What You Should Know About Dogs Before Adopting One

Adopting a dog is an exciting time, and as such, you should prepare yourself for your furry friend moving in. For example, you may need to pet-proof your home to create an environment that’s safe for a dog, such as keeping away anything toxic. Here’s what you need to know before you adopt a dog.

Consider Using An Adoption Shelter

What you may not know, is that dog breeding is a very common act these days, one that can be quite cruel and almost like battery farming. There are many lovely dogs and puppies that are sat in adoption centres awaiting a new home, usually for a much cheaper price or even free.

These adoption centres do good work, and they’re always worth a look before going to a breeder, as some breeders can force breed dogs and mistreat them. Some dogs that end up in these shelters may have had a hard life, and as such will find it hard to adjust to being with you.

If that’s the case, you’ll have to be patient with these types of dogs, and work with them to help them settle into their new environment. Dogs get shy and anxious just as humans do.

Exercise Is Key For A Dog

When you own a dog, you will be responsible for its health and well-being. This means you will need to take it out for exercise frequently, some breeds may even need a long walk each day.

Dogs will appreciate gardens and other outdoor space in order to express themselves, and enjoy running around in their own time. How much exercise your dog needs, will depend on a range of different factors.

The most important factor of exercise is age. As you’d expect, a puppy won’t be in any position for a long walk, and an older dog might want to stop after five minutes. If a dog is ill, either short-term or long-term then it’s possible that they will not be up for exercise either.

It’s not only walking in which you can exercise a dog, you can also do games such as fetch in a garden or anywhere really, to get their heart pumping. Mixing walking and games is a great way to keep your dog active, and get them into the mood.

There Are Foods They Need To Avoid

What you may not know about dogs, is that they have strange diets. There are actually a number of different diets a dog can follow, from cooked meats to raw fish, or even vegetables and rice. By the sounds of it, you’d expect that dogs can actually eat anything, but you do need to be careful.

What’s important to remember, is that certain breeds of dogs will be able to handle different types of cooked meats differently. More importantly, it can actually depend on the individual dog itself, as they are all unique, and what might be a good diet for one dog, might actually be bad for another.

Consider using meats that are suitable for humans too, as some pet-graded meats may actually contain preservatives that aren’t actually good for your dog. If you’re unsure, you can actually consult a dog nutritionist to help guide you on your dog on your journey.

The amount of food you feed your dog will depend on their age and current size. For young pups, you want to not change their current diet too much, as their stomach is still getting used to digesting what they’re currently having. When they start to get to a few months old, then you can start altering the diet for health reasons.

When puppies reach that mark, you will be able to add meaty bones in, as the teeth will start to come through more and they will want to chew. When they reach a more adult stage of their life, then you can feed them twice a day using commercialized dog food from packets, as long as it’s a food type that they are good with.

Older dogs can have a number of chronic and digestive issues that you should keep an eye on, consider giving them smaller more cut up meats to help their systems process the food. Older dogs may need to get extra protein or supplements to get them by.

There are, of course, some foods that dogs should outright avoid. Some examples are chocolate, which is the classic one that you will be told, as although they enjoy the smell of it, it is actually toxic for them.

Most vegetables will be okay for dogs, but one you should avoid is onion and garlic. They can cause massive damage to red blood cells, which in some cases can cause them to rupture, which is a disaster. Even if they get fixed, they could be left with more long-term issues such as anaemia.

Fruits are usually okay, but stay away from citrus rich fruits. If you’re wondering can dogs eat pineapple, then the answer is more complicated, as it depends on what part of the pineapple and how much.

They May Need Professional Training

Whilst all dogs will need some sort of training, especially at a young age in order to help them adjust, you may need to seek out professional assistance. Dogs that are untrained will be more unruly and could be dangerous if you don’t know how to control them.

There are a range of different techniques and commands you could train to your dog, such as training them not to pee on anything they want, or training them to respect certain rooms of the house in terms of where they are allowed.

One of the most common training methods is obedience, as at the end of the day they need to be able to respect you as an owner, and listen to what you have to say. There are specialized classes where professional dog trainers will work with both you and your dog in order to get these results.

You May Need To Visit A Vet Straight Away

Depending on where you got your dog, it’s possible that you will have to book a vet visit as soon as possible, in order to get some early healthcare, or just check to see if they had any pre-existing conditions that you weren’t aware of when you picked them up.

Once you know what’s going on with their health, then you will be able to focus on getting them what they need, and help them settle in quite easily in the end. Some vets will be able to prescribe your furry friend an ongoing prescription in order to get the care they need. When it comes to giving dogs medicine, consider sneaking it into their food.

They May Not Get On With Other Pets Straight Away

Whilst dogs are famously very social animals, they may not completely get along with your other pets at first. Even other dogs may find it hard to adjust, this is because current pets feel very safe and territorial in their space, so any other animal that comes in threatens to offshoot the balance.

Your incoming dog will recognize this, and will want the space for themselves. Fear not, as in time they’ll be cuddling up to each other and being the best of friends, even cats will get along with them beautifully.

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