Are You Planning to Adopt a Puppy?

Hi my name is Emily Wilks a licensed veterinarian from ringwood animal hospital in New Jersey. Today i'm going to talk about important things to consider when looking to adopt a puppy.

It is very important to think about your lifestyle and how that puppy will fit into it. You should think about the size of dog you want, how active and trainable he or she will be? How much shedding and also consider your living situation.

If you're a very active person that is looking for an exercise buddy or have a big fenced in backyard more active breeds such as collies greyhounds german shepherds huskies labs and german short-haired pointers are some good fits. If you're looking for a dog that would be content as a couch potato consider more calm breeds such as french bulldogs pekingese cavalier king charles spaniels or basset hounds.

Shedding is another important characteristic in a dog especially if you or a family member has allergies. Dogs that have heavier coats tend to shed a lot including huskies collies golden retrievers german shepherds shelties great pyrenees samoyeds and pomeranians. You should avoid these breeds if a family member has allergies and even consider adopting a hairless dog breed dogs with heavy coats may require daily brushing and breeds such as poodles bichon frise shih tzus pekingese and lhasa apsos also require regular grooming with healthcare products for dogs.

The type of living situation you have is crucial to think about when adopting a puppy. If you live in an apartment you may want a smaller breed dog that is not too active, doesn't bark excessively and would be friendly to people you would run into in the building. French bulldogs boston terriers pugs and bulldogs would all be great apartment dogs.

If you have small children make sure to do some research on breeds that are good family dogs since some dog breeds are known to play rough such as huskies alaskan malamutes and weimaraners and others such as chihuahuas pekingese and chow chows can be aggressive.

If you are a new dog owner you will want to choose a dog breed that is easy to train. There are several dog breeds that would be a great fit for a new dog owner but some can be more challenging. Avoid breeds that are known to be more independent and even stubborn such as huskies australian cattle dogs chow chows and sharpays.