Adopt the Right Size Dog for Your Home

Video Transcript

"I’m Tracy Tenner with Better Behavior Dog Training at Extra Care Animal Hospital in Davie, Florida. I am here at the Tri County Humane Society in Boca Raton, Florida, where I have volunteered as a trainer and a behaviorist. We are here today to help you learn how to pick the perfect pet for you and your family. So if you are ready, let’s get started. As you go into the shelter to adopt the right dog for you and your family, it is certainly an important thing to consider size. Not every family is good for a large dog, and not every family is good for a very small dog. If you have small children in your home, I generally recommend not choosing a toy breed dog. They are very delicate, they are very fragile, and children often tend to be not too careful with tiny little dogs. Another thing to consider is a very large breed. Do you have room for a large breed in your home? Do you have a fenced yard or will you have to walk it? Do you have the time everyday to give the dog the exercise he or she is going to require? And will you resent those daily walks after a while? Another thing to consider is where you live. Are you in a condo, an apartment or in a homeowners association where there are size limits that go along with the dogs that you are allowed to have? All of these things are very important because if you adopt a puppy that weighs five pounds and it turns into a 50 pound dog and then you get put out of your apartment, we are in big trouble. Unfortunately many of those dogs are the dogs that wind up here at the shelter. So please take all these important things into consideration when you decide upon the size of the dog you want to adopt."