Considering Adopting a Dog?

Most families choose to get a dog at some point. Choosing your dog wisely is very important, of course, and can bring your home and family many years of happiness, love and companionship.

So should you buy a puppy? To go purebreed or not? Adopt? Mixed breed?
What type of dog? What are the advantages of adopting?

I have had the good fortune of being able to have tried both purchasing a purebreed puppy and adopting a dog from a shelter. There are distinct advantages to adopting a dog. Once you buy a puppy you are stuck with it. Not only is it very expensive, but purebreed puppys from puppy stores can come with a host of problems. They can range from serious behavior or health issues to just simply not being smart and having a hard time with training because of overbreeding. Raising a puppy takes a serious commitment of time and energy. I've often compared it to a baby, in fact, and had to invest in a baby playpen for a particularly unruly puppy! My puppy happened to be very dumb, simply put, hard to train and had behavior issues. Although there are many wonderful purebreed dogs, I have personally witnessed many examples of this, especially with expensive health issues. If you choose to buy a puppy, please make sure to do your research, make sure you are not supporting illegal or unethical dog breeders or puppy mills, and make sure to research the breed you want to make sure they will actually be the dog for you.

The upsides to adopting a dog are many. Not only is it far less expensive, but you have the opportunity to literally save a life. There are numerous types of dogs just waiting to be rescued, or in temporary foster homes. Those dogs know that they were saved, and their attitude generally shows it. They are so grateful!

Additionally, most adopted dogs are at least a year old, and have gone through the worst of the "puppy stage". My adopted, 1 year old mixed breed dog has turned out, by far, to be the best dog I have ever owned. She came already house trained, extremely smart, attentive and obedient, wonderful with people, children and other dogs and has had literally no health or personality issues in the 8 years I've had her. The easiest, most loveable and obedient dog yet. I feel very blessed.

If I had judged her purely on appearance, because she was a mixed breed or because she was in the pound instead of a store, I would have lost out on the most amazing animal I've ever met. She is a black Labrador-Pit bull mix who is a gorgeous brindle color. Every single vet and groomer I have brought her to has been awed at her well trained, sweet and loving demeanor. I tell them all, "She just came that way!"

Please consider adopting your next family pet. You won't regret it. But even if for some reason the first one you bring home just doesn't click with your family, most rescue organizations will take the dogs back. So you will literally have the pick of the litter... There are all sizes, breeds and types of dogs to choose from. Give it a shot and you may have the opportunity to save a life.

Oh and here's a list of great dog parks on Long Island to play at once you save your dog! :)

OMG that puppy is adorable!
I started adopting from rescues years ago. There was actually a large variety of breeds available in all shapes and sizes, and I was able to find the right dog for me pretty easily. The dogs I have adopted were very grateful and they showed it...I have never regretted saving a life and finding my best friends this way. They are just so happy to be freed and in a loving home. It's a wonderful feeling...

Surprisingly, a lot of the dogs I've met through the years who were a pit bull looking type were very sweet, affectionate and obedient... just happy-go-lucky. I have friends who have children and swear by their dog...and would never own another breed. They call her the babysitter. Of course, they were very careful to select her and she got very high marks from the rescue. They spent time training and working with her and she is very obedient. She is extremely tolerant and gentle with the children and gives them lots of kisses! Very intuitive and smart.

Of course, just like any dog, there are certain things in their environment that can trigger bad behavior, but a good owner knows their dogs strengths and weaknesses, their character and what triggers bad behavior and avoids them... and also pays attention and corrects them when needed. I have seen very aggressive little dogs that never get corrected, and I wonder why they aren't seen as bad dogs to have around children. I've also seen my fair share of retrievers, chows and labrodors who have snapped at a children right in front of me or bared their teeth in a warning...so I don't think it's breed specific, it's just that dogs will be dogs.

But I do think pit bulls have just gotten a bad rap in the media. There is SO much mis-information about them out there. You never hear about the type of breed involved when regular, average dogs attack or bite children or that this happens all the time.
I guess it doesn't sell enough newspapers.

I think the only real downfall with pit bulls is that they ARE so obedient and loyal and they are naturally strong dogs. (But so are labs, after all.) I mean they are so easy to train that a bad owner can take advantage of that and use those positive qualities against them turning their naturally good character into protective and dangerous.
But it is certainly NOT how they come. It takes a bad owner or severe, inflicted trauma by humans to turn them bad. And this can happen with ALL breeds of dog. Such a sad situation...

I was very happy to hear Massachusetts updated and overhauled their Animal Protection laws this Thursday! I am hoping that neighboring states, especially New York, start thinking along these same lines and that common sense laws like this are passed here as well. We certainly need them... if you take a look at our shelters it is simply outrageous how these poor animals are living. My heart breaks for them.

I am especially glad that they outlawed breed specific legislation that labels specific breeds as dangerous. That is simply a travesty for tons of perfectly adoptable dogs who are loveable and wonderful family pets, but get labeled incorrectly by ignorant folks who think all dogs of a certain breed are dangerous. That is like saying all children are the same, or all cats are the same, and if one is dangerous, they all are?...ridiculous.

Anyhow...YAY for Massachusetts!

Sure! Feel free to start one if you'd like ... this thread is just about considering adoption and the common issues surrounding dog adoption. The laws updated in Massachusetts are certainly not all about breed specific legislation, that is just a small (but worthy of mention) portion of it, but the laws ARE specifically about adopting animals and the welfare of all animals in the animal control system. It's such a positive step forward! :)