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Choosing A Dog: Should You Get A Puppy Or An Adult Dog?
Puppies are adorable, sweet, and cuddly. To look at them is to smile. A puppy is yours to work with, an almost clean slate you can mold to fit perfectly into your life. Yours will be the only family she knows, as long as you keep up your part of the deal. That said, there are some real advantages to choosing a grown dog. They're often less expensive to acquire, and certainly less expensive to maintain, since their puppy shots and wormings are behind them. If you choose carefully, you can find one who's already house-trained, and maybe knows a little basic obedience, too.
So why don't more people consider a grown dog? The No. 1 reason is that most people believe that a "recycled rover" doesn't bond as well with their family as a puppy does. That's true if you intend to keep your dog in a barren backyard with little human contact. But if you welcome your dog fully into your life, she's yours just as much as the puppy you took from her mother at seven weeks. Some people say the bond is tighter because the dog has seen the world and knows how lucky she is.
A puppy is a good choice for you if you have the time, patience, and flexibility - not to mention the sense of humor - to deal with canine babyhood and adolescence. You won't find any short-cuts to the delightful business of puppy raising - it's 3 a.m. walks and chewed loafers, endless hours of play and just as many in training. You don't really know what you're going to end up with until you do - this is especially true of mixed-breed puppies.
Puppyhood is a wonderful trip, full of surprises and delights, but one you shouldn't take if you haven't the time. If you don't put in the effort, you may end up with a dog who drives you crazy - or one you'll drive to the shelter when you can't stand it anymore.
Grown dogs have a bad reputation, one that's often undeserved. Aren't grown dogs that are up for adoption usually pets that other people couldn't stand? Is adopting one really such a good idea? It depends on the dog, of course. The real plus is this: While an adjustment period is inevitable with any canine relationship, it's a lot shorter with a grown dog.
An adult dog is past crazy adolescence and settled, for good or for bad, into her adult personality. That does not mean that she can't be trained - all dogs, young and old, benefit from training - but it does mean that you aren't able to influence her personality as much. If you've got a puppy with shy or aggressive tendencies, you can do things to help her before a problem arises. If you have a shy or aggressive grown dog, change is a lot more difficult, and maybe not possible at all. Which is why you shouldn't be influenced by a sad story and big brown eyes when you're considering a grown dog.
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