How to Select the Right Dog for You You've reached a decision. You want a dog.  You see people all around you walking, running and playing with their dogs.  Why shouldn't you have one too? They're man's (and woman's) best friend. They're lovable and give affection unconditionally. Studies have shown that people live longer when they own pets. I could go on and on. Let's face it, everything about dogs leads people to want them.   So, off you go to get a dog since everything you hear and see about them makes you want one all the more. Wait! Have you analyzed everything? Before you jump headlong into dog ownership, you need to carefully analyze your lifestyle and your interests. A dog is not something you purchase on a whim. It's a living social animal that, next to children, is extremely demanding on your time and resources. They're more than worth the time you invest but you need to enter into dog ownership with your eyes open.   Take a few moments to put some thoughts down on paper. Why do you want a dog? What's your schedule like? Do your kids keep you busy? Are you working all day? Do you travel frequently with work? Do your leisure activities include things where you can't bring dogs (e.g., dining out, watching movies, etc.) Where do you live (i.e., house, apartment, etc.)?   Dogs take a lot of time. They take time to train and they take time to live with. Personally, I love spending time with my dog. That's why I have one. However, if your schedule is such that very little of your time can be spent with your dog, please, don't get one. An ignored dog is an unhappy dog and an unhappy dog can be destructive in an effort to gain attention.   Alright! You've gone through everything, checked your lifestyle and whether a dog can fit in with it. Now the next big thing is to decide what dog to get. Do you get a purebred? Do you get a mixed breed?   My following discussion will almost exclusively deal with choosing and obtaining a purebred puppy or dog. This is not to discriminate against mixed breeds or shelter animals. I do not discuss them simply because I have no experience in adopting a shelter animal or raising one.  I do commend the people that rescue shelter dogs.   You've probably developed an idea of which breed. You've certainly met other dog owners who love their dogs and the breed(s) they own. You've seen how some dogs obey their masters so well and think, "Hey, that's the breed I want. Look how well it behaves." You may be in for a big shock when you come home with a puppy of that same breed expecting it to obey like the dog you met on the street. While many breeds are known for their obedience (Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Poodles, Border Collies, etc.), those dogs are well trained mainly because their owners spent the time and effort in training the dog.   Now, where to begin. The easiest first step, of course, is to talk with the owners of dogs you meet while out and about. Most dog owners love talking about their pets and will gladly take a moment to chat with you.   Another area of information is the book store. Books about getting a dog are plentiful. One I particularly liked was The Right Dog for You by Daniel F. Tortora. This book addresses only American Kennel Club (AKC) dogs and not any other purebreds not falling under the AKC umbrella. I found this book to be an excellent starting point. It helped to focus my attention down from a large pool of dogs to a few select breeds. One caveat, however, do not place 100% faith in the books you read. Again, they are a good starting reference, but books many times do not convey all of the information about breeds. Usually they only address the positive side of things.   The internet is also a good starting place. You can find any number of sites that offer dog buying advice. Excellent sites for advice are through Cindy Tittle Moore's Dogs FAQ page:        How Do I Pick the Right Dog for Me? (for starters)      Getting a Dog (as additional advice to the first)   Other sites exist where you can select a dog by answering certain selected questions. Again, as with books, read the information to help you narrow your focus but don't rely on everything as holy writ. Please note that web sites that offer to sell you dogs are not websites you want to deal with. I'm not talking about referral websites, but websites that advertise to sell you a puppy. I'll discuss more on this subject in my " The Do's and Don'ts of Getting a Dog" section.   Upon narrowing your focus you can now set about to meet more of these dogs in person. First of all, you can visit dog shows in your local area. For AKC shows, the AKC web site maintains an Events Calendar where you can look up shows and find any that are nearby. If you visit a show, buy a catalog (program) so that you know where and when the breed(s) you want to see are showing. Keep in mind, most shows start early (7:30am or 8:00am) so if you arrive midday, you could miss the breed(s) you want to see. Also, be considerate of the breeders or owners of the dogs who are showing. The best time to talk to a breeder or owner about their dog(s) is after they've finished showing and the class (the group they're competing in, e.g., all Border Terriers) are over with. By waiting until they've finished showing (at least during the first class with their own breed) you will find that they have more time to talk with you and are not distracted by thinking of going into the ring.   Another thing you will want to do is to contact their breed club. Most purebreds have national breed clubs (all AKC breeds have breed clubs). You can obtain the addresses of the various breed clubs, in the U.S., you wish to contact at the AKC web site. Take the addresses for the breed(s) you like and write to the national club(s). You will want to ask for a breed information packet, a list of breeders and also the price that breeders will ask for a puppy. Ask for prices on both a "show" or a "pet" puppy. Some breeds (and breeders) differentiate between these two, others do not.   Once you obtain the list of breeders, locate a few that are within a certain radius of your home. If you live in a larger city, chances are you won't have to travel far. It all depends. Call these breeders up and ask if you can come and visit them and their dogs. You may also meet these breeders at local dog shows, too.   Is it important that the breeder belong to the national breed club? You're darned right it is. Membership in the national breed club helps to demonstrate how dedicated this breeder is to its breed. Most of the national breed clubs are very concerned with maintaining consistancy within the breed. Breeders who are concerned with this goal, invariably belong to the national club.   Okay, now you're at the breeder's house and actually meeting their dogs. Hopefully, you'll have a chance to play around with them or pet them. They'll be in the own environment so you'll be able to see how they act naturally, as opposed to a show where they might be distracted by everything around them. By now, you should have a pretty good idea about whether you want this breed or not.   I'll cover the parts about what to ask the breeder (and what to inform the breeder about) in my section "The Do's and Don'ts of Getting a Dog".   Back to the Top of Dog-gone World

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