Home for Lovely Pups: Things to consider before adopting a dog

·       Knowledge: such as dog breed, housebreaking, training, behavioral problems, and daily care of a dog. What kinds of dogs are best for you and your family?

·       Lifestyle: travel schedule, work hours, and social life. If one or more of these factors take up the majority of your time, ask yourself ‘are you willing to make changes to accommodate a dog in your life?’ If the answer is ‘no’, may be now is not the right time for you to adopt a dog.

·       Financial stability: having a dog comes with the price. The adoption fee, food, leash & carriers, toys, annual vet exams, vaccinations, monthly heartworm preventative, flea control, unexpected medical costs, pet insurance, grooming, training, dog sitting and boarding, all of which can cost roughly $1,000 - $3,000 a year, even for a healthy dog.

·       Time: Do you have enough time to provide and exercise a dog’s daily need? Love alone is not enough. Each dog needs a different amount of exercise, depending on breed & age. However, all dogs need at least half-hour walk every day.

Junka, Houby & I are out for at least a 20 minute-walk, 4 times daily. On a beautiful day we enjoy our extra-long morning walk around the park or an hour stroll around our neighborhood in the afternoon.

·       Commitment: Besides walking and exercising, a new dog needs love and other basic care such as obedience training, grooming, and veterinary care. A puppy will need more exercise, supervision and training than an adult dog. Sometimes rescue dogs or shelter dogs require a little more help to adjust to their new home. This could take a few days or it could take months. And, most important, committing to a dog means committing for their entire life.  Junka, like most Terriers, needed more time potty training than other breeds. Our first year together, I spent lot of time & energy setting up the house rules & training him. Needless to say, it’s all worth it. I wouldn’t trade him for anything in the world.

Bentley, Mojo 1711, Kevin Patrick, Brownie and Kun Kun need your

help finding new home. Just simply click on their name to learn

more about them and their adoption process.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone....