By Alexander Gonta
Photo: Andrey_Kuzmin/Shutterstock.com
This is a website about selling dogs. But we also care a great deal about the commitment to having a dog, and how to take care of a dog. But I hope you take the time to read this page. We are willing, as stated in our contract, to take back a dog if you can no longer take care of it. We don’t want to see our dogs wind up in animal shelters. We are responsible breeders and we hope we are dealing with responsible future dog owners. That’s why we ask you to read this blog post.
There are approximately 572,000 dogs destroyed in shelters each year. Many of those dogs go un-adopted because of unwanted behaviors and lack of leadership. Local shelters do an awesome job caring for these dogs however; they do not have the money, time, or resources to train them.
There are many examples of people getting dogs with the best of intentions but then changing their mind. One example is a man that got a Yorkshire terrier, and raised the up until he was 12 months old. His job changed and he had to work from home, and be on the phone a great deal. The dog was very yappy and very noisy and he couldn’t be on the phone with all that background noise. Well, guess what? He takes the dog to an animal shelter and the dog died 1 month later. All because he was a noisy terrier? Did he deserve such a death? A bark collar and a bit of training could have helped, but instead, he saw the dog as a nuisance and not as a family member. One of the other reasons dogs wind up in animal shelters is lack of training.
Lack of training:
Many people get a dog without realizing how much training is involved. Dogs do not come trained. They need diligent leaders who are willing to put in the hours setting rules, boundaries, and limitations, and spending time teaching them commands. Puppies do not come housebroken and must be taught to go to the bathroom outside. People fail to take this into account when bringing home a dog and ignore problems, which often lead to behavioral issues. Shelters are filled with dogs that have potty training, socialization, and obedience issues, all of which could have been prevented through proper training. We provide a video from about basic puppy training and obedience training as part of our cost of owning a pup. We feel dogs don’t come with instructions and even a VCR player comes with instructions. These should help. We also provide resource on our website of trainers we know in our local area, and pet warehouses like PetSmart and others also provide lost cost training. There are many puppy classes you can take at your nearby A.K.C club and all it takes is a google search to find a club, an in-home trainer, training DVD’s, board-and-train, and there are solutions out there!! But unfortunately, people take the lazy way out and go to an animal shelter and give up their supposedly beloved pet. I advise you to think carefully before buying a dog, whether from us, or anybody else, if you are willing to make a commitment to training.
Lifestyle Changes:
Life happens. People sometimes get divorced. People have babies. Some people get rid of their dog the moment a new baby is on the horizon. Sometimes people re-locate and their new location does not allow dogs. These are all things you need to consider before getting a dog. If you are a young couple , what will happen to that young pup you adopted once you have a baby of your own? Will he or she still have room in your life? Remember, that young pup didn’t ask to come into your home. He is a baby too. You brought him willingly into your life. Will you get rid of him? Yes, a new baby can be very demanding of your time and attention, but are you willing to crate train your dog so he or she is out of the way when you can’t pay attention and then take him for a walk later in the day? Again, it all comes down commitment and training.
Not enough time for a pet or not enough money:
Sometimes people give up a dog because they feel they don’t have enough time to devote to the animal. Or sometimes, parents were pushed by their little children to get a dog for them, and they agree to it. All of a sudden, life changes, and taking care of the dog because a very low or non-existent priority for them. Remember dogs are living things, not stuffed toys. So if your children are pushing you for a dog, make sure you will have time for this dog when the children have lost all interest and have moved on to something else, like video games!
You have to be 100% sure you are committed to this animal and will take care of it for the next 10 to 14 years of its life. Sometimes, people dog realize the cost of vet bills, the cost of buying toys, food and so forth is hard on their budget. Again, would you let your child not go to a doctor if he or she was sick, no matter the budget? There’s various forms of pet insurance out there and all of these costs can be defrayed with good planning. However make sure you can afford to take care of the animal.
Biting:
Dogs are often hauled off to shelters because they have bitten a member of the family. If a dog exhibits aggressive behavior, it must be dealt with immediately. A dog showing poor rank drive and dominance toward another family member is likely showing this behavior long before the bite happened. Again, this comes down to lack of structure, leadership and training before a bite happens. This is a dog that was shown no boundaries and no leadership. The time to fix this is before the bite happens. This is lack of proper training, so please make sure you will put in the time to socialize the pup, set boundaries for the pup, teach in the meaning of the word “no” and teach good house manners and not just obedience commands.
Think before you get a dog:
This all boils down to thinking before getting a dog. Dogs and especially puppies are cute and often adopted or purchased on impulse. Nobody knows if anybody in the household is allergic before getting a dog. Make sure you will be responsible and get your dog owner and get your dog spayed or neutered at the appropriate age. Do some research and figure out if you have the financial resources to take care of a dog for its lifetime. Make sure you have the time commitment and ability to train the dog as part of buying a dog. Consider alternatives to giving up a dog to an animal shelter. For example, can hiring a dog walker reduce your time demands on your time? Can you get rid of an allergy by using a hypoallergenic shampoo to bathe the dog? By doing your part, you can be sure that fewer animals wind up confused, scared and eventually killed due to no fault of their own.
