots, monitoring its feeding habits, toilet training, basic command training, are just a few of the things you will be sharing with your new friend.
  • How much money do you have to spend on the dog? Spaying and neutering are extremely important issues, with the high costs of the vet, feeding, toys, bedding, along with the original cost of the puppy and its basic set-up…these will add up.
  • Are you kind enough and patient enough to train the dog from the beginning? If not, you will damage the puppy and cause future problems. Anger and threatening gestures will not help the puppy learn, only to hide and become self-defensive.
  • Your home will need to have a fence or large kennel for exercising and toileting, unless you plan on steadily walking the dog. Otherwise, it will run at large, end up pregnant, or ran over.
  • From the time the dog enters your home until it dies of old age, you will need to be responsible. Take your dog to basic training and further if needed. That is the first step to being a responsible dog owner.

Check out AKC’s dog book, "The Complete Dog Book". All purebred dog breeds are found within, with the breed descriptions, size, weight, accepted colors for that breed, physical characteristics, temperaments of each breed, and with breed origins.

When narrowing down your search to a couple of breeds, look at each one’s prospective heritage, his behavior and instinctual abilities that have been developed within the breed. Remember that purebred dogs are known for their predictability, which makes the research easy.

Choosing a dog includes knowing both what is the best dog to match your lifestyle and wants, as well as knowing details about the dog breed.