Any tips on how to choose a puppy.

October 15, 2007 9:50am CST
i am planning to buy a puppy, any tips that is helpful in choosing the puppy to buy? i will give it to my daughter. what kind of dog is suitable for a place with a small backyard?
2 people like this
6 responses
• United States
15 Oct 07
~Well theres alot of things to concider. Are you home alot, Or not often? How big of a place do they have to play? Do you have the money to get it its shots and spayed or neutered? Do you prefer big dogs? Little dogs? Male, female? Long hair or short hair? ~Rmember puppies need to be taken out often. When they wake up, after they eat, after they play and before bed. They also get up in the night to go out. Make sure your prepared for that. ~You want to choose a pup that suited to you. It dosent matter how big your yard is so long as you walk the dog 2 times a day. Dodnt let people fool you into thinking little dogs need less work. They actually need more. They have so much energy and have a tendancy to bark at EVERYTHING bigger than it. They have to be walked at least 3 times a day for 30-45 min each time. They are very excitable as well. ~You also should research diffrent breeds. You need to get a dog that fits your life style as far as relaxed or active. You dont want a working dog if you cant give it things to do. They will destroy your house if there brains arnt stimulated enough. I have an australian shepard who loves to heard everything from animals to kids!!! We take her to the beach everyday in the summer an allow her to run in the water and chase sticks. Its very good exercise for her and makes her brain work hard. ~When you do go to get a pup take your whole family. Sit on the floor and let the pups come to you. Dont go pick one up and say you want it. Dogs will pick there owner. Whichever one comes to you and your family is the one you should take home. ~Also you should do a few things to the pup to see what its temperment will be. Pick the puppy up and hold it in your arms on its back. If it tries to wiggle away it will be a very active pup. If it lays there and dosent seem bothered than it will be a calmer pup. ~Once you have the pup home you should do other things to him like: Touch there feet often, when there awake or sleeping. This makes it much easier to trim there nails when there bigger and makes it so they dont care when someone like a kid pulls on there feet. ~Get them used to the bathtub right away. Even if you only put them in some warm water for a few min. ~Poke it, pull its tail, pick on its ears. These are all things you can do to it to make it used to you and not bothered by this. If you dont you will have problems later. Like trying to take it to the vet. It wont like to be picked on so it wont cooperate for the vet which means a muzzle will be needed. Also this will make it easier for kids to play with him and not have to worry about being bitten. ~Ok thats all I can think of for now. I hope this helped some!!! Have a great day and choose that puppy wisely!!! This is a Pic of our newest Puppy Hemi in the bath. She is a Puggle Jug.
1 person likes this
• United States
15 Oct 07
Hemi - This is our puppy Hemi after a bath. Isnt she cute! LOL
Dont know why the pic didnt work. Ill try again.
16 Oct 07
wow thank you very much for this detailed information. it really a big help.
1 person likes this
16 Oct 07
Excellent advice! There is alotof research to be done before getting a puppy to ensure you choose the right one.
@vivasuzi (4127)
• United States
15 Oct 07
This site here is awesome and does exactly what you want: http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/search.htm You just answer the questions that matter to you and it will spit out the dogs that fit that description. Other than that, it tells you a lot about the dogs.
1 person likes this
16 Oct 07
that's a very nice information. thank you for sharing it to me. it would really help me finding the best puppy suitable for my daughter.
• United States
15 Oct 07
copperkitten seemed to give you the best advice. check out the site that can help you research different breeds also. That way you can learn alot about each breed to help you make the right decision
• United States
15 Oct 07
If you want a dog that will be comfortable with a small backyard you're gonna wanna stick with the smaller breeds. In my experince with dogs at work basset hounds, beagles, and puggles are very sweet, cute dogs! I've also had a positive experience with English Bulldogs, but I'm not sure if your daughter would want one of those or not hege.
@mitzwu (214)
• Taiwan
15 Oct 07
i think the best to have a dog pet is chihauhua cozt they dont grow big you can choose of anykind of cihuahua as you like.check this site if you want to buy a dog.www.nextdaypets.com
15 Oct 07
thank you very much. it really is a big help.
• United States
19 Oct 07
Do your research and depending on your daughters age that should be part of choosing which breed. Also how much time you will spend exercising it. I would recommend a small dog like a pug or maltese they are very freindly breeds and they are not shy of people or other dogs especially big ones. Just spend your time researching each breed has its pro's and cons decided which ones the best for you.