When looking for a puppy to add to your family, consider adoption first. You can help save a life by adopting a puppy or a dog.
Adoption is a great alternative to buying from breeders or pet stores. It costs roughly the same, except you are saving a dog’s life and they can bring you a ton of joy. Shelter dogs are some of the best and most loyal dogs out there.
There are millions of pups waiting in shelters for their forever homes and saving one can help the others find their forever homes as well.
Take a trip to your local shelter or city pound and you will see dozens of homeless puppies and dogs who were dropped off there through no fault of their own.
According to the ASPCA, HSUS, and the National Council on Pet Population Study & Policy, as many as 2 MILLION dogs are in shelters, and around 60% of those are going to be put down. It makes me cry just thinking about it.
These dogs don’t have to die if, instead of buying a dog from a pet store, people would just adopt a dog from a shelter. These dogs deserve to find a special family who is willing to spoil them with love.
Table of Contents
Why Would Someone Give Up a Puppy for Adoption?
Unfortunately, many people underestimate the amount of work it takes to raise a puppy. A puppy will take way more time, money, patience, and energy than you can imagine. Many people think that all they need to raise a puppy is love but not until after they get the puppy home do they realize they bit off more than they could chew.
These unrealistic expectations are cause for much of the suffering of many pets locked up in shelters. This could easily be avoided by doing some research before adopting a puppy or dog.
The result of not doing your research beforehand is much heartache for both the owner and the dog. Many dogs end up in shelters or even worse – abandoned on the side of the road, thrown in a dumpster, or left tied to a lamppost.
Here are the most common reasons people surrender or abandon their pets:
- Moving across the country
- Landlord won’t allow pets
- Cost of care
- Not enough time
- Housing is too small/hoarding
- Overcrowding/too many pets
- Sickness
- Personal problems (allergies, divorce, relationship problems)
- Dog is aggressive or untrained
- Unwanted litter of puppies
About half of the animals at shelters and rescue organizations were picked up by animal control. Some people don’t even have the courtesy to leave their pets in the care of a shelter, a neighbor, or a friend. They just abandon them on the street and let them fend for themselves. That is a sobering statistic and, hopefully, adoption awareness can help bring this number down.
Types of Rescue Organizations
When looking to adopt a puppy or a dog, there are two types of animal shelters available. The types available to you will depend on your area and the resources you can provide a puppy/dog (more on this below).
Municipal Shelter
A municipal shelter is a shelter operated by the city or county in your area. This is often the city pound and is where stray animals will end up. Lost dogs are brought here and when no one comes to claim them, they will be put up for adoption.
Unfortunately, municipal shelters are often small and don’t have the resources to hold a lot of animals. If they don’t have any space, they will euthanize animals that are deemed ‘unadoptable’. A few cities or states run ‘no-kill’ shelters but these are hard to find.
Non-Profit Shelters/Rescue Organizations
Non-profit shelters are small, privately run organizations. They are typically ‘no-kill’ shelters, however, they may also have a problem with overcrowding and will send the dogs elsewhere – sometimes even to the local municipal shelter.
Breed-specific rescue organizations will take in purebred animals based on their breed. These organizations often have foster families who will take in the dog until a forever home is found. Dogs at these organizations are more likely to find a new home and will generally not be euthanized.
To find out more information on shelters in your area, check out our Dog Rescue Organizations page.
How to Adopt a Puppy
Now that you know where to go to adopt a puppy, you are ready to begin your journey to puppy parenthood by finding the perfect pooch for your family. The question you are probably asking yourself is, “Where do I start?”
When purchasing a house or a car, you will constantly be told to not purchase the first one you see. The same advice applies when adopting a pup. Do not adopt the first puppy you see! Visit with more than one, observe their behavior, and how you and your family get along with the pup, and look at each of them with an open mind.
Believe me, it is hard to walk away from a pup with big, sad eyes staring at you from behind the kennel door. But it is extremely important to take your time. If the dog isn’t right for you or your family, he or she may end up back at the shelter which would be a real shame. Do the pup a favor by giving the right family a chance to find him or her so the pup will never have to come back to the shelter again.
Adopting From A Shelter
Each shelter or rescue organization has its standards and procedures for adopting a puppy or a dog.
Some shelters are stricter than others. One shelter might be fine with having you fill out an application form while another shelter may send someone out to your home to check out your living conditions.
They will always want you to answer a few questions before you are allowed to adopt one of their animals.
The shelter has the best interest of the dog in mind and wants to find him or her a good home. The best way to do this is by making sure the puppy is a good fit for you and your family.
Questions The Shelter Will Ask You
- Do you rent or own your home?
- Do you have a fenced yard?
- Do you have children, if so how old?
- How many hours per day will the dog, or puppy be left alone?
- Do you have other pets?
Always answer the questions truthfully so the staff can get a good understanding of your lifestyle and which dog will fit in best with your household.
Questions To Ask Yourself
There are also some questions you should ask yourself before you head to the shelter. It is all too easy to fall in love with the first puppy you see so it’s a good idea to make a list of what you are looking for.
Here are some questions you need to ask yourself:
- What size dog are you looking for?
- Long or short coat?
- Male or female?
- What kind of energy level are you looking for? Are you looking for a puppy that can hike with you in the mountains or do you want a dog to snuggle with in front of the TV?
If you end up falling for a puppy that is not even close to what you were looking for, yet you can still see that puppy fitting into your life then it is OK if you want to adopt it. As long as you understand that you may have to change your lifestyle to fit around the dog. It will be a lot of work but it will be worth it because that dog will give you so much love and attention that you won’t know how you ever lived without him or her in your life.
Which Puppy is Right For You?
The staff at the shelter or rescue organization are trained to help you choose the right puppy for you and your family. They work with the animals every day and know their personality well. They will ask you questions about your lifestyle and what you are looking for and then match you to a dog they feel will fit into your household.
Even City Pounds will have staff that can help you find the right animal. They don’t like putting down animals due to overcrowding and will want to find the dogs in their forever homes.
While at the shelter, pound, or rescue organization, ask the staff questions about each of the dogs they show you. Here are some of the things you should be asking them:
What is the dog’s personality?
It can be hard to determine what a puppy’s personality will be like when it grows up but you should be able to tell what the personality is like in an older dog. You should try to find a dog that is happy, playful, and friendly. Unless you are willing to invest a lot of time and money into a trainer, avoid dogs who cower, run away, act aggressively, or are hyperactive.
You can also ask the shelter staff where the dog came from. Maybe the former family provided some information on his or her personality when they surrendered the dog to the shelter. Or maybe they know the dog’s breed or the breed of the dog’s parents. Each breed displays different personality traits and characteristics. Mixed breed dogs may show a few traits from each of the breeds in its blood whether that is 2 breeds or 4 breeds (a DNA Test can help determine the different breeds but you may have to wait until after you adopt the dog to use the test).
If the shelter mentions that the dog has shown any signs of aggression, you should probably not adopt that dog unless you are willing to pay for professional training.
How much energy does the dog have?
If you are someone who is always walking, hiking, biking and spending time outdoors, then you probably won’t mind a puppy or dog who is always on the go as well. As puppies, certain breeds need hours upon hours of exercise before they settle down just a little (black labs and German shepherds are two of those breeds).
If you are someone who enjoys working on the computer, watching TV, listening to music, and leading a low-key lifestyle, then you probably want a puppy or dog who sleeps, watches the birds out the back window, and enjoys spending hours chewing on a bone.
Of course, you want to be sure the puppy or dog isn’t sleeping so much because it is sick. If you suspect that the dog’s low energy is due to sickness, ask if you can bring the dog to your vet before you adopt it. Some shelters may allow this.
What is the dog’s health record?
Most shelters will vaccinate all animals as well as spay or neuter them before they are available for adoption. Be sure to check that your shelter provides these services to their dogs.
Another thing to check on is any health issues related to the dog. Does the dog have any ongoing health problems that need medication or follow-up care? Is there anything to watch out for in the future regarding the puppy’s health?
Finally, ask if you can bring the puppy to your vet for a checkup before you decide to adopt it. Some shelters will allow this and some won’t so it is always good to check to see if it is a possibility.
What type of training does the dog have?
Find out if the dog is housebroken, socialized or has completed any basic training. If the puppy does not have any training whatsoever, you may have to shell out some money and some time to train it yourself.
Housebreaking or socializing a puppy is not a big deal to most people but it is a good idea to know what training the dog has had previously so you aren’t surprised by the pup’s behavior when you get it home.
Which Puppy Should I Bring Home?
After you have found two or three puppies that meet your requirements, you will want to spend a little time getting to know each of these puppies.
Ask the shelter staff if you can visit and play with each of the puppies in a private area. Many shelters will have special rooms dedicated to this purpose. Some shelters will let you take the puppy for a walk around the block or will even have a fenced-in play yard so you can play a game of fetch.
Be sure to bring your entire family with you when looking to adopt a puppy. That way, you can see how the puppy reacts to each family member and how each family member reacts to the puppy.
There is no point in adopting a puppy if you find out that Little Johnny hates dogs or cries every time a puppy comes near him. You also wouldn’t want to adopt a dog that is fine around adults but is terrified of children.
Before you make the adoption official, find out if the shelter will allow you to take the puppy home for a few days to see if it is a good fit for your family.
Even if the shelter doesn’t have a ‘trial’ period, they will usually take the pup back if it doesn’t work out so the puppy doesn’t end up in a bad situation.
After you answer all of the shelter’s questions and sign the paperwork, the puppy is yours to take home and love.
Congrats on Your New Pup! Now What?
You are probably exhausted by all the research, time and energy you put into finding the perfect puppy. However, picking a puppy is just the beginning. Once you’ve brought the puppy home, you can get to work training and raising your hound.
Raising a puppy will take a lot of time, money, love, patience, and…did I say money already? Seriously, it will cost you much more money than you were expecting. I know I’ve spent at least three times as much as I had budgeted for my beagle. More on that in a later article…it’s time to get organized.
Going To The Vet
The first thing you need to do is choose a vet for your puppy and make an appointment. Even if the pup got his vaccinations and was spayed and neutered at the shelter, he or she should still get a general check-up at the vet to make sure the shelter didn’t miss anything…just to be safe. This will also allow your vet to get to know your new puppy and will help the puppy get used to the vet. Be sure to bring lots of treats.
Training Your New Puppy
The day you bring your puppy home, you need to start training it. I use a crate for my beagle and I strongly recommend crate training a puppy. It has been a lifesaver. Crate training makes house training so much easier and, if you don’t want to share your bed, you can train your puppy to sleep in the crate at night. It is also a safe place to put your puppy when you have to leave it at home alone. My dog doesn’t like being in her crate during the day, but many dogs do learn to love their crates and see it as a den and a place of relaxation.
What Breed Is My Puppy?
If your new bundle of joy is a mixed breed, then it might be a good idea to find out what breeds are in his or her blood. This can help you learn about what personality traits your dog might exhibit and what health concerns you need to watch out for. For example, beagles are prone to epilepsy and ear infections.
The best way to find out a puppy’s heritage is by using Dog DNA Testing. These tests are relatively inexpensive and can help you learn more about where your puppy comes from.
More Reading
Finally, check out some books on raising puppies and training dogs. You can find breed-specific books or general books that will give you tips and advice to help you raise your puppy to be the best dog he or she can be. Check out my list of the best books on raising puppies for more information.
By adopting a puppy, you have saved their life. They know this and will give you more love and attention than any store-bought puppy could ever give. The bond between you and your pup is a special one and will help make the tough times easier and the good times even sweeter.
I hope you both have a fun and amazing journey through puppy-hood and beyond!
Sources
ASPCA: Shelter Intake and Surrender Statistics
