Adopting a puppy was one of the best decisions in my life. My animal companion has brought me a lot of happiness. He is a friend in good times and bad, and is always waiting there with a goofy grin on his face when I come home from work. Nonetheless, the decision to adopt a puppy should not be taken lightly. Adopting a dog is hard work, and you have to be really willing to put in the effort, time, and the emotional commitment to make sure that your animal companion is happy and healthy for his or her entire life.

The most frequent problem that people run into when they decide to adopt a puppy is abandonment issues. Some animal adoptions are easy, but adopting a dog is often difficult. All dogs form strong attachments to their pack, and when they lose that pack early in life it can be traumatic. Many homeless pets go from owner to owner several times before they are finally adopted by family that cares for them. By that point, their ability to form close connections can be injured somewhat. Many of them are terrified that they’re going to lose their new owner as soon as they are adopted. When I first adopted a dog, I couldn’t even leave the house without him crying hysterically. He would wet the floor, run around barking, and generally become a nervous wreck.

Although this is not an extremely common experience among people who adopt a puppy, it is not all that rare. When you adopt puppies, you have to deal with the issues that come up. In my case, I had to take off a little time at work to deal with my dog’s insecurities. I would leave the house for a minute or two at a time, then for three minutes at a time, five minutes, 10 minutes, and finally up to an hour. Even to this day, he doesn’t like when I leave the house, but now he can handle it a lot better. By working with him and helping him to feel more secure in the house, I was able to successfully deal with my dog’s insecurities.

You also have to be aware of breed traits when you adopt a puppy. People who buy dogs usually do research, but adoptive pet owners often just go in and buy the first dog that strikes their fancy. Different breeds have very different traits, so make sure you know what you are going in for. Some dogs need to work in order to be happy. You have to play fetch with them and let them carry your stuff around. Other dogs need a lot of physical affection, intellectual stimulation, or discipline. If you look into the issues before you adopt a puppy, you can find one that is just right for you.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 1:37 am and is filed under New Puppy Care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.