How to Adopt a Dog

Intro: Are you thinking about adopting a new canine companion? Well there are a lot of things to consider when adopting a dog. Follow these steps to make sure you know what you are getting yourself into.

Step 1: You must decide on where you are going to adopt your pet. Adopting your pet from a humane society or animal shelter is the best bet. Humane societies rescue homeless animals and put them into loving homes. Adopting a puppy from a home breeder can be a good option as long as the home breeder properly cares for the animals. Adopting a dog from pet stores, like Petland, is the worst option. They have a bad reputation for buying dogs from puppy mills. Puppy mills are places where dogs are bread and treated like nothing but products. They are not properly cared for, live in horrible conditions, and are often interbred which causes serious health issues.

Step 2: To find a wonderful dog at a humane society you should visit the website petfinder.com. This website searches virtually every animal shelter for the dog you specify. Not sure which dog you want? Then just search for a local shelter and browse through their animals. Check out the dogs in person by visiting the shelter where you can see and play with some potential new pets.

Step 3: To adopt a dog, determine which dog is right for you by matching energy levels. Most shelters will tell you if the dog has high, medium, or low energy. If you can’t match the high energy of your dog then you consider one with medium or low energy. Once you determine the breed of dog that fits your household best you should consider if you want a pure bred or a mixed breed. Mixed breeds are typically better animals to have since pure breds often have health issues and die younger.

Step 4: To adopt a dog, determine if you can afford a dog. Dogs require monthly heart worm treatments and yearly shots. They may also need to be spayed or neutered. If your dog has a long furry coat then you may have to pay for professional grooming. In addition to all of this you will need leashes, collars, tags, food, and etc.

Step 5: Do you have a big enough yard for the dog to run and play in? If not, is there a nearby park where you can take your dog for daily walks? You will have to exercise your canine companion even if it is a low energy dog.

Step 6: Now that you have the right dog picked out, make sure it is ok with the rest of the family and go adopt your new dog!

Tips: All dogs want are exercise, affection, discipline, and a full belly.

Warnings: Dogs can be a lot of work and if you have a short temperament then a dog may not be right for your household.

Comments (4)

WebScribe said:

	... You're near as intuitive as Edgar! We Dogs can't dig up enough appreciation for explaining our simple needs! I hope a five-bone Rec is enough to draw many, many Human readers! One more thing: Your work is a great example of how, even if you can't adopt, your writing for us can be just as important, if it's impact gives even one of us a chance to adopt a needy Human! 5bbbbb WebWoof
	report abuse vote down vote up

March 30, 2010
Votes: +1

paul said:

	... Great tips on adopting a dog!
	report abuse vote down vote up

January 19, 2011
Votes: +0

tracysmith159 said:

	... Spending some time with the dog is a great idea instead of just adopting based on looks. Many places will let you come play with dog before adopting.
	report abuse vote down vote up

January 21, 2011
Votes: +0

Carl Benjamin said:

	... Very good points for dog adoption.
	report abuse vote down vote up

July 04, 2011
Votes: +0