Owning a dog is not for everyone and the decision to own one should not be undertaken lightly. A dog is not a decoration to bring out and show off to company or a fashion accessory to make the owner seem macho or loving. A dog is a pack animal and should be treated like adding a new family member to your family pack in the same way you would plan for a new child in the family.

Do You Have Time For A Dog?
Adopting a new dog or puppy is a huge commitment. It takes a lot of time to properly feed, train, play with and care for a new dog. New puppies don't always sleep through the first few nights and you may find yourself getting out of bed several times to take the puppy out for toilet training. If the puppy is quite young it will require being fed smaller meals more often throughout the day.

Older dogs which are already toilet trained may also require additional training in this department. Moving from one "pack" to a new "pack" can be a stressful ordeal for them and you may find it necessary to "un-train" certain behavioral habits.

Dogs need a great deal of socialization. This means that you need to expose your dog to all kinds of sights and sounds around its home environment. It should meet children, men and other animals. Amateur dog shows are an excellent way to introduce your dog to a variety of other breeds and to interact and socialize with strangers, both human and canine. If none of this seems like too much to fit into your daily schedule, then you're probably ready for a dog in your life.

Are Your Facilities Adequate?
A well-fenced yard is an absolute MUST for anyone who owns a dog. First and foremost this is for the safety of the dog. Dogs allowed to roam free are in danger. Any stray can enter the dog's territory and unaccompanied dogs can cause havoc with traffic and even get hit by cars. Dogs that roam loose are not at fault; the owner is legally responsible.

It is also the responsibility of the owner to "clean up" after their dog. It may not be a pleasant task but it certainly is not a difficult one yet some dog owners go to great lengths to "make excuses ” from doing this very simple task yet are outraged if they stepped in something someone else failed to clean up.

If a dog is left outdoors, a kennel or adequate shelter should be provided with clean water always available. Depending upon the climate and breed, proper heating or cooling should be of prime importance. If you don't have a large yard, or you live in an apartment, you will need to make time to provide proper and regular exercise for the dog.

Find The Right Breed For You.
If you've decided that you're ready for a dog, you probably have a few breeds in mind. It is very important to learn about these breeds before you make a final decision. A breed that you find very appealing physically might not have a temperament which suited to your personality or lifestyle. If you live in an apartment you probably wouldn't want to keep breeds which require lots of regular exercise like Greyhounds, Collies or Alsatians. It is often people who buy on impulse with no intimate knowledge of the breed, who later decide that the dog has to go.

Take time to read books on breeds which interest you and talk with knowledgeable breeders and owners. Attend a few dog shows or animal rescue centers and ask lots of questions. Visit someone with an adult dog of the breed. Often the puppy is charming and cute but they can grow fast and the adult may not be at all what you had envisioned.

CAN YOU AFFORD A DOG?
Be sure you're aware of what costs are involved with the particular breed you want. All dogs require feeding, that goes without saying and the larger the dog, the more food they will consume. What new owners often misjudge is the true cost of Veterinary expenses.

Annual vaccinations are just the tip of the iceberg. There is also regular flea treatment and worming every 4 months which although some dog owners regard as non-essential, preventing a problem is often much easier than treating something more serious and cheaper too.

Some breeds, particularly long haired dogs have special grooming needs. It is not fair on the dog to allow its coat to become matted and clogged with dirt and unfair on other family members too. Many dog owners are blissfully unaware that some dog diseases can be passed on and carried by humans, putting the vulnerable like young children and pregnant women at particular risk.

Your Responsibility To Your Dog In Old Age
Just as humans are living longer, so too are our pets and Vets are seeing and treating an increasing number of geriatric illnesses. Muscular and arthritic conditions are quite common; these can also be brought on in over-weight dogs to cause complications such as canine diabetes.

If you're lucky enough to have a dog that lives into old age, the chances are that you will be faced, one day, with having to make a humane decision.

This is one of the most difficult things you will ever have to do.

You must be able to think of what is best for your dog, not what hurts you the least. It hurts deeply to hold your dearest friend in your arms and see him or her leave you, but it is selfish and wrong to allow the same dear friend to suffer. If you cannot bring yourself to be present, then at least make sure that there is someone who will help ease his or her end in the kindest way.

1. Inconsistency.
2. Impatience.
3. Treating the dog as a subject instead of a training partner.

Inconsistency

Dogs thrive on predictability. In fact, their ability to grasp cause and effect is at the very root of training. Training, or conditioning, is based upon the dog associating one event with a consistent outcome. In simple terms a reward for a positive outcome.

A dog is likely to best respond to a system in which regular actions produce regular results. Too often, dog owners fail to be entirely consistent. In the dog's mind, these lapses in regularity convey a sense of randomness to the process and make it difficult for the pet to associate his or her specific behavior with specific results-the key to training. Dogs will excel when they are taught that things happen for specific reasons. When surprises occur it undermines the whole of the training process.

A successful trainer will retain consistency in their methods and will not deviate from an established course.

Impatience

There can be a great deal of frustration in dog training. Concepts we believe dogs should be able to grasp easily often escape them completely for quite some time.

We live in a world that is so often focused on immediate results. We learn to expect that our actions will be met by prompt, anticipated responses. Dog training runs counter to this societal trend toward speedy, immediate gratification. Training is an extended process that can require a great deal of patience from the trainer.

Impatience results in unpredictability on the part of the owner as they hastily cease a training session or abandon positive reinforcement techniques in hopes of finding a shortcut to desired results. Patience is, indeed, a virtue when one considers the role of the owner in a dog training situation.

A successful trainer will master developing a patient outlook throughout the extended process of dog training.

Treating The Dog As A Subject Instead Of A Partner

Dog training requires two participants: the dog and the owner. Frequently, however, owners tend to perceive the process as being uniquely about them. They fret over their techniques, equipment and strategies without giving real consideration to their training partner, the dog.

When an owner approaches the dog as a simple subject for experimentation, they lose track of what makes the dog unique and this devalues the always-important dog/owner relationship. Training becomes a chore, rather than a joint activity. What might have been a pleasurable chance for interaction for both the owner and the dog becomes an un-enjoyable task.

Dogs are sufficiently intuitive to be attuned to a trainer's attitude and are less receptive to learning when they are treated merely as a subject instead of as a complete being. Owners who fail to see their pet's identity during training are unable to pick up on subtle clues and possible means to improve their techniques.

The successful trainer will treat his dog as a full partner in training, not merely as a subject.

By avoiding these three common pitfalls, a dog owner is more likely to be able to implement a training strategy that produces results. Additionally, the training experience is likely to be enjoyable for both the dog and owner, giving them a tremendous opportunity to build a bond between them.

Regardless of the exact methodology adopted by the owner, the training process will benefit extraordinarily from avoiding the mistakes of inconsistency, impatience and treating your pet as a subject instead of as a partner.

One group of animals that may be fed homemade diets are performance dogs such as racing dogs or sled dogs, since they require very high amounts of fat and protein that cannot be met by many commercial diets.
Another group include pets with food allergies or have a serious medical condition.

The advantage of using proprietary brands is that the manufacturers have performed the necessary calculations to ensure a nutritious and balanced meal. If you are going to “home cook” for your canine, you need to be consistent! Dietary changes are best introduced gradually and with your Vets consent, but let’s be clear about one thing.

Home cooking does NOT mean feeding table scraps.

To ensure a balanced diet, some meals may need to be supplemented with a daily vitamin, but there is no reason you cannot feed YOUR dog a homemade diet if you ARE consistent.

The cost of vaccinations varies considerably from country to country, often due to drug licensing, but the consequences and subsequent treatment of the diseases they prevent often out-weigh the cost of annual vaccination.
Whilst vaccination helps to prevent some particularly nasty diseases there are others waiting in the wings caused by internal and external parasites which require additional precautionary measures.

Worming

All dogs should ideally be wormed at least 3 – 4 times per year using the correct dosage for the weight of each dog. Although worming treatments are available in pet supply stores and even some supermarkets, not all of these products may deal effectively with all parasitic infections.

Whilst veterinary licensed drugs are often a little more expensive, they can in the long term work out the most cost effective form of prevention. Regular worming kills most, if not all internal parasites before the diseases they can cause become more serious.

Some common signs of internal parasitic infestations can include “bottom scraping” on the ground, diarrhea or vomiting. Some pet owners regard worming as “non-essential” and only worm their animals when
they see the signs. Not all parasitic infections show these signs however and Vets are increasingly seeing animals that have not been given any form of preventative medication and are having to treat far more serious conditions.