It’s important that the choice of bringing home a dog is aware of the responsibilities and the commitment that is required for the subsequent years. Too often it happens that the choice is taken too lightly and soon the owners decide to give away the dog because they can not face the responsibility. So these animals end up in kennels where, although there are volunteers who care for them to best, they will live a sad and lonely life, waiting for new people who will decide to adopt them. Others less lucky are left on the street and end up doing the stray life.
All this can be avoided by knowing first what to expect when you bring home a dog. Add a dog to your family can be an amazing experience but it takes time, patience, perseverance and love. Puppies or adult dogs who have never received training, require several weeks just to start establishing a common language together. After that there will be months devoted to real training that to established commands and rules to follow.
If you’re thinking about getting a dog, remember that all dogs require:
– TIME: dogs are social, intelligent animals who require mental and physical exercise every day. Caring for a dog takes time, training a dog takes time, build a relationship of trust takes time. There are no shortcuts to take. So if you always work and you’re never at home, the best choice is not to take a dog unless you can entrust your dog to someone when you’re not there (relatives, friends or dog sitter).
– PATIENCE: a dog need time to adjust to a new environment and then you have to put into account mistakes and disasters that he will make. Could eat and bite your sofa or chairs, break your books collection or have potty accidents in the house. This is the complete package …be patient.
– MONEY: people often underestimate the costs of having a dog. There are the initials costs which can be from a few euro to donated to the kennel up to thousands of Euros if you buy him from professional breeders. Other costs are highly variable depending on the age of the dog, the size, hair type (need for grooming), from the place where he will live and not least from your personal choices. Bowls, leashes, kennels, toys and food, are added together with the inevitable veterinary expenses for annual checkups and vaccinations.
So make your choice thinking all pro and cons!