Happy and Healthy Dogs
Bringing a new dog to your own world is a lot like bringing home a baby. Even if you are ready and willing psychologically, your environment is a huge factor that will prove to be conducive or not to adopt a pet. So take heed of all the requisites including the undivided attention, the travel concerns, the vet bills and all. Whether you bring in a puppy or an older dog, the responsibility is quite the same. The puppy will need really tender and frequent attention while an older will also take time, patience and gentle handling to settle in. On an average the annual cost that you could run up to with vet bills could be $400 at the least. Then there are obviously a lot more to consider which could be anything from emergency to accidents to significant health problems. Regardless of the breed you adopt you really have to be ready to take care of your dog’s health like a baby. If you are traveling for instance, then you have to be ready to keep your dog in an appropriate crèche or shelter, if you don’t have the right kind of friends who would look after him or her. You could also consider traveling with your dog, which again requires a lot of adjustment and settlement of bills as well as authorial issues.
Dogs like to be active and it means a lot to them. So you have to give him time and space to allow him play. Whether he enjoys your garden space alone, or walks with you in the park, dogs are such social beings who like to be out and about or just romp and play. Make sure you bond with him well through play. This is what creates a very solid bond between the pet and the owner. But also be trained enough yourself to make him listen to your commands. Dogs are very obedient and loving. So when you train them early, they learn to trust you and obey your command strictly. A dog’s life span is just about 15-20 years. Think about all the fun and good loving that you can give him during this time. So why would you adopt a dog ever, to have it returned to a pet shelter? This is not something that any sane person would like and yet the pet shelters around the world are filled with abandoned dogs of many kinds.