Buying a Dog
Excellent! You’ve made up your mind . . . . . You’re going to get a dog!I love dogs and speaking from experience, they make excellent family companions. Actually, what I should say is the right dog makes an excellent family companion. The wrong dog will probably wreck your home and your heart in the first couple of years and probably end up in another home or rescue centre, labelled as "no good", through no fault of its own.
So, how do you go about finding out which is the right dog for you? And when armed with this knowledge, where should you go to get the right dog?
Each breed has its own characteristics. If you match these with your personality and lifestyle, it is much more likely that you will have a happy and fulfilling relationship with your dog. Therefore, I have provided a link to the following Kennel Club pages. Who apart from anything else that you may have seen or heard do provide a comprehensive list of attributes for each breed:
The truth is, even before you consider which dog is the right dog for you, you should think long and hard whether dog ownership is for you? Too many dogs are bought on a whim and end up not being wanted . . . .
Does your lifestyle lend itself to having a completely reliant companion? Although some dogs are fairly independent and happy to amuse themselves for periods of time, dogs are sociable animals. Therefore, it is not ideal to get a dog if it is going to be left alone all day. Some dogs left alone regularly, for long periods of time can become bored and this can often lead to destructive or anti-social behaviour.
The practicalities of owning a dog and treating it responsibly are considerable. Owning a dog is neither for the faint hearted nor the fare-weather walker! A dog will require, on a daily basis; exercise, attention, care, training and most of all - time and companionship. So, if you can offer a dog this level of commitment and support on a daily basis for the next 10 – 15 years and you can afford the cost of owning a dog, somewhere in the region of £750 per annum, then read on;
Right, this is the tough bit. There are hundreds of different breeds of dogs out there and choosing one can sometimes be an almost overwhelming task. If you decide on getting a pedigree there are fewer chances of ending up with a dog that just doesn’t fit into your home or lifestyle. Though no two dogs are exactly alike within dog breeds there are certain traits and characteristics that are breed common and to be expected. This predictability of pedigree dogs is definitely a plus for someone that wants to avoid any surprises as you know more or less from the start what the personality of your dog will be like. There is of course a down side to this selective breeding that all pedigree dogs have. Not only have all the good looks and personality traits been passed down generation after generation but also genetic flaws. This means that many pedigree dog breeds suffer from a variety of physical ailments. These problems can be minor, such as a tendency to having ear infections or they can be severe with some breeds commonly experiencing epilepsy or chronic heart problems.
If you decide to go for a mixed breed this has both advantages and disadvantages. While pedigree dogs have similar traits and personalities as the other dogs of their particular breed, mixed dogs are just the opposite. It is almost impossible to know exactly how a mixed dog is going to mature and what its personality will be like. If you are planning on getting a mix that is still a puppy it is a good idea to try and meet the mother and father of the puppy. This way you will have somewhat of a good idea not only of the physical characteristics that your dog will have but also its comportment and character. Mixed dogs often suffer from fewer chronic ailments than pedigree dogs and are often healthier and live longer.
Buying a Puppy or Dog from a Rescue Centre
My first choice would always be to obtain a dog from a rescue home. Many dogs, both puppies and older dogs, become abandoned or homeless through no fault of their own every year. The Kennel Club provide an excellent website called ‘find a rescue dog’.
Rescue homes usually assess the dog’s behaviour on arrival and often carry out remedial training if needed before offering for rehoming. Therefore dogs offered are usually very suitable and loving pets. The advantage of an older dog is that basic training has already been carried out and so in this respect these dogs are easier to care for than taking on a puppy.
Rescue homes often have both pedigree and cross breed dogs available but the dog’s background or exact breeding details are often not know. However, unless the intention is to show or breed then rescue dogs should be considered.
Depending on the rescue organisation they may require the completion of a series of forms, interviews or even a home visit to assess suitability as a potential dog owner. Their primary concern is to ensure the correct placement of the dogs in their care with a suitable new owner.
Buying a Puppy from a responsible Breeder
My second choice would be a responsible breeder. Dog breeders may be located through the Kennel Club.
The advantages of buying directly from a breeder is that breeding has usually been carefully planned and thought through with regard to producing robust, healthy dogs of good temperament. Many breeders will also offer some form of guarantee contracting to take the dog back if not suitable. Unfortunately the same cannot always be said for puppies sold in pet shops or those that have come from "puppy farms" where dogs are bred in mass numbers for the pet market.
Many breeders of pedigree dogs also show their dogs and so breed towards producing a good healthy show dog with a view to keeping one or two themselves so quality and temperament is of vital importance when planning the breeding.
Although breeders of show dogs specialise in breeding pedigree dogs, there are also owners who have bred their pet dogs and produce cross breed or pedigree puppies. These may be the result of a planned or unplanned pregnancy but the pups have usually been well cared for and brought up in a family environment and so most often make very suitable pets and will be less expensive to purchase than a pedigree show dog.
Buying a dog direct from the breeder means that there is the opportunity to see the parents and know the date of birth of the puppy that it is intended to purchase.
* Unfortunately not all private breeders are reputable – there are small time breeders who, whilst not "commercial" take on dog breeding as a financial hobby and as such their main aim is financial gain and not their production of healthy and well mannered pups. These breeders specialise in popular pedigree dog breeds but do not show their dogs and they or their dogs are most often not registered with any breed club. If buying a pedigree dog from someone who regularly offers puppies for sale and yet is not registered with any breed club it is wise to ask for contact details of a previous purchaser or two with a view to contacting them about their purchase to ensure that the puppy purchased remained of good health and temperament. Unfortunately many such breeders may not keep records of previous purchasers and without this it is not easy to assess the quality of puppies they are producing for sale.
Buying a Puppy from a Pet Shop
I personally would not buy a puppy from a pet shop. These puppies are unlikely to have come from a reputable breeder and are most likely to have come from a pet owner with an unplanned pregnancy or from commercial puppy farms. There is some risk as to whether these puppies will be of good temperament or health as the parents cannot be seen and often little or no information can be given about their background or breeding.
It is no fun buying a unhealthy, weak puppy and then dealing with the problems this presents afterwards - it can cause a lot of heartache so it is essential to find a good healthy puppy. Should any pet shop or the health of the puppies for sale cause concern they can be reported to an Animal Welfare organisation or local authority if the conditions warrant it.