5 Tips to Choose the Breed of Your First Dog

When you make the decision to have your very first dog, you can feel as excited as you are lost.

What your dog will have experienced before living with you and what you will avoid him and allow him to live, count a lot (many, many, many!). Dogs are mostly shaped by what they live and especially what they live young. Each dog is unique and you may have already noticed that there are dramatic differences in behavior between dogs of the same breed.

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This is not to say that we must neglect the choice of the race of his dog. So what should we attach importance to? Here are some tips if you embark on this adventure (out of the ordinary) for the first time.

1- Take a (small) history lesson

Rest assured, if it was the nightmare of your schooling, you will be reconciled with the story.

You will soon welcome your first dog and you are off to fishing info! If this is not already the case, you will hear different sounds of the dog breed that you like, from your relatives, friends, neighbors, social networks.

You will be confronted with a vast amount of information that everyone is free to interpret in their own way. Not to mention that in terms of ideas received, you will take for your rank. Everywhere, dog breeds are described as dominant, stubborn, associable or sociable with other dogs, nice with children… (this is not exactly the case, because everything does not depend on the genes).

At this stage of your fantastic project to have a dog, there is sort to do. So start now, because in the next stage, you will be overwhelmed by a new wave of jarring news and even more prejudice.

What can help you not to believe everything you say, do not stop at appearances and sometimes trust yourself a little bit more, is to know the history of the dog breed (s) that you like. It’s really the best way to understanding the most important things to understand about the dog breed that attracts you, especially its use. Because of it depends a good part of what your dog and his needs (but not, not ALL either).

2- Do not choose a breed that has a lot of energy if you are not able to spend it on your dog

In some parts of the world where dogs are more likely than others to live under our roofs, we choose to go “to play sports” and for some of us, it has even become a challenge to maintain a minimum physical activity. For dogs, it’s a need like eating and drinking and they can not wait for the weekend or vacation to get in shape. To decide which breed might be your first dog, his need for physical activity is a crucial aspect to consider.

By discovering the history of the breed, you already have a better idea of ​​the need for physical exercise of your future dog, when he has finished his growth. Other things tell you if a dog can be happy to walk on a leash 15 or rather 30 minutes three times a day (for example), if he can walk or needs to walk much more than you are considering, or if he needs to run because he has so much energy to release that leash rides will not tire him enough. Each dog is different but there are bases to know.

Its morphology should allow you to determine if your future dog will be more or less energetic and how you can help him to spend his energy because there are sacred differences in terms of endurance, speed, agility, etc. and it also depends on what your dog will do the rest of the time. Some dogs adapt much better than others to a moderately active life because of their constitution.

In any case, there are many potential problems that you can not out immediately delist if you ignore this need exercise and you’re aware of that going to ask you to order the fill in everyday life (not only on Sunday!).

And if there are people who choose super athletic dogs with big sports needs to let them vegetate all day long and who are surprised to have horrible problems, there are also quite a few people who have dogs… who get tired too quickly for them!

All my tips for good thinking and preparing your project to host a puppy or dog at home are in my book  Why not a dog .

You will discover portraits of 120 dog breeds and find answers to all your questions.

3- Remember that you will have to take on more or less responsibilities

You will have to learn some things from your dog, if only cleanliness. For many, walking on a leash is a must. There are people who have dogs but only need to teach them to behave well with family and friends who come to the house. These are dogs that are more moderately part of society.

They have land available and it is fenced. They come out only to go to the vet (they are not unhappy not to be part of society!). So many things are choices and not obligations. For example, people in this case have the choice to learn walking on a leash or not. If they want to walk around here and there with their dog, they will teach him and if they prefer to leave their dog at home when they go here and there, they do not need to teach him.

With a dog that is more part of society, who frequents public places, sees all kinds of people, meets other dogs, etc., there is more to teach him but also more responsibilities to assume, towards others. Responsibilities, you always have, even in the countryside, for example, towards those who live with you if any, or even with respect to the factor🙂

Let’s say that more a dog is part of society and more have responsibilities to assume. From this point of view, races involve risks of not being able to assume certain responsibilities according to the place where one lives and the life one leads.

A simple example: You have taken care to calculate if you have the necessary budget to feed your dog who will weigh 80 kg once an adult. It’s good. Have you thought about what will “go out” (sorry!) And which you will have to pick up if you live in town? If you do not pick up, you’ve missed a lot of what is life with a dog: to be responsible to his dog but also to others or at least try his best!

There are dog breeds with which you will more easily assume your responsibilities and then others who may ask you to provide more effort. It depends on your ability to match your obligations with the characteristics of a breed of dog- physical and other. It is not good to rely solely on the breed of dog to choose your first dog, as it is not good to denigrate or ignore all that a breed can imply.

You have thought a lot about your future dog. You have thought a lot about yourself. Do not forget to think about the big or small world your dog will be part of.

There are big dogs that live happily in town because their owners take great care of them. But a big dog makes big dung. You have to pick them up because you have responsibilities to others too, not to your dog.

4- Turn to more dog breeds in the “half-measure”

For your very first dog, you may be interested in breeds that have a balanced set of characteristics, instead of breeds that have one or more very pronounced traits. It’s just an idea to ponder. It is possible that you are doing great with any dog 🙂!!

What can be very pronounced? Mainly:

• an extra strong pursuit instinct
• a flair of hell
• great energy
• a great physical force that makes some people say that some breeds are “dangerous,” but that’s not a reason to ignore a dog’s physical abilities
• a great determination (or perseverance) that makes some say that some races are “stubborn” is inaccurate, but this is not a reason to ignore the specificities of a race

These are not difficulties in themselves. Again, these are features that sometimes become issues, because of the dog’s environment.

Have you ever had a dog?

My book  Why Not a Dog will help you explore the world of the dog, get to know the incredible morphological diversity of this animal, avoid scams, make the right decisions for your future and that of your fellow hair, and to to better understand how dog training works and organizes itself!

Why not a dog

It also depends on where your puppy comes from.

Some puppies come from places where they have not been prepared to live in our world and it is more difficult for you and for them. Some puppies come from good farms where you have been chewed on the job.  For example, your puppy of a breed known to be easily triggered by small mammals that move has had great experiences with sociable adult cats before coming to your home. If it’s not a guarantee, at least he started to learn that cats are not “prey” (or threats). This is where you realize that everyone has advised you against the breed because you have a cat, but your puppy learns quickly to leave him alone.

So, if you have the crush on a dog breed that is not in the “half-size” and that’s your first dog, at least do not choose your puppy anywhere for “cheap And make sure you do not have too many constraints that will require you to learn more, and perhaps put so much effort into taking on all your responsibilities that you will get fed up with it. ‘a year.

There are more versatile dogs than others and it is not uncommon for them to be good candidates for a first dog.

5- Talk to a maximum of dog owners

You want a Scottish terrier.

You only have eyes for the Scottish terrier of the neighbor you see every day in front of your window. This gentleman was kind enough to answer your many questions. Now you are trying to find friends of friends of friends who have / have had a Scottish terrier. You have read all the sites and blogs and forums and professional publications about the Scottish terrier and you have seen all the videos on Youtube. You have become unbeatable!!

If this is your very first dog, try to be interested in as many dogs as possible, of different breeds.

They will tell you all that their dog is wonderful 🙂

But many of them, in answering your questions, will also give you a more precise idea of ​​the best conditions to offer to your dog, according to certain specificities of the breeds. You will have a more global vision of canine diversity and this will help you to lead your thinking.