Selecting Your Puppy
An important part of having a canine family member is choosing the right puppy for your family to begin with. Do your research ahead of time! There are excellent books and Web sites that can help you choose the right puppy for your lifestyle. Talk to your veterinarian, animal shelter staff, and try to attend a dog show locally. Meet as many dogs as you can of a variety of breeds. And don't forget to meet adult dogs of the breeds you like as well as just puppies! While an Old English sheepdog puppy is a cute teddy bear, an adult may be a bit overwhelming for the average family. When you think you know what breed or type of dog would be perfect for your family, make sure you also find a healthy puppy of that breed! Look for a bright-eyed, active pup with no signs of diarrhea or parasites — don't fall for the sickly pup hanging back in a corner even if you feel sorry for her.
Things to Consider
Make a list of priorities for your family and lifestyle. Do you enjoy grooming? Or are you an immaculate housekeeper who would prefer not to deal with dog hair? Can you afford the regular grooming appointments needed to keep some breeds comfortable and looking their best? How about exercise requirements? Is yours an outdoorsy family that likes to hike and camp, or do you prefer to spend your weekends curled up with a good book? It is important to consider these and many other factors to help you choose a dog you will enjoy and who will be happy living with you!
If you're acquiring a dog for your kids' sake, be sure you will enjoy having one too. Dogs are fun, but they're also a lot of work and responsibility. Your children will love the dog, but she'll rely on you for most of her care.
When you begin to consider a certain type of dog, learn all you can. Weigh all factors of the given breed carefully, including the following:
Size
Grooming requirements
Exercise needs
Special equipment needs (such as a very large crate for a giant-breed dog)
Ease of training
Behavior around children
Type of temperament (friend to all or a bit of a guard dog?)
Activities you may want to share with your dog, such as agility or obedience
Luckily, dogs have an incredibly wide range of variation. There are purebred dogs of virtually every possible size, coat, color, and temperament combination. When you add in the amazing mixed breeds, there is sure to be a puppy somewhere that is just right for you!
Choosing a Healthy Puppy
There are some basic things to look for when adding a dog to your family. The puppy should be clean and in good condition. Some breeds tend to be roly-poly as pups, but being too fat is not good, and a very distended belly could be a sign of roundworm infestation. Beware of pups with diarrhea, goopy eyes, lackluster coats, and sneezing or coughing. Avoid puppies with reddened skin and those that are itching more than an occasional scratch. Any open sores should be a warning to you that the pup may have skin or immunity problems. The pup's skin should be elastic and snap back into place after you tent it up gently; this shows that the puppy is not dehydrated. Look for hernias — out-of-place bulges — usually near the umbilicus (generally a minor problem) or in the groin (a more difficult problem that needs to be fixed surgically).
You can't always judge the adult size of a pup by its feet. Some medium-sized dogs like English springer spaniels have large paws, while a Siberian husky has tight, smaller feet.
The pups should be active and energetic. Look for a puppy with a middle-of-the-road attitude — one that comes up to greet you but isn't frantic — and avoid the pup hanging back in the corner alone.
Follow the Breeder's Advice
Many breeders will do a puppy temperament test to see which pups may be easier or harder to train, as well as which would do best in a family, fit into a working home, and so on. While these tests are not infallible, when you combine them with the breeder's own impressions of the litter, they can help you get a true feel for the personalities of the puppies. Unless you are very experienced at evaluating puppies, expect the breeder to guide you in your choice or even pick out a pup for you.
A good breeder is an invaluable resource for health-related information as well. While all dogs have many of the same care requirements, certain breeds have unique needs. Large-breed puppies need careful diet plans to help their bones develop properly. Toy-breed puppies may need extra nutritional snacks to keep their blood sugar up. Dalmatians need to avoid foods that could cause bladder-stone formation. Your breeder can tell you these sorts of things and also give you guidelines to see if your pup is growing normally. Each breed is unique in many of its characteristics, and a reputable breeder knows her breed inside and out.
Do Your Homework
Once you've narrowed the field to a breed or even a particular pup, try to meet both parents of the litter if you can. The father may not be local, but you should at least get to meet the dam. (Don't be surprised if the mother dog looks a bit worn in coat and thin — raising puppies is hard work!) The mother may be cautious, but she should be basically friendly.
From doing your homework, you should know what genetic problems can occur in the breed you're interested in. Ask to see certifications that the parents are free of hip dysplasia, elbow problems, and eye problems if those are common in that breed. Ask about other problems that have been seen in that breed. If the breeder assures you their breed or their dogs never have problems so they don't need to do any screenings, beware! As your mother always said, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Try not to fall in love with and purchase the first puppy you see. The more litters you look at, the better idea you'll have of which puppy will fit best in your family. Of course, with some rare breeds, this isn't possible, but you should still interview several breeders — even if they don't have puppies available — to get a good feel for the breed.
Reputable breeders will ask you as many questions as you ask them. Don't be put off by this. It is a sign that they put a great deal of thought and love into breeding their dogs and they only want the best possible homes for their pups. Good breeders will also have you sign a contract so that if anything goes wrong, the puppy will come back to them. They feel responsible for creating this new life. That even applies many years later, when your “puppy” is ten years old!
