Things You'll Need:
- Time, patience, sense of humor, oh and patience.
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Step 1
Great! You've decided you want a pet. What's it going to be? A Cocker Spaniel? A Great Dane? A Dalmatian that you can name Pongo? All nice breeds. But wait, can you hear it? It's a little dog voice saying, "Pick me, Pick me, I'm so cute and I already love you."
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Step 2
Purebred dogs are wonderful beautiful dogs, except for the Mexican Hairless, but that is my own opinion. But before you shell out 400 bucks for a purebred dog, or ironically, even more for a designer breed that is actually just a fancy named mutt, take a trip to your local animal shelter. Some shelters in more rural areas are not manned regularly, so it is always best to call ahead, no matter where you live. Try not to pigeon hole yourself before you start. You may want a cute 6 week old puppy, but keep an open mind.
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Step 3
When you walk into the shelter, be prepared. Some of them are not kept in the best of shape - due to under staffing, under funding or any other plethora of reasons. Remember...Open Mind. Ask if you can go look at the dogs. Most will be in kennels, some may be outside exercising. Ask if you (and your family) can look by yourselves. You don't want to be swayed by the worker who has his or her favorite. As you walk through the facility, pay attention. Many times, the breed that the facility has listed does not really match the dog. It can be a guess. Sometimes you can look at a dog and pick out a dominate breed, sometimes, he is just a Heinz variety. There are some breeds (or breed mixes) that in general, are better family dogs, watch dogs, one person dogs, etc. Do some homework before you go. The facility usually will have information on whether the dog will do well with other dogs, cats, small children, etc. Trust this. Just because the dog wagged his tail at Timmy doesn't mean when you get him home, he won't decide that 5 minutes of Timmy is all that he can take. On the other side, if the dog is deemed to be "good with children" don't leave Timmy alone with the dog based on this alone. Use your good Judgement.
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Step 4
Look at how the dog behaves in the kennel. Does the dog seem apprehensive? Is the dog jumping at the door sticking his nose through trying to lick you to death? These are all signs. While there are exceptions to every rule, the apprehensive dogs probably aren't going to be ones to have around small children. Also, as a rule of thumb, small dogs are soooo cute, but larger breeds seem to be better around the small kids. It's a self preservation thing. A small dog is more likely to nip to protect itself from the kid who trips over it. It doesn't want to get hurt. The larger breed knows it's not going to get too hurt by a 40 pound kid. This isn't true of every dog, of course, but in general terms.
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Step 5
To pick the right dog for your family, be realistic. If you are not the most active of families, avoid the terriers. Please. If you are a kid-tastic family and very outdoorsey and loud and fun, a terrier mix might be good...but a lab or lab mix would be the BEST. By the way the most common dog at shelters across the U.S. is the black lab/black lab mix. Don't know why because they are SO VERY lovable.
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Step 6
Before you take that dog home, introduce him to everyone in the family...including other pets. Most shelters will allow the dogs to be put on a leash and brought out to your car for some visits with your other pet. They want what you want, everyone to be happy with the decision, animals and people alike. Find out as much as you can about the dog's history. Many times, these are strays and there is no history. But often, they are dropped off by someone who didn't realize a dog was so much work, or didn't realize a dog would get so big - but sometimes they were abused or neglected. While it is great to want to give this type of dog a home, it can be a lot of extra work and you should think about whether you have the time to put into it. One thing that seems like a negative but can be a positive - if the dog has been kept as an outside dog, generally speaking, he is easier house train. This is because to him, the outside IS his toilet. That is where he is used to going. So reestablishing that isn't that difficult.
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Step 7
Remember the BE REALISTIC part? So you are home with your new dog, the shelter said he is housebroken and well behaved but last night he chewed through your USB cable and then relieved himself on the ottoman. PATIENCE. Dogs can't tell you they are scared, lonely, or angry. Maybe they are just unsure what is expected. You might want to crate your new dog at night or when nobody is home until he is used to his surroundings.
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Step 8
So you picked out your black lab mix and you are taking him home. Call your vet and have him looked over. Hopefully he will already be neutered (or spayed if female) and all his shots will be up to date. Some shelters may do a follow up visit, or phone call to see how it is working out. Above all, enjoy your new pet, he is one of the family now, and you have just done your part in helping alleviate the problem of unwanted pets in our nation's shelters!
