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16 Things To Know Before You Adopt A Dog
We are obsessed with our furry best friend and want to adopt a dog once again. If you are an animal lover you have definitely thought about compassionate decisions to adopt a dog. I am sure many of you might have spent hours or sometimes days convincing your parents that you are ready to take the responsibility of a new member in your house.
You might even know by now the closest animal shelters to adopt a dog after browsing so much on the internet about these adorable pups. But, while your heart is already to shower immense love for dogs, it is important to consider a lot of things to avoid any trouble in the future for you and your loving pet.
Remember, just imagining yourself taking care of a pup and the reality of taking care of your pet is entirely different, it is a commitment you need to take care of.
Here are 16 things that you need to consider before welcoming a rescued puppy to your family.
Things To Consider To Adopt A Dog
1. Take Your Time
Take the needed time to make your final decision. These fur babies are very cute and tempting to adopt while you see them in your friend’s or relatives’ house or internet. You are most likely to take a snap decision of adopting a dog. Think about the dog first, whether the environment will suit the pup or not. For example, is there a yard in your house? Do you travel a lot with your family? Who will take care of your pet when you are out of town? Or Do your siblings love dogs and want one as much as you want?
Consider all these things and list down the answers to questions.
2. Adopt A Dog From Animal Shelter
Do not ever visit breeders or pet stores to bring your pup because they are just using innocent animals to make money. Animal shelters are wonderful and have amazing dogs waiting in these shelters to get adopted. The breeders continue to produce more and more animals.
Do you know for every dog purchased from a breeder or pet store, a puppy or dog in a shelter has to sleep without family. It is noted a lot of times that pet stores cause dogs to suffer, we would never want that.
3. Consider Your Family’s Wallet Before Proceeding To Adopt A Dog
Investment in bringing a dog home is not only one-time. A dog will require a lot of expenses later on. When you are taking responsibility for bringing a dog home, you need to have a lot of extra money to spend on them. You need money for their food, care, and emergencies if any. Other than these things the list goes on about bedding, harness, collars, toys, grooming, treats, etc.
4. Get The Dog Neutered Or Spayed
Do you know, every year nearly 6 million to 8 million animals including dogs, cats, or other pets are left at animal shelters in the United States. What is more disturbing is half of these animals are put to sleep only because there are not enough people that come to rescue them and provide them a new home.
Just imagine someone killing you because there was not enough place for you in this world, this thought itself is daunting. The only way we can do something for these animals is by adopting them from animal shelters and putting aside the breeders so that no more unwanted puppies become homeless in the future.
5. Tags And Microchipping
Accidents are not new to us. You never know when your dog might run away or get lost somewhere. If the dog is not able to find a way back home, they cannot ask for help like us. Make sure to bring a collar for them having proper tags in which the name of your dog is written along with 2 or 3 working phone numbers to contact you. Another thing to do is use microchipping which your vet can also do for you.
Make sure you are considering both these options before proceeding to adopt a dog. If you are moving in the future, give the microchip company your new address information to update.
6. You Need To Brush Their Teeth
You read it right! just like humans, dogs need to get their teeth brushed too. Overall dental hygiene is as important for them as for you. Do not forget to brush their teeth several times a week.
If your dog throws tantrums or is not fond of getting their teeth brushed, you can use certain items to reward them once they get their teeth brushed. Introduce new toothbrushes and paste them slowly into their routine with positive reinforcements.
7. Take Care Of Your Furry Bestie’s Nails
Dog’s need to get their nails trimmed on regular basis. If you do not cut their nails, there are high chances that they might break their nails and get hurt. Sometimes when you do not pay attention to their nails for longer, they might even interfere with the dogs in walking normally.
Not only this, if the nails grow very long, it can also affect the gait and your dog’s nervous system. To avoid anything harmful, maintain a good routine of cutting their nails.
Some dogs do not enjoy having their cute paws touched, to tackle this issue, you can take them to any groomer or vet once a month to handle them with care.
8. Wash The Fur
In order to adopt a dog, there are few things you need to think about. One such thing is brushing your poppy regularly and giving extra time. When you brush your dog regularly you are helping them prevent any nasty matting and increasing blood circulation that keeps their skin and fur healthy and beautiful.
To wash them, you need to have a strong bond with them first of all. Some pups also require grooming from professionals. Discuss with your parents about the expenses and upkeep your dog will need for new coats and grooming.
While bathing your dog, do not use a lot of shampoo or chemicals because this will end up making their skin dry and itchy.
9. Keep An Eye On What Your Dog Eats
You cannot feed everything you eat to a dog. Some food you love and eat regularly can be best for your health but highly poisonous for your dog. One such food item you may consider is chocolate. We love chocolates! no doubt. But your dog might end up getting ill because of it.
This is not the only one, there are others on the list too, for example, onions, academia nuts, raisins, grapes, and many more food items. It is very important to provide your beloved pet with high-quality dog food. Make sure you are not overfeeding them due to love. Dogs have a tendency to gain weight and become overweight. Obesity causes major health issues and makes your pup highly uncomfortable.
Give them regularly different food and set a routine to avoid overfeeding all day long.
10. Entertainment And Toys
Before you are all set to adopt a dog, it is highly important to dog-proof your house. What does dog proofing mean, while I have decided to adopt a dog? A question naturally striking our minds. You have to make sure your dog does not get material like chemicals, sharp objects, or electrical wirings that could cause potential harm.
Seek help from your parents in finding places where you can hide all these items. Put away all the things that are dangerous to your pup because you never know what catches their attention to be fun and they might end up playing and getting hurt.
I am pretty sure you will not want your lovely pup to chew your homework and favorite pillows. Just make sure you are keeping them out of their reach. No one likes to be bored, not even your furry friend so keep toys for their entertainment as well.
11. Exercise Routine For Pup
This is not something you should be worried about. When you have decided to adopt a dog, you should already know that your dog would not like to be seated all day long. Pups usually settle very little, they are highly active and run around the house. But at times, the pet owners do not realize how many minutes or even hours of exercise their friend is going to need.
You have to take time out of your busy schedule to take them for a long walk at least once a day. That’s mandatory, you can say. If you want to make it interesting for you and your doggo, play games like “hide and seek” or Fetch. When you get back from work, try playing around with them, this will release the stored energy.
Like humans, plenty of workouts and open-air make your doggo feel fresh, happy, and active. After playing for long your doggo will get tired, that’s the time they won’t trouble you much. See, how amazing it is!
12. Start Your Dog’s Training
To adopt a dog is a huge one. The key to having a trouble-free and happy dog is setting clear boundaries and rules. It becomes highly important for you to guide your pup with amazing rewards they love.
It’s a natural tendency of dogs as well that when they are praised for doing something, they will redo it. When you praise them, they will keep up with the good behavior. Another thing you need to keep in mind while you are all set to adopt a dog is DO NOT lock them or yell at them if they have misbehaved. This is not a good trick as the pup will be afraid of you.
Your dog will never really find out how to behave until you teach them.
13. Keep Them Free Of Ticks, Worms, And Fleas
This is a serious issue, once your dog catches ticks or fleas it becomes difficult for them to behave and highly difficult for you to remove ticks and fleas. Prevention is always better. When the season changes between late springs to fall, these little critters are very common.
Ask your parents to bring products that can help keep your dog away from attacks of fleas or ticks.
Another thing not to forget about, heartworms. Usually, the mosquitoes problem in the U.S is a huge issue but heartworms cannot be ignored. These heartworms can causes diseases to your dog that can even kill them. Earlier medications were not available, but today due to the efforts of vets, you can take your dog for monthly medications that can prevent the chances of diseases. One such medication is Heartgard. Consult your vet for more.
14. Do Not Chain Them Outdoors For Long
Although it is hard to even imagine that anyone would leave their doggo to suffer outside, some people, unfortunately, opt for such means to teach their dog a lesson.
It’s very cruel and dangerous. Do not ever try this and if you have seen someone doing this it’s you who can raise your voice to stop them. Seek help from your parents to call animal control. Such methods and people should never be ignored.
To adopt a dog is a huge responsibility. If you feel you are ready entirely, do it.
15. Never Leave The Dog In Car
There are many things you should already know to adopt a dog, one of them is never to leave your dog alone. It is highly dangerous to keep them locked in a car because you never know when the temperature can skyrocket in a car.
Even if it is hot outside, you have to call the animal control unit or ask your parents to do something. It can even save a life.
16. Dogs Need Plenty Of Attention, Affection, And Love
As we already know, a dog’s life is not even 1/4th of our life. The time passes quickly, you will never know when they will age so fine and eventually reach their old age. Give them as much love and affection as you can. Love them every single day because your doggo does not need anything other than that.
After reading all these things I am sure you have understood the different responsibilities you have to keep up with if you want to adopt a dog. But how to adopt a dog? There are certain procedures involved. Keep reading to know.
How To Adopt A Dog
If you are ready for all the adventures a happy doggo will bring to your life, let’s know about the procedure involved while you are set to adopt a dog.
Follow these 5 steps to adopt a dog.
1. Look For A Rescue Home Or Dog Shelter Nearby To Adopt A Dog
As mentioned earlier, we will convey this, again and again, DO NOT purchase dogs from breeders and shops that follow unfair practices and behaves cruelly with dogs. We never know whom to trust and whom to ignore. So always look for a pet shelter and give an orphan dog your lovely home and care. You can save a life by doing this. If you are a pet lover, you will understand how important it is.
2. Try To Bond With A Doggo When You Visit A Shelter
There will be many dogs that you meet when you visit a shelter. Try to be friendly and loving towards them. If you love a doggo and he responds well, you have chosen the right friend.
3. Get History Of The Doggo
After you have chosen the one to adopt a dog ask the shelter owners to provide you with all the details and history of that dog. This includes the people that dropped the dog at animal shelters and medical records of the dog. After going through all the information in detail, if you find any issue discuss it with elders.
4. Follow All The Procedures
Once you have made your mind to adopt a dog and decided which dog to adopt after going through their medical history, now you can inform the animal shelter owners and proceed with all the necessary steps and legal procedures to adopt a dog.
5. Sign Up The Papers
After completing all the necessary procedures, you will be asked to sign the adoption papers of your doggo. Just do as guided by the owners or workers of the animal shelter and you are done.
Keep a copy of these signed adoption papers with you for reference. After going through all the details and signing papers to adopt a dog, you are completely ready to take your furry BFF to its new sweet home.
Give them all the love and care they deserve!
These were 16 things you need to know including responsibilities and things to do if you want to adopt a dog. Read them carefully to know if you will be able to do all these things and keep your furry BFF happy.
