How to choose the perfect puppy?

Space

When choosing a puppy, the future owner must necessarily take into account the conditions in which the pet will have to spend, if not all, then a significant part of his life. In a small apartment, decorative breeds feel most comfortable – Spitz, Yorkie, Toy Terrier. Active hunting, herding and service dogs – huskies, collies, shepherds – require a playground for walking and training. Large watchdogs – Cane Corso, Mastiff, Boerboel – also need a vast territory that they can control.

Life

If you are a homebody, breeds of dogs that do not need long walks and are ready to spend whole days at home are suitable for you: Japanese Chin, Chihuahua, Shih Tzu. At the same time, such dogs may require increased attention from the owner and even be jealous of other family members.

The future owner of a dog needs to correlate his lifestyle with the pet’s needs for physical activity.

Conversely, most representatives of breeds bred for hunting or grazing are shown long walks and exercises in the dog playground. Without them, the health of the dog may be damaged. However, there are exceptions here: greyhounds and bullmastiffs are content with sports in a moderate amount.

Cost

The price of a puppy is an important point, but not the only one. You should also take into account the total cost of owning a pet. It includes: the cost of food (for obvious reasons, they are more for large breeds than for small ones), for a veterinarian (routine examinations and treatment of ailments characteristic of a particular breed), for overexposure during a vacation, sometimes for services grooming salon. Regarding the latter, long-haired dogs are likely to require additional costs.

Gender

One of the most popular questions when choosing a puppy is who is better to take, a boy or a girl. The answer largely depends on the characteristics inherent in both sexes. Males are more active, restless, often tend to dominate. Bitches are more accommodating, quickly attached to the owner, better amenable to training. But, if the owner does not set himself the goal of breeding puppies and is not ready to show increased attention to the dog during estrus and pregnancy, it is better to refuse to acquire a female or worry about her sterilization.

Опыт

Finally, an extremely important factor is the future owner’s experience with dogs. Those who have no or minimal it are not recommended to have an animal that is difficult to train (bloodhounds, Afghan hounds), which is able to subdue the owner to its will (chow-chow) or needs special education (fighting breeds).

If you take into account all of the above, you can easily understand which puppy will be ideal in this or that case. However, only a personal acquaintance with a potential pet can dot the i’s.

7 2017 June

Updated: January 17, 2021