Adopt a Dog

Should you adopt a dog?

First reaction is to say YES OF COURSE! Everyone should have a pet, be it a cat or a dog or anything else but a kid basically. Common sense has to kick in though - we all know that a dog is for life but have you actually thought this one through?

They are the first and last things you have to deal with each day, from the morning wee to the bedtime routine. It's time consuming, for sure. From my personal perspective as an essentially selfish bloke who would quite happily spend all day every day on the computer or guitar or both (here are some samples FYI), I've spent far less time doing what I want to be doing since I got my boy, Raja. How is that better than having a kid you ask? Well, let's just say that the time I've spent on soundproofing my room would be a little redundant with a mewling squawking kid, no?

I digress. The point is that it can be HARD. Here's the scene in someone else's words:

"Adopting a pet is a commitment. You are committing yourself to care for your pet for the rest of its life, NOT until the novelty wears off. That is why it is VERY important you choose the right pet for your family. You must take into consideration, not only the type of pet, but also how much time you are willing to put into your new pet. You have to realise that caring for a pet is more than simply providing it with food, water and shelter. Pets require grooming and exercise; some more than others.

Realise too they sometimes get sick, just as we do, and need medical attention, which can be costly at times. Before you go out and adopt a pet, do your research! Make sure you can afford the expense of your chosen pet. After you've decided on the "right" pet for you, visit your local humane society or animal shelter. You will be possibly saving the life of animal that otherwise might be euthanized."

Things to Consider

• * Are you sure?
• * No, really - Are you sure? It's a serious question.
• * What are you going to do with your dog all day? Assuming you and everyone in your household works then you've got a lot to think about. It's not ideal to leave any dog at home all day and to be honest some dogs will just trash your house if you try. For example, Border Collies are far to intelligent to be left unattended and will make their own fun. Which usually means wrecking something. An ex-race greyhound can be as good as anything since they tend to be incredibly lazy in their retirement. Watch out for their toileting though..... HERE's a guide to finding a good dog walker.
• * Cost - your darling doggy will cost you, that's for sure. We've spent over £500 on vets fees alone. And on our last holiday our dog's accommodation cost more than ours! Admittedly that's because we love them far too much to let the stay in the local prison block. Then again, what parent would?
• * The Poo Issue - can you really pick up after your dog or does the thought of picking up shit through a thin plastic bag make you ill? If your dog messes, you MUST clear it up.
• * On a similar subject - the best dog in the world will have little accidents from time to time. You don't mind, do you?
• * What Breed? Until I have time to write up my own notes, HERE's a pretty comprehensive guide.

But we'd have to say that they don't get much better than Lurchers and Greyhounds. They're lazy and lounge around all day - until playtime when they're boundless fun for a while. Then they'll sleep all day again. They're dead affectionate too, our girl wants nothing more than a chin rub and to bury her nose in you.....

Cesar Milan's Comments

Interesting comments from The Dog Whisperer recently - his thing is the "Energy" that dogs have and learning to communicate in it's terms. Cesar's comments was that when choosing a dog to go with your existing, get one with a comparable or lower energy level to your existing dog to avoid problems.

We've got that wrong in the past, trying to pair a hyper Collie with our lazy lurcher - Raja just got pissed off with this collie after 24 hours. On the other hand, Kuri the greyhound was so placid when she arrived that there was no issue at all....
Where to get your dog from

Here's a list of dog rescue centres in the UK. Our favourite though is TIA Lurcher and Greyhound rescue centre because that's where we got our girl Kuri from.....