of dog lessons - part 1; "should I get a dog?"
Master Post
Disclaimer: These are just things I could think of from the top of my head right now. It's more than possible that I will go back and edit later. XD
Part 1 - "Should I get a Dog?"
The very first thing I feel the need to tell anyone that is considering getting a dog is;
Remember that a dog is not just something you "have"; having a dog is a lifestyle!
You're adopting a completely new family member. Adopting a dog means you probably have to do quite a few changes to your life - like if you were getting a child - and you have to ask yourself if you're truly willing and able to make those changes.
To make a rough comparison; adopting a dog is a little bit like adopting a toddler from another part of the world that is very different from yours. You don't have the same culture or language so you will have to teach each other the best way for the two of you to communicate - because (unlike a human toddler that have the possibility to be more flexible in this - even though a trace of their origins will usually stay with them if they were adopted later) your new toddler will be completely unable to fully let go of their native culture and language so you will have to learn as well - not just them.
It's also important to remember that this toddler never grows up. They will need you to take very close care of them for the next 10-14 years or so (give or take; this obviously varies depending on breed, health and care). At least if it's a puppy you're adopting - otherwise the time will be shorter according to how old the dog is when you're adopting it, what kind of state it is in and what breed it is.
Here are just some of the things you need to think about and/or you might need to change in your life if you're adopting a dog.
Money.
Can you actually afford a dog? You have to think about the fact that it's not just about the cost of the actual dog (which varies greatly depending on where and how you adopt your dog, if it's from a shelter, what breed it is, a puppy or an adult, or if you take the dog over from your neighbour or aunt and so on). There are also several other costs to take into account.
There are obvious things like food, poop bags, leash, treats, chewing bones, toys, nail clippers, food and water bowls, maybe a bed, hair care products if your dog is a breed that needs things like that, and any other material stuff that your dog might need. You should also make sure to have some first aid equipment for dogs at home. Sure, some of the things can be substituted with cheaper things - like treats; you can use cheap sausages or table scraps or your dog's actual food or a lot of other things instead of buying expensive dog biscuits. You can also make your own toys (just make sure they are safe for your dog to play with). If your dog is a breed that actually need clothes in winter you could sew/knit/whatever those clothes yourself. And a dog bed could maybe be replaced with a pile of blankets or something you make yourself. But you still need to look up what you actually need for your dog and should make a rough estimate on how much that will cost you.
Besides those material things your dog needs to take shots at the vet. It should be implanted with a chip or maybe tattooed in the ear or maybe both or if your country has another way of identification for dogs. If you plan to travel with your dog it might need a passport for dogs.
You need an insurance for your dog.
I also strongly suggest that you take some form of training course with your dog. Both to get some tips on how to communicate with your dog and learn how to best work with your dog so your every day life together will be as good as possible - and maybe learn some fun tricks on the way ;) but also to give your dog a chance to meet other dogs of different breeds and for you to meet other dog owners. It doesn't matter if you have gone to training courses before - refreshers are always great as well as the social part of the course (which is almost better if you already know a lot about how to train with your dog). I'm an officially educated trainer myself (meaning I'm usually the teacher on these courses) but I go to courses anyway to refresh, get new ideas and meet people and dogs. But yes - also here there is a cost to it.
And then you should be sure to save away some extra money in case your dog get sick or hurt.
Some of these costs are a one-time only thing but quite a few are recurring things that you will have to provide for the rest of your dog's life.
Time.
Do you have the time to care for a dog? Dogs truly take up a lot of time and you have to seriously consider if you can provide the time your new family member will need.
First of all; are you able to be with your dog 24/7 or do you have to leave your dog alone at times?
During the very first time with your new family member I wouldn't recommend to leave your dog alone at all. Consider it your honey moon period. You and your dog need the chance to properly get to know each other before you start separating on any kind of regular basis. If you have to go somewhere (even if it's just to the store to get milk) I suggest getting a dog sitter. This period lasts until your dog feels completely safe in its new environment and has started to truly accept and feel safe with its new family. It's important to understand that the dog's entire world has just changed. It's in a completely new place with completely new people around it. Imagine yourself being dropped in a place with a culture and a language you don't know. You would feel much better if you had someone who took care of you and made sure to do their best to make you more comfortable in this new place.
If your dog is not already used to being alone when you adopt it you have to spend a lot of time alone-training your dog in the beginning. How long that will take depends on the dog - if it has been traumatised or has abandonment issues it can take a really long time and lots of patience and knowledge. If you adopt a puppy it should not be left alone at all during the first period and you shouldn't seriously even start training until it's about four months old - and even then you have to let it take time. Always take alone-training slowly. You have to take baby steps so nothing will get messed up. If something goes wrong you will have to start form the very beginning and depending on the dog it can be even harder the second time - not to mention a third or fourth time you have to start over.
When your dog is established in your home and there is no problem leaving it alone for an extended period of time you still have to consider that you shouldn't leave it alone too much anyway. A very important thing to know is that it's completely and utterly unnatural for a dog to be alone ever. I am not joking. If you look at a wolf pack the members do everything together. They eat, sleep, hunt, play, run, howl and so on - everything together. If not as the whole pack then at least in pairs. Yes; it does happen that a wolf (or in 'our world' a dog) goes off to - for example - lay down for a bit. But usually they do that somewhere they can see; or at least hear their family. The only time in their lives a wolf is truly alone is if they break from the pack to find a mate and create a new pack! That alone time is as short as the wolf can make it and when they find their mate they will hopefully never be alone again in their life (unless something happens of course).
This is the instinct your dog still carries with them. Try to get into that mindset and imagine how your dog must feel when you leave it by itself. Most dogs that are properly alone-trained simply goes to sleep when being left alone. This is to calm themselves and try to avoid the stress of being "abandoned". It does not mean your dog is comfortable with being left by itself.
I strongly recommend that your dog is not left alone more than 4 hours each day. And that means 4 hours total in the day. Occasionally you can leave your dog longer if you need to but I still wouldn't leave my dog more than absolute maximum 6 hours in one day. If I need to be gone for more than a couple of hours I usually try to find a dog sitter. If I can't find a dog sitter I simply cut my trip short. You have no idea how many times people have gotten annoyed with me when I suddenly break things off because I "need to go home to my dog". People with no understanding for dogs usually have a really hard time wrapping their minds about that and try to come up with excuses like "my family's dog is alone for nine hours every workday and she's just fine!". Normally it's no use even trying to explain things to these kind of people. I simply repeat the same argument ("I need to go home to my dog") while I simply walk out of there. They simply have to accept it. If I try to argue I will just get stuck longer and normally they will just come up with more excuses for each argument and in the end I will just be frustrated and still having gotten nowhere with them. There is simply no point. If I'm lucky I will get a chance to properly educate them (if they're open to it at all) on a later time when I'm not just about to leave but can take my time about it (and they're not annoyed because I'm leaving them and whatever important task we were performing).
If you have to work in a way that you or any other family member is not able to stay with the dog enough you should look around and see if there are any daycares for dogs in your area - or if you can get a sitter. Sometimes you can find a neighbour or a relative or a friend that will happily take on your dog in the daytime. You could put up notes in your local store (or wherever people put notes around your home) and ask if there's someone who could take care of your dog during working hours - either for free or if you're willing to pay them.
Besides this alone time there are also other time consuming tasks you have to consider when having a dog. Your dog needs walks for example. How much depends on dog and breed but all dogs, no matter what breed, should (if not hurt, sick, too young or too old) get at least two hours walk every day. Sure - this means two hours in all spread over the day - but that's still two hours each day you have to actively spend with your dog. Letting your dog out in the backyard does not count as a walk. You have to actually go out and walk with your dog.
Another thing is training. Yes - you train with your dog every minute you're with it so the two of you will have the best possible relationship; but now I'm talking about training that gives your dog a chance to 'work' a little. They need the activity, they need to be able to feel important and they need the closeness with you. Imagine yourself if you were unemployed and never were allowed to do anything of importance - not even such a simple things like the dishes or folding the laundry! Pretty soon you would probably start to feel worthless and possibly even go into depression. In a wolf pack every member has at least one task - often more than one. Your dog needs to work in some way to be as healthy as possible.
What kind of training your dog needs depends a lot on their breed. Each breed is "made" for at least one specific kind of task. That doesn't mean your dog has to do what its breed was originally bred for; but depending on what your dog was made for can give you an idea on how much work it might need and what tasks it might enjoy more. And how much time you need to spend minimum on training to keep your dog truly happy.
There are a lot of dog sports that both you and your dog might love. Everything from tracking to agility to herding to flyball to hunting to freestyle. Look up what's available in your area and take your pick! If there is some kind of course or group you also get the chance to socialise which usually is a lot of fun.
Other things you can do is teaching your dog tricks. There are no limit! Even if your dog is a slow learner it will probably still have a lot of fun while training (that's the point after all - for the two of you to have fun together). There are several books with tips on tricks - otherwise you can always to a search on youtube for inspiration. There are so much more than teaching your dog to balance a treat on their nose or to roll over or play dead. How about teaching your dog to pick up your keys if you happen to drop them? Or to pick up the toys your kids have left all over the place and put them all in a box? Or maybe to fetch you a beer? (I knew a person that taught her dog this *smile*)
I would say that you should spend minimum one hour a week on this kind of activities with your dog - more if possible! As much as you can. Because you and your dog truly will have fun together if you choose the right activities for the both of you and that will strengthen the bond between as well as make your dog happier and also keep your dog calmer and even easier to handle in your every day life.
Material comfort.
If you have a nice house, the most expensive sofa and clothes you have to be careful with and you're not willing to risk any wear and tear on these things you might want to reconsider adopting a dog.
You should be able to accept hair everywhere (and I mean everywhere) and the fact that your dog will bring in dirt into your home and onto your clothes. Sure there are breeds that don't shed but then we're back on the time-thing with care for that kind of fur. And they still bring that extra dirt into your life like all other dogs.
A dog's claws may be blunt but they will still leave scratches on your nice wooden floor and wear down on your sofa and bed if they're allowed in there - which I actually strongly recommend since the closeness is very good for the both of you; but mostly for the dog. Remember what I said about wolves doing everything together. Dogs love and need bodily contact and it's good to give them as much as possible of it. They want to curl up with you like they would do if they lived in the wild.
You also need clothes for walking in the bush with your dog in all kinds of weather - and of course for snuggling, playing and the likes.
It's difficult to keep a perfect home with a dog living in it.
You also have to thinks about that in the beginning your dog may chew or otherwise destroy things. If you're adopting a puppy you can count on it! And you have to make sure your home is puppy-safe - meaning there is nothing your puppy can get their paws or teeth on that can hurt them. You might have to block the stairs so they won't fall, you might need to empty all lower shelves so they can't eat anything weird (and puppies eat basically everything! and they have sharper teeth than a toddler so it's easier for something to break and swallow). With some puppies you have to clear away cables in some fashion. They might tear your clothes and rugs and furniture. They will most definitely destroy toys if you have kids. My first puppy chewed up the spines of some books before I put them on higher shelves. My second puppy stole everything he was able to carry in his mouth.
An older dog that has been traumatised or just hasn't learned to not break things might also do these things.
It takes time and patience to teach a dog not to do these things.
Do you live alone or are there more people to consider?
Does everyone agree on getting a dog? If, for example, your wife don't want a dog you should seriously consider not getting one. Both because it can damage your relationship but also because it's quite cruel to put a dog in a situation where it has to live with someone who isn't completely fond of the dog. Everyone should be in on it! And if there are children you should really think about if they are mature enough to be able to live with a dog. Make sure to let them meet dogs before getting one so you can see how they act with them. Are they scared? Do they act mean? Children need to learn how to behave with dogs - it's not something that comes naturally for most kids. You should never leave a dog and a child alone together. They don't speak the same language and misunderstandings happen very easily. Almost every time you hear about a dog that bit a child it's because they were left alone together and some misunderstanding happened. Maybe the child was too rough with the dog or maybe the dog happened to be too rough with the child. Just like when two children play they sometimes go too rough on each other or even start to fight. This can happen between a dog and a child as well but when a dog defend itself it usually makes more damage than when a child hits the dog for obvious reasons.
Remember that as an adult the dog is your responsibility. You can't expect a child to have full responsibility for a pet before they are at least 18 years old - in some cases older.
Other ways adopting a dog will impact your lifestyle is when you're going away. Do you plan to take your dog with you on vacation? Can you find someone you really trust to take care of your dog if you're not bringing it with you? Something to think about is also not to leave your dog too much - and certainly not for too long. So if you're not bringing your dog you should limit your vacations away.
Another very important thing to do before deciding if you should adopt a dog or not is to look up the laws and regulations about dogs in your country/state. You really don't want to make a mistake that will get you in trouble simply because you were ignorant of the rules. *slight smile*
As I'm sure you can see; there is a lot more to "getting a dog" than most people realise.
A lot of people that actually shouldn't get a dog has dogs - and that is one reason why so many dogs end up in shelters or needs a new home. Someone didn't know what they actually got when "getting that dog".
Having a dog is a full time work (actually it's more than full time).
Really think about it. Am I willing to live like this for the next 10-14 years?
Disclaimer: These are just things I could think of from the top of my head right now. It's more than possible that I will go back and edit later. XD
Part 1 - "Should I get a Dog?"
The very first thing I feel the need to tell anyone that is considering getting a dog is;
Remember that a dog is not just something you "have"; having a dog is a lifestyle!
You're adopting a completely new family member. Adopting a dog means you probably have to do quite a few changes to your life - like if you were getting a child - and you have to ask yourself if you're truly willing and able to make those changes.
To make a rough comparison; adopting a dog is a little bit like adopting a toddler from another part of the world that is very different from yours. You don't have the same culture or language so you will have to teach each other the best way for the two of you to communicate - because (unlike a human toddler that have the possibility to be more flexible in this - even though a trace of their origins will usually stay with them if they were adopted later) your new toddler will be completely unable to fully let go of their native culture and language so you will have to learn as well - not just them.
It's also important to remember that this toddler never grows up. They will need you to take very close care of them for the next 10-14 years or so (give or take; this obviously varies depending on breed, health and care). At least if it's a puppy you're adopting - otherwise the time will be shorter according to how old the dog is when you're adopting it, what kind of state it is in and what breed it is.
Here are just some of the things you need to think about and/or you might need to change in your life if you're adopting a dog.
Money.
Can you actually afford a dog? You have to think about the fact that it's not just about the cost of the actual dog (which varies greatly depending on where and how you adopt your dog, if it's from a shelter, what breed it is, a puppy or an adult, or if you take the dog over from your neighbour or aunt and so on). There are also several other costs to take into account.
There are obvious things like food, poop bags, leash, treats, chewing bones, toys, nail clippers, food and water bowls, maybe a bed, hair care products if your dog is a breed that needs things like that, and any other material stuff that your dog might need. You should also make sure to have some first aid equipment for dogs at home. Sure, some of the things can be substituted with cheaper things - like treats; you can use cheap sausages or table scraps or your dog's actual food or a lot of other things instead of buying expensive dog biscuits. You can also make your own toys (just make sure they are safe for your dog to play with). If your dog is a breed that actually need clothes in winter you could sew/knit/whatever those clothes yourself. And a dog bed could maybe be replaced with a pile of blankets or something you make yourself. But you still need to look up what you actually need for your dog and should make a rough estimate on how much that will cost you.
Besides those material things your dog needs to take shots at the vet. It should be implanted with a chip or maybe tattooed in the ear or maybe both or if your country has another way of identification for dogs. If you plan to travel with your dog it might need a passport for dogs.
You need an insurance for your dog.
I also strongly suggest that you take some form of training course with your dog. Both to get some tips on how to communicate with your dog and learn how to best work with your dog so your every day life together will be as good as possible - and maybe learn some fun tricks on the way ;) but also to give your dog a chance to meet other dogs of different breeds and for you to meet other dog owners. It doesn't matter if you have gone to training courses before - refreshers are always great as well as the social part of the course (which is almost better if you already know a lot about how to train with your dog). I'm an officially educated trainer myself (meaning I'm usually the teacher on these courses) but I go to courses anyway to refresh, get new ideas and meet people and dogs. But yes - also here there is a cost to it.
And then you should be sure to save away some extra money in case your dog get sick or hurt.
Some of these costs are a one-time only thing but quite a few are recurring things that you will have to provide for the rest of your dog's life.
Time.
Do you have the time to care for a dog? Dogs truly take up a lot of time and you have to seriously consider if you can provide the time your new family member will need.
First of all; are you able to be with your dog 24/7 or do you have to leave your dog alone at times?
During the very first time with your new family member I wouldn't recommend to leave your dog alone at all. Consider it your honey moon period. You and your dog need the chance to properly get to know each other before you start separating on any kind of regular basis. If you have to go somewhere (even if it's just to the store to get milk) I suggest getting a dog sitter. This period lasts until your dog feels completely safe in its new environment and has started to truly accept and feel safe with its new family. It's important to understand that the dog's entire world has just changed. It's in a completely new place with completely new people around it. Imagine yourself being dropped in a place with a culture and a language you don't know. You would feel much better if you had someone who took care of you and made sure to do their best to make you more comfortable in this new place.
If your dog is not already used to being alone when you adopt it you have to spend a lot of time alone-training your dog in the beginning. How long that will take depends on the dog - if it has been traumatised or has abandonment issues it can take a really long time and lots of patience and knowledge. If you adopt a puppy it should not be left alone at all during the first period and you shouldn't seriously even start training until it's about four months old - and even then you have to let it take time. Always take alone-training slowly. You have to take baby steps so nothing will get messed up. If something goes wrong you will have to start form the very beginning and depending on the dog it can be even harder the second time - not to mention a third or fourth time you have to start over.
When your dog is established in your home and there is no problem leaving it alone for an extended period of time you still have to consider that you shouldn't leave it alone too much anyway. A very important thing to know is that it's completely and utterly unnatural for a dog to be alone ever. I am not joking. If you look at a wolf pack the members do everything together. They eat, sleep, hunt, play, run, howl and so on - everything together. If not as the whole pack then at least in pairs. Yes; it does happen that a wolf (or in 'our world' a dog) goes off to - for example - lay down for a bit. But usually they do that somewhere they can see; or at least hear their family. The only time in their lives a wolf is truly alone is if they break from the pack to find a mate and create a new pack! That alone time is as short as the wolf can make it and when they find their mate they will hopefully never be alone again in their life (unless something happens of course).
This is the instinct your dog still carries with them. Try to get into that mindset and imagine how your dog must feel when you leave it by itself. Most dogs that are properly alone-trained simply goes to sleep when being left alone. This is to calm themselves and try to avoid the stress of being "abandoned". It does not mean your dog is comfortable with being left by itself.
I strongly recommend that your dog is not left alone more than 4 hours each day. And that means 4 hours total in the day. Occasionally you can leave your dog longer if you need to but I still wouldn't leave my dog more than absolute maximum 6 hours in one day. If I need to be gone for more than a couple of hours I usually try to find a dog sitter. If I can't find a dog sitter I simply cut my trip short. You have no idea how many times people have gotten annoyed with me when I suddenly break things off because I "need to go home to my dog". People with no understanding for dogs usually have a really hard time wrapping their minds about that and try to come up with excuses like "my family's dog is alone for nine hours every workday and she's just fine!". Normally it's no use even trying to explain things to these kind of people. I simply repeat the same argument ("I need to go home to my dog") while I simply walk out of there. They simply have to accept it. If I try to argue I will just get stuck longer and normally they will just come up with more excuses for each argument and in the end I will just be frustrated and still having gotten nowhere with them. There is simply no point. If I'm lucky I will get a chance to properly educate them (if they're open to it at all) on a later time when I'm not just about to leave but can take my time about it (and they're not annoyed because I'm leaving them and whatever important task we were performing).
If you have to work in a way that you or any other family member is not able to stay with the dog enough you should look around and see if there are any daycares for dogs in your area - or if you can get a sitter. Sometimes you can find a neighbour or a relative or a friend that will happily take on your dog in the daytime. You could put up notes in your local store (or wherever people put notes around your home) and ask if there's someone who could take care of your dog during working hours - either for free or if you're willing to pay them.
Besides this alone time there are also other time consuming tasks you have to consider when having a dog. Your dog needs walks for example. How much depends on dog and breed but all dogs, no matter what breed, should (if not hurt, sick, too young or too old) get at least two hours walk every day. Sure - this means two hours in all spread over the day - but that's still two hours each day you have to actively spend with your dog. Letting your dog out in the backyard does not count as a walk. You have to actually go out and walk with your dog.
Another thing is training. Yes - you train with your dog every minute you're with it so the two of you will have the best possible relationship; but now I'm talking about training that gives your dog a chance to 'work' a little. They need the activity, they need to be able to feel important and they need the closeness with you. Imagine yourself if you were unemployed and never were allowed to do anything of importance - not even such a simple things like the dishes or folding the laundry! Pretty soon you would probably start to feel worthless and possibly even go into depression. In a wolf pack every member has at least one task - often more than one. Your dog needs to work in some way to be as healthy as possible.
What kind of training your dog needs depends a lot on their breed. Each breed is "made" for at least one specific kind of task. That doesn't mean your dog has to do what its breed was originally bred for; but depending on what your dog was made for can give you an idea on how much work it might need and what tasks it might enjoy more. And how much time you need to spend minimum on training to keep your dog truly happy.
There are a lot of dog sports that both you and your dog might love. Everything from tracking to agility to herding to flyball to hunting to freestyle. Look up what's available in your area and take your pick! If there is some kind of course or group you also get the chance to socialise which usually is a lot of fun.
Other things you can do is teaching your dog tricks. There are no limit! Even if your dog is a slow learner it will probably still have a lot of fun while training (that's the point after all - for the two of you to have fun together). There are several books with tips on tricks - otherwise you can always to a search on youtube for inspiration. There are so much more than teaching your dog to balance a treat on their nose or to roll over or play dead. How about teaching your dog to pick up your keys if you happen to drop them? Or to pick up the toys your kids have left all over the place and put them all in a box? Or maybe to fetch you a beer? (I knew a person that taught her dog this *smile*)
I would say that you should spend minimum one hour a week on this kind of activities with your dog - more if possible! As much as you can. Because you and your dog truly will have fun together if you choose the right activities for the both of you and that will strengthen the bond between as well as make your dog happier and also keep your dog calmer and even easier to handle in your every day life.
Material comfort.
If you have a nice house, the most expensive sofa and clothes you have to be careful with and you're not willing to risk any wear and tear on these things you might want to reconsider adopting a dog.
You should be able to accept hair everywhere (and I mean everywhere) and the fact that your dog will bring in dirt into your home and onto your clothes. Sure there are breeds that don't shed but then we're back on the time-thing with care for that kind of fur. And they still bring that extra dirt into your life like all other dogs.
A dog's claws may be blunt but they will still leave scratches on your nice wooden floor and wear down on your sofa and bed if they're allowed in there - which I actually strongly recommend since the closeness is very good for the both of you; but mostly for the dog. Remember what I said about wolves doing everything together. Dogs love and need bodily contact and it's good to give them as much as possible of it. They want to curl up with you like they would do if they lived in the wild.
You also need clothes for walking in the bush with your dog in all kinds of weather - and of course for snuggling, playing and the likes.
It's difficult to keep a perfect home with a dog living in it.
You also have to thinks about that in the beginning your dog may chew or otherwise destroy things. If you're adopting a puppy you can count on it! And you have to make sure your home is puppy-safe - meaning there is nothing your puppy can get their paws or teeth on that can hurt them. You might have to block the stairs so they won't fall, you might need to empty all lower shelves so they can't eat anything weird (and puppies eat basically everything! and they have sharper teeth than a toddler so it's easier for something to break and swallow). With some puppies you have to clear away cables in some fashion. They might tear your clothes and rugs and furniture. They will most definitely destroy toys if you have kids. My first puppy chewed up the spines of some books before I put them on higher shelves. My second puppy stole everything he was able to carry in his mouth.
An older dog that has been traumatised or just hasn't learned to not break things might also do these things.
It takes time and patience to teach a dog not to do these things.
Do you live alone or are there more people to consider?
Does everyone agree on getting a dog? If, for example, your wife don't want a dog you should seriously consider not getting one. Both because it can damage your relationship but also because it's quite cruel to put a dog in a situation where it has to live with someone who isn't completely fond of the dog. Everyone should be in on it! And if there are children you should really think about if they are mature enough to be able to live with a dog. Make sure to let them meet dogs before getting one so you can see how they act with them. Are they scared? Do they act mean? Children need to learn how to behave with dogs - it's not something that comes naturally for most kids. You should never leave a dog and a child alone together. They don't speak the same language and misunderstandings happen very easily. Almost every time you hear about a dog that bit a child it's because they were left alone together and some misunderstanding happened. Maybe the child was too rough with the dog or maybe the dog happened to be too rough with the child. Just like when two children play they sometimes go too rough on each other or even start to fight. This can happen between a dog and a child as well but when a dog defend itself it usually makes more damage than when a child hits the dog for obvious reasons.
Remember that as an adult the dog is your responsibility. You can't expect a child to have full responsibility for a pet before they are at least 18 years old - in some cases older.
Other ways adopting a dog will impact your lifestyle is when you're going away. Do you plan to take your dog with you on vacation? Can you find someone you really trust to take care of your dog if you're not bringing it with you? Something to think about is also not to leave your dog too much - and certainly not for too long. So if you're not bringing your dog you should limit your vacations away.
Another very important thing to do before deciding if you should adopt a dog or not is to look up the laws and regulations about dogs in your country/state. You really don't want to make a mistake that will get you in trouble simply because you were ignorant of the rules. *slight smile*
As I'm sure you can see; there is a lot more to "getting a dog" than most people realise.
A lot of people that actually shouldn't get a dog has dogs - and that is one reason why so many dogs end up in shelters or needs a new home. Someone didn't know what they actually got when "getting that dog".
Having a dog is a full time work (actually it's more than full time).
Really think about it. Am I willing to live like this for the next 10-14 years?