Most dog lovers want to get a pet dog home at some point or the other in their lives. With pet shops mushrooming around the city and adoption alerts popping up on social media, a lot of people get impulsive and get a pet home. With the excitement of getting a new pet home, we often tend to forget to go through certain mandatory checks. Here are some things to ponder on before getting a furball home, because you need to keep them as a part of your family for a lifetime.

Choose the right breed

The first and foremost question you need to ask yourself is, what type of a dog do you want? Whether you will be good with a high-energy one or go for a medium- to low-energy one. As puppies, all breeds have high energy but with time it gradually decreases.

High-energy dogs are hyperactive, always eagerly waiting for commands to fulfil. Medium- to low-energy ones are the lazy types, always looking for a good belly rub and food on time. Choosing a pet has to be in sync with your energy levels, otherwise it can get really tedious and irritating much too soon. 

If you’re an active person, always ready to run around, go on walks and play with the pet, you can go ahead with dogs that require a lot of day-to-day activity. Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers and Irish setters are good options in that case.

However, if you like taking it easy, a pug, basset hound or Lhasa apso would be your perfect companion. They just love to chill and won’t give you much stress.

For first-time pet owners, it’s always a good idea to select a breed which is usually easy to train, like Labrador and golden retrievers.

Your choice of breed will also depend on where you are planning to keep your furry friend. If you have a big house where you can allow your dog to run around and enjoy, go ahead with large breeds like Great Dane. For a small apartment, small breeds such as pug, beagle and Lhasa apso are best. However, if you have a big apartment — 2000sq ft or more — and can take out time to walk your dog three times a day, you can keep a medium-size breed like Labrador retriever or golden retriever.

Get the flooring right

Marble flooring are a big no when it comes to large breeds. Their paws tend to slip and that can lead to hip and joint injuries. It’s a good idea to get carpet flooring or wooden flooring for the house.

Walk the dog

All dogs need to go for walks. Like we enjoy the sunshine and fresh air, dogs do that by sniffing whatever comes their way during walks. Some require long walks while some require short ones. If you cannot spare time to walk the dog, don’t get one; get a cat instead!

Large and medium breeds require more walk time than small breeds. Usually a 30- to 45-minute session works for large and medium breeds. For the smaller ones you can keep it to 10-15 minutes. Excessive walks for small breeds leads to degeneration of their knee joint fluids.

Getting a pet and keeping it inside your house forever is again a big no. They need space and fresh air from time to time, just like we humans do!

Mental exercises

Like humans require mental exercises to keep themselves alert and active, dogs too need the same for their mental fitness.

A good 15-minute session can work wonders. Mental exercise primarily includes sniffing. For example, Labrador retrievers naturally retrieve things, so it’s a good idea to make them smell a handkerchief and hide it and let them ‘retrieve’ it. By doing this we are making them do things which that particular breed is meant to do.

Allergic to pet fur? 

There are many who are allergic to dog fur, but love dogs at the same time. Fret not! You can still have a pet. Recommended breeds are poodles, shih-tzu and Yorkshire terrier.

Who to get your pup from

If you are looking to buy a puppy, do so from a good, reputed breeder. You need to look at the lineage of the puppy’s parents. It’s important that the parent dogs are healthy. 

Try to buy the puppy after they are three months old since they will be off their mother’s milk by then. Many breeders might try to crack the deal and sell the puppies when they are just 30 to 40 days old, but try not to encourage that because such young ones have a threat to their lives due to improper nourishment.

Go for adoption

It’s always a good idea to adopt a pet instead of buying one. There are many NGOs who are coming up with adoption centres. Adopting an indie is a good idea as they are easy to train, street- smart, easy to maintain and adaptable to the climate.

It might sound easy to own a pet dog, but it’s not so easy to look after one. After all, they are just like kids and need love, care and attention. It requires complete commitment towards maintaining them and giving the right environment they need for their physical and mental well-being. You can’t throw them away or let them suffer once you get bored of them, just the way you won’t throw away any of your human family members. 

Ankush Battoo is a partner at The Love Room and a pet lover. He can be reached on @theloveroomcafe on Instagram