Advice on getting a dog. Woof.

frobisher

I intend on getting a dog and was planning on taking one from one of the animal shelters. One place I spoke to on the phone said they sugest not getting a young puppy and that a dog between 1-2 years would be good.

Any experiences or thoughts?

pepper

frobisher wrote:

I intend on getting a dog and was planning on taking one from one of the animal shelters. One place I spoke to on the phone said they sugest not getting a young puppy and that a dog between 1-2 years would be good.

Any experiences or thoughts?

well maybe he suggested that because not many people want an older dog.
however i think if u got an older dog if hes not trained you would have a lot of trouble trying to train it, its better to get them young and train them

Irish-Lass

I think why they say not a puppy because a lot of people dont realise the work involved in house training a puppy. Also you need to look at your life. How long will the puppy be left on its own puppies crave human and the first 12 weeks of their lives are the important ones. Why not look at a dog from say 6 months old

casanova_kid

I was in a house last night and the puppy shat all over the hall, mad a mess. Don't know if that will help you in your decision, but thought i'd tell you anyway.

Irish-Lass

pups will wee and poo all over the place until they are house trained

frobisher

The shelter suggested a dog that had been newtered and had it's shots, possibly some house training and was old enough to not need to constant attention. Makes sense I guess. I have also heard that the shelters have a glut of older dogs that need homes so they push them!

tonym

no matter what u decied u are gonna need a huge amount of time. remember that an older dog needs time too the dog needs to gain ur trust and visa versa. if u look at it this way the older dogs need a home worse. check out www.irishanimals.ie lots of pics pups and older dogs

pinkyirl

we have rescued 2 dogs - one of them 4 years ago and the 2nd on october, one from a shelter and the other from ashtown pound.

Sasha was approx 18 months when we got her & Dozer was approx 14 - 18 months. Both dogs proved very trainable and in no time were house-trained, learnt all their commands and are two fantastic little babies!

I am an advocate of adopting from the pound because they only have 5 days to live before they are destroyed. a dog in a shelter is not going to be put down. plus i think the pound dogs are ultra loveable - it's almost as if they know you've saved their life & they are all the more grateful to you for it!

best of luck with it...

Arcadian

The problem with adopting direct from the pound is that you don't really know what your getting whereas a dog from a rescue will have been evaluated, probably in a foster home so you have a much better idea of its temprement etc. Also by adopting from a rescue you are freeing up a spot for a pound dog anyway;)