That being said we recently added a new member to our family. We opted on a dog so that the kids would have a playmate (and to be honest the decision was made to also help eliminate some of the hassles of raising kids like food on the floor). Since we have owned dogs and puppies previously we were already aware of the care requirements and hassles that come along with a dog. Having that knowledge helped us in making a decision on what type of dog we wanted to get, and the age of the dog. Even so we did not take the decision lightly and took time to look around before making a choice.
While puppies are adorable and it is nice to have a dog from the start so that you can train them the way you want them to be trained, they also require a lot more time and discipline on your part than a dog that is a little older. That is why we decided to get an older puppy or adult dog versus a brand new puppy. We also decided that it would be better to go through either an organization that provides care for lost, abandoned and unwanted animals or a private individual that would put the dog into a shelter if a new home was not found in a timely manner. We used petfinder.com and craigslist.com to search our local area for available dogs that met our requirements.
We found many dogs with great qualities that we really liked but there was one that stood above the rest for us. His name is Jake, he is an 8 month old black lab, boxer mix which we found on craigslist. The previous owners were in the military and were getting ready to leave the military and move back to their home state. They loved Jake very much but they were concerned about taking him with them, since they were going to be staying with family temporarily until they found work and a home of their own.
Jake laying next to our sleeping 2 yro son Cole.
Jake had 2 homes prior to ours. His first owners had several dogs and decided to give him away because they did not feel they had enough time for him (that is pretty much the extent of what I know about his first home). He moved into his second home when he was just under 6 months old. There they worked on potty training, kennel training and teaching him some basic commands. However they did not socialize him very well so he is leery of strangers. This was very evident when we went to meet him. For the first 20 minutes that we were there he did little else but bark and growl at us.
After some time and not a few treats, Jake started to warm up to us and started playing outside with the kids. Since he had never been around kids before and we have 2 pretty young children it was extremely important for us to know that he would behave himself with the kids. As shown in the picture he has warmed up to our family nicely and gets along great with the kids. The only problems that we have continued to have with him are that he is still pretty leery of strangers and that he will try to take food from the kids before they are done with it. We are working on both of these things along with enforcing stricter obedience when told to come and stay.
To sum it all up I would highly recommend that you consider adopting a pet from a local shelter, rescue organization or someone that is unable to keep the animal. These animals can and often do make great additions to families and can be even more loving than a new puppy since they have also known what it is like to not be loved. Although I recommend at least considering this option when obtaining a new pet, I also recommend that you meet the animal first to help ensure that the animal is the right fit for you and your family. While these animals may require extra time and training above what they have already received the same is true for a puppy and really how can you resist giving a beautiful and loving animal a loving home if you have the option.
