Archives for January, 2010

Puppy Adopting? Think Twice When Someone Offers Puppies For Free!

You’ve decided you, or you and your family, should adopt a puppy as your next family pet. When you check with local dog breeders, you’re dismayed to hear what they charge. You know enough to avoid pet store adoptions when the dogs may come from puppy mills, but then someone says they know of someone getting rid of puppies for free…

Let’s face it – we all love a great deal. And compared to what they want for pure bred dogs, especially any popular puppy breed, at first glance this sounds like the perfect solution for your next family pet – but is it?

In some cases getting puppies for free is a smart move, and you’ll be happy with your decision for years and years to come. But you could be haunted by the decision for some time too if you’re not careful about it.

So many people are looking for small dogs for adoption that you have to wonder why someone would be giving away spitz, pugs or shitzu dogs. Most people adopting a puppy aren’t necessarily looking for purebred dogs, so even those with mixed lineage still command a fair dollar. And the same goes for medium size dogs like beagles, although the biggest demand is for the smallest dogs.

Your first concern is for the animal’s health – and if you can’t find out it’s lineage you don’t know what medical traits and concerns are endemic to the dog breeds in your prospective adoptee. Further, has the dog been neutered or spayed? Has a qualified, licensed Veterinarian examined this cute little canine to make sure parvo, heartworm or other common puppy diseases aren’t present? Does he or she even have a flea collar? Not all puppy diseases are evident to the untrained eye, or even to a professional without standard lab tests, etc.

Another concern when adopting a puppy is what training, if any, has been given and what socialization has been given? Are they used to being held by and playing with children? Have you ever been involved in training puppies or house-breaking them? Are you sure an older dog might not be a better choice for your family – at least one old enough to already be trained?

And if you don’t know the puppy breed, it’s had to be sure of the puppy temperament – or what it will develop into as the dog matures. Do you have young children in the house, or plan to one day? If so, you need to ensure that the family pets and the entire household will be able to cohabitate successfully!

Yes, on the surface free dog adoption – especially getting puppies for free – seems like an ideal situation. But in truth, paying out what it takes for a dog shelter adoption or a dog society like an ASPCA adoption or an RSPCA adoption may turn out to cost a lot less in terms of money, grief and time.

So think twice when offered when someone offers puppies for free and consider whether you wouldn’t be better with a humane society adoption – and whether a puppy adoption is right for your situation or if you should be adopting an older dog.

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Jan 31, 2010 | Comments are off | Adopting A Puppy, puppies for free

3 Reasons Why You Should Adopt Rescue Dogs From An Adoption Shelter

Whether you’re thinking of adopting a puppy, small dogs for adoption or really thinking of adopting any dogs up for adoption, you should be looking to adopt rescue dogs from an adoption shelter.

First, you’re helping the dog population in general. Usually, rescue dogs are at the bottom of dog society – while no one wants to see a dog abused or a dog abandoned, it happens to these poor creatures regularly through no fault of their own. Many die, unfortunately, but a lot do make it to an adoption shelter. These rescue dogs so appreciate any kindness they’re shown and only need a good home with your loving family to move to the top of dog society as a much-beloved family pet!

Second, you may well be saving the life of a poor little puppy or a loving older dog. Not every shelter is a no kill dog shelter – some have no choice but to put dogs to sleep if they aren’t adopted, as the shelter may not have enough room for the number of dogs they get. A true no kill dog shelter must have a big budget, have a number of volunteers who’ll take a foster dog, or refer new arrivals to other dog centers when their facilities are full.

This is especially true of older or geriatric dogs – while a lot of people will take an older, well-behaved dog as a foster dog, fewer will adopt geriatric dogs as they don’t have that long to live. Realistically, most people think of adopting a puppy, but puppy adopting can be equally taxing depending on puppy temperament (often a trait of the puppy breed). Similarly, most start out looking for small dogs for adoption, and again usually a small dog puppy.

And while there’s nothing wrong with a puppy rescue adoption, the choice to shelter a dog whose a bit bigger and longer in the tooth is probably the most humane adoption there is. We may all love puppy pics, but picking an old and trustworthy friend from an adoption shelter can be just as rewarding for you and help a geriatric dog live out his or her final years as a beloved and well-cared-for pet.

Finally, and just as importantly, when you adopt rescue dogs from an adoption shelter you free up the space, food and time used to look after your new pet, allowing them to accept another rescue dog in place of the dog adopted. These caring dog centers get far more dogs for adoptions than they can handle, so it’s important that we all do our part to help the adoption shelter as best we can.

If you’re not sure about owning a dog or adopting a puppy, speak to them about looking after a foster dog. A foster dog is one that is awaiting adoption, and you get a chance to try having a dog in the house while the adoption shelter has temporary space freed up to accept another dog abused and/or abandoned by some jerk. Just be forewarned – when you decide to shelter a dog as a foster dog, more often than not a loving bond develops between you and you end up deciding not to return them to the adoption shelter, but to keep them as the newest loving member of your family!

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Jan 31, 2010 | Comments are off | adopt rescue dogs, Adopting A Dog, adoption shelter

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