Things To Consider Before Bringing A Dog Into Your Home

If you are your family have been thinking about bringing a dog into your home, you need to have gone through everything on this list first. All of these considerations need to be taken into account before you can bring a four legged little friend into your home. If you don’t do this, you are going to end up with issues that you can’t fix, and then you are going to have to say goodbye to your dog. You aren’t going to want this to happen, and as such, you need to consider all of these things before you go and search for a puppy.

Is Your Home Ready?

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The first thing that we are going to look at is whether or not your home is ready to accommodate a dog. There needs to be enough space for it to walk around, with somewhere for it to sleep if you aren’t going to allow it to sleep on the bed. As well as this, your dog is going to need to be able to play whether it is inside the house or outside so there needs to be enough room for them to get a bit silly.

You’ve got to have enough room for them to play with their favorite toys, or else they are not going to be happy in the home. Yes, you need to take your dog on a walk, but that doesn’t mean that they are just going to head to sleep for the entire rest of the day.

Do You Have Young Children?

A lot of dogs are fine with young children, but some seem to take a disliking to them. We are not saying that if you have a young child, then you shouldn’t get a dog because this is absolutely not the case, but it does mean that you should think about it before you commit. You should also think about the size of the dog if you do decide to get one. Larger dogs tend to be more protective, but it is going to be easier for them to knock your small one over by accident. This is not 100% going to happen, and there are plenty of families with large dogs and young children, it is just something to think about.

Buy Or Rescue?

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You are then going to need to think about whether you want to buy or rescue the dog that you are getting. If you are looking for puppies for sale, then you could take a look at Chocolatelabradorretriever.ca's site.Go through these, find the one that looks like it could be the perfect addition to your new family, and then head to the location to meet it. A lot of the time, these are still going to be puppies, so make sure you remember this when they are jumping at you and full of enthusiasm.

Do You Have A Garden or Fenced Yard?

Above, we said that your dog is going to need somewhere inside to play, and while this is true, they are also going to need an outside area to play in. You cannot just count on that one hour walk that you go on every day to be enough exercise. They are going to need to run around, chase after balls and so on to make sure that they are staying fit. For this reason, you need to think about whether or not you have a garden, and if not, is the puppy going to get to run free often enough?

Who Is Going To Walk It?

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As well as this, you need to know who is going to walk it every day. Having a puppy is a big responsibility, and you need to be able to take the best care of it possible. Part of this is making sure that there is always someone around to walk the dog, once in the morning and then once again before it is time to go to bed. This will tire them out so that they have a good night of sleep, and then they will be fully rested for a new day of mischief tomorrow.

If you don’t think that there is going to be anyone who is able to look after your dog, then we do not recommend getting one. The simple reason for this is that without their daily walk, your dog's muscles can start to seize up, and then they are going to cause them pain. Seeing your dog in pain is going to be the last thing that you want, so ensure that you are taking every possible measure to get them at least one walk per day.

Can You Afford It?

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The big question is, are you going to be able to afford a puppy? Now, the reason that we are asking this is that it is not as simple as to pay a one off payment to the owner, become the owner and that’s that, no more money on the dog. Your dog is going to need food, and depending on what brand you get, this can be expensive. You then need to think about getting pet insurance in case they hurt themselves at any point. You don’t want to be standing there with a 900 bill that you can’t pay because the dog is not insured.

Further than this, you have all of the nappy sacks that you are going to need to pick up their poo. You are also going to need to think about whether or not you are going to be able to pay all of the other bills that come with having a dog. This is going to include taking them to the vet to have their immunizations done, buying them food, buying them toys and treats, and so on. There is so much stuff that you are going to have to buy and pay our for, so you need to be sure that you can afford this before you commit.

Is There Someone To Look After It?

Finally, is there going to be someone around to look after the dog all the time? Obviously, is you are going to leave the dog alone for one hour every now, and then this won’t be a huge problem, but if you are planning on going out for like three or four hours per day and not taking the dog with you, then you are going to have a big problem. Your dog will then start acting out for attention by causing havoc across your home and destroying things. To combat this, you just need to make sure that there is someone at home to look after your friend when you go out.

This doesn’t need to be someone with tonnes of experience either. If your kids are old enough, then they are going to be able to do this while they are not at school, and someone else can take over when they are. Like we said, it doesn’t necessarily matter who you leave at home, as long as the dog knows that they have not been abandoned and they are not on their own. This is going to be especially important if you have a rescue.

We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now know what some of the things to consider are before you bring a dog into your home. Good luck, and we hope that your new friend is everything  you hoped and more.

Why Adopt A Senior Dog?

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Thinking of adopting a dog from your local shelter? Most people tend to choose younger dogs over older dogs, but this can lead to many older dogs never get rehomed. Here are a few reasons to consider an older dog to adopt.

No training required

An advantage of adopting an older dog is that they’re generally already well trained. Most senior dogs are toilet trained, so you won’t have to go through the painstaking process of teaching your dog not to do its business indoors. A lot of senior dogs will also know basic commands such as sit, stay and come, so you don’t have to go through this teaching process either. As a result, senior songs can save you a lot of time and patience if you don’t want to go through the whole rigmarole of training.


There’s a false belief that older dogs in shelters are only there because they’re ‘problem animals’, but this is completely untrue. Whilst there will be some dogs that were given up for adoption for being a little too wild, you’ll generally be able to gage which ones these are from the descriptions. The majority of older dogs in shelters are likely to be there because an owner passed away or simply neglected them – it’s rarely to do with the dog’s behaviour. Besides, dog shelter staff will generally invest some time into training for those that were untrained, so it’s rare you’ll ever find a completely unruly dog.

Calmer temperament

Senior dogs also tend to have a calmer temperament. They’ve passed the naughty stage of puppyhood, which means you generally don’t have to deal with destructive behaviour and excessive yapping. Senior dogs tend to also have less energy – this means that you don’t have to deal with jumping and may not have to go on such extensive walks.

Many senior dogs are great around children because of their calmer temperament. They can also be great if you’re an older owner yourself who may not have the energy to deal with a more excitable young dog. Obviously temperament also has a lot to do with breed as well as the conditions they may have.

They’re not necessarily more expensive

There’s a belief that older dogs are more expensive for owners as the wear and tear of old age can often mean more health problems and hence more trips to the vets. Whilst it’s true that older dogs can be more at risk of health issues, this doesn’t always mean you’ll visit the vet more – after all, owners of young dogs often end up having to spend money on vaccinations and neutering, which an older dog is likely to have already received. Besides, if you get a young dog, they’ll eventually be an older dog and you’ll still have to deal with this greater risk of health problems one day.

Pet insurance is harder to find for older dogs, but it does exist. Whilst some insurers are unwilling to take on older dogs due to pre-existing problems, there are other special insurers out there that offer pet insurance for pre existing conditions. Whilst your rates may be higher than a younger dog, you’ll still be able to cover yourself for an out of pocket treatment costs.

It’s worth noting that older dogs also tend to cost less when it comes to food and toys. Whilst younger dogs tend to have a more voracious appetite and an ability to chew their way through toys fast, older dogs tend to have slower metabolism and a less destructive urge.   

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Greater choice

The fact that there’s less demand for older dogs means that there’s often more choice for owners. When choosing a younger dog, you may restricted to only a handful of options at your local shelter. With so many senior dogs to choose from, there’s more variety when it comes to breeds and you can find a dog more suited to your personal preferences, whether you’re looking for a large breed or a small breed. If you had your heart set on a certain type of dog, you may have more luck of finding it by also extending your search to older dogs.

Too many older dogs die in shelters

Whilst younger dogs are likely to get snapped up by other owners, many older dogs never get chosen and can end up living out their last years in a shelter. Whilst shelters do the best they can to give dogs a good quality of life, nothing can replace the quality of life they’d get with an owner. By adopting a senior dog, you could help to give it a much more comfortable last few years on this earth by giving it that sense of belonging that every dog needs.

In some cases, you could even extend a dog’s life by adopting it. Many dog shelters are on a tight budget and are overcrowded – once older dogs start to develop health problems, many shelters have to put these animals down in order to prioritize space and funds for healthier animals. Such dogs may have gone on to live for many more years had they got the treatment they needed. In other words, you could be saving an animal’s life by adopting a senior dog!

You may not get as many years with an older dog – which is what puts off many owners – but that doesn’t mean it can’t be rewarding. Many senior dogs can live on for years and years in a happy home.