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Here’s How To Tell If You’re Ready To Get A Dog

12/30/2017

So you think you’re ready to adopt a puppy of your own. You’ve watched the YouTube videos and you think you know what kind of breed you want. You just can’t wait to hold that little ball of fluff in your arms! A lot of people think they’re ready to take on the task of raising a dog or puppy, only to realize that perhaps the dog doesn’t end up fitting the lifestyle they have or want.

So, here are some very important questions you should ask yourself before you take that leap:

What kind of job do you have and what kind of job do you want? If you’re someone who’s self-employed and plans to remain self-employed indefinitely, then excellent! You’re probably in an optimal life position to adopt a new dog or puppy! However, if you’re like most and you work in an office during the week, then it might be good to think about who will take care of the dog during the day. Unless of course you work at Google, where they let you bring your puppy to work every day...
What are your finances like? How unfortunate it is that money has to dictate most of these big decisions in our lives. Nevertheless, getting a puppy isn’t too dissimilar from having a baby in that regard - you’ve got to make sure you can afford to feed it, take it to the vet, take it to doggy daycare, etc. This means looking at your finances through a telescope and seriously asking yourself what your money circumstances might look like in a couple years from now.
How much time can you devote to training? If the answer is “very little” then certainly reconsider getting a puppy. It’s going to require a lot of patience and research on your part - this will most likely include cleaning up a lot of puppy pee off of your floor. Training a dog is a lot of hard work but it’ll be well worth it in the end if you can devote the time and resources to it.
Do you have a significant other/roommates? If you live with other people, then chances are very strong that those other people will need to at least occasionally look after the dog. Needless to say, you’ll need to have a chat with your roommate(s) about whether they’d be okay with doing so every once in a while. If you live with your significant other, it’s important to have a talk about who will be responsible for the dog should the two of you end the relationship.
How active are you? If you’re someone that likes to come home from your 9-5 job and veg out on the couch with Netflix every evening, then a husky isn’t going to be the breed for you. Regardless of the breed, you’ll need to be prepared to walk your dog every day even if you’re not the world’s most active person.
Are you planning to start a family? This is an important question to consider because some dog breeds tolerate small children better than others. And of course, you’ll need to teach the kids how to respectfully interact with dogs. You certainly don’t want to be known as one of those people who gives away their dog because he didn’t take too well to the baby, do you?
How often do you plan to travel? If you’re not much of a traveler and don’t plan to be in the future, then you won’t have to worry about boarding your dog at daycare for extended periods of time. If you have caught the travel bug, however, then it’s good to consider which breeds of dogs have the least amount of separation anxiety.
How patient are you? This might be the most important question of all! Almost everyone will agree that puppies are the most adorable little things since sliced bread, but not enough realize how much hard work goes into having a puppy that eventually becomes a well-behaved adult dog. The process is going to involve a lot of furniture-chewing, accidents indoors, hand-nipping, high-pitched yelping, leash-tugging, jumping, and eating random things off the ground. If you read all of these things and still thought “game on,” then congratulations, you might be ready to be a puppy parent!

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Vegetarianism: Is It Healthy For Dogs?

12/3/2017

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It seems like everyone and their grandmother has a fierce opinion on whether dogs can or should eat a diet devoid of meat, or even animal products altogether - some say it’s perfectly fine and healthy while others will argue that it isn’t a natural way for them to eat. Let’s get to the bottom of this heated debate, shall we?

Dogs are like humans in that they need the basics in their diets including proteins, fats and carbohydrates. The burning question here is, can they get enough protein if they don’t eat meat?

Protein is an important part of your dog’s diet - as you’re probably aware, early dogs and wolves survived on diets primarily made up of raw meat, which is high in both protein and fat. But because your dog’s ancestors ate this way, does that mean it’s the healthiest diet for your dog currently?

The short answer is no.

Modern-day dogs have the ability to get all of the essential nutrients from both animal-based and plant foods.

Interestingly, protein itself isn’t simply what dogs need in their diets - it’s the amino acids they need, which are the building blocks of protein. To dive a little deeper, there are 22 different types of amino acids that dogs need in their diets, and a deficiency in any of them could be cause for health problems.

Dogs have actually evolved over time to be better-able to digest starches (i.e. vegetables) than their wolf ancestors. Furthermore, somewhere down the line dogs dropped the ability to eat exclusively animal-based foods, so when it comes down to it, you really shouldn’t be feeding your dog a diet full of raw meat.

Here’s where the experts stand: unless your dog has some kind of crazy vegetable allergies, he will probably both survive and thrive on a vegetarian diet. Unlike their ancestors, dogs are omnivores and can easily get all of the amino acids they need from eating a meatless diet.

A vegan diet, on the other hand, might be a little trickier and should be approached with caution. It’ll require much more planning and it’s best to talk to a pet nutritionist first to plan out an appropriate diet that’ll give your dog all of the nutrients he needs to thrive.

Nevertheless, the occasional vegan meal could be great for your dog, says Dr. Michael Fox, the former president of U.S. Humane Society. “Dogs could benefit from a vegan meal at least once a week to detox.”

And if you are thinking about making the switch to a vegetarian diet for your dog, keep in mind that he might at first turn up his nose at a meal without meat if he’s simply used to eating that way. Your best bet is probably to acclimate him to the new diet by gradually decreasing the amount of meat you feed him.

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Here’s How To Tell If You’re Ready To Get A Dog

Vegetarianism: Is It Healthy For Dogs?

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