How To Find The Right Dog For You ?

From poodles to bulldogs, there’s an endless list of dog breeds to choose from as your pet. Luckily, there’s no surefire way to select the perfect one. However, bringing a dog home is a significant decision.

There’s the cost of upkeep to think about, living space, and even your current lifestyle. These factors can complicate the selection process. But it doesn’t have to.

In this guide, we’ll highlight the essential factors to consider when choosing the right dog for your home. So let’s get to it.

Factors to Consider When Choosing the Right Dog

Selecting the right dog goes beyond appearance. It changes your family dynamics, your lifestyle, and even your personality. That’s why you need to get it right.

Here’s what to consider in your dog selection process.

Schedule

What does your schedule look like? Are you a 9 to 5 worker? Do you have the time required to groom a dog? You’d have to consider your schedule as it matters to your dog’s growth.

The fact is that dogs require attention. They’re social animals and love to hang around with their owners. A lack of attention, however, affects dogs. For instance, some dogs begin biting for attention from their owners.

 

Fortunately, you can prevent this by studying your schedule and selecting a breed accordingly. If you’re not on a tight schedule, you can get a low-energy dog (well, relatively low-energy). But if you need a dog that can stay home without trouble, perhaps you can adopt a senior dog who can handle it.

Activity Level

Every dog needs exercise; that’s a given. However, some dog breeds are more hyper than others. Siberian huskies, for example, are very hyper breeds. On the other hand, English mastiffs are gentle breeds, which is surprising considering their size.

You need to determine your activity level and match it to your dog’s. Generally, hyper dogs will want a causal walk or two every day. You’ll have to get a less hyper dog if that’s not up your lane.

But hyper is your best bet if you like hiking and running (essentially exercising). An example of a hyper breed is the Border Collie. The idea is to complement your energy with your dog’s.

 

Also, you’ll need to be open to adjustments. For example, even though you may not like going outside so much, dogs need exercise. So once you’re getting one, you must adjust your schedule to accommodate some walks.

Breed

Every dog breed has its characteristics. Knowing these characteristics can help you choose the right dog. Even though there are several breeds, they all fall under seven major categories. These are:

• Working (for example, Siberian huskies and great Danes)
• Sporting (for instance, labrador retrievers and English setters)
• Non-sporting (for instance, chow-hows and poodles)
• Hound (for example, basset hounds and beagles)
• Terrier (for example, bull terriers and rat terriers)
• Herd (for example, German shepherds and briaries)
• Toy (for example, pugs and Japanese chins)

You need to find a breed compatible with your lifestyle and personality. For example, herding dogs like German shepherds are energetic. But there’s more to them. They’re able to corral other breeds into groups.

Alternatively, you can turn to mixed breeds. They’re ideal because they combine traits from different breeds into one. So even though you won’t get all the features in one, you’ll undoubtedly get more than a purebred dog.

Age

Another essential factor to consider is age. Why? Well, the attention dogs require differs as they age. Here’s what we mean.

Puppies require the most attention. As the first six months from birth is its learning stage, you’ll need to dedicate time to raising your puppy. Your pup has to adjust to a new environment, and dedicated training streamlines that process.

There’ll be accidents, chewing of furniture, and what have you. It’s all part of the process. This means you’ll have to be patient.

On the other hand, adult dogs are quite trained. Therefore, they’re mostly the preferred choice. This is because, at their age, it’s easy to determine their temperament and energy level. They’re also socialized to a certain extent.

However, your home is a new environment. So you can expect to do some housebreaking.

Then there are senior dogs. They’re calmer and generally have lower energy. If you’re looking for a quiet, less hyper dog, your best bet is a senior. But, they need special attention and care. You must be ready to commit some time if you’re going for a senior dog.

Size

You may have already decided on the size of dog you want. Maybe you’re going for a small dog you can cuddle or set on your lap? Or you’re going for huge muscles. Whatever the case, you need to consider your living space.

How big is your residence? Can you accommodate large dogs like bullmastiffs? Do you have a yard out back?

Remember that small dogs are usually more injury prone and need space for safety. They’re also more sensitive to temperature, so what’s the condition like at home? Large dogs also need the room to move without destroying your home. They’re also more expensive to groom.

Final Thoughts

So, what’s it going to be? Now, you know what to consider when choosing a dog for your home. Even though there are other factors, getting these right will step you up for a good time with your dog.

We’d love to know which dog breed you decide on and if our guide helped. Also, is there a factor you consider that we haven’t mentioned? Let’s know in the comments.How To find The Right Dog For You