In this article, I’ll be discussing what to consider before getting a dog. You’ve probably already spent hours trawling the internet for your new best friend, so my first piece of advice would be to not get too attached to a super cute picture before you’ve read this post! Make sure you have a proper think about how you’ll tackle the practical issues I raise here. I don’t want to be a Debbie downer, but as a professional dog trainer, so many of the problems I see my clients experiencing come from not looking into these things before they bring home their new puppy or dog. 

What to consider before getting a dog – Your lifestyle

First up, let’s look at your life and how a dog will fit into that. Here’s some questions to mull over and discuss with whoever you live with. 

• Do you have the time to sufficiently exercise, care for and groom (breed dependent) your dog every single day?
• Do you go on lots of holidays or do a lot of days out? You’ll need to consider what you’ll do with your dog whilst you’re not at home. Adult dogs can be left home alone for up to 4 hours idf they’re comfortable with it and don’t have separation anxiety. 
• Do you have family, friends and neighbours who can care for the dog if your usual plans go wrong? Eg. you miss your train home, have to take a child to A & E etc. 

Having a dog can be a commitment of up to 15 to 20 years, depending on the size, breed and health of your dog. What will your life look like through those years? Of course, none of us are mind readers so you cannot know exactly what will happen in that time. But, you probably have a rough idea of the big things you want to do, especially in the next few years. Planning on moving to Australia next winter? Now’s not the time to get a dog! 

Home environment and dog proofing

If you feel confident that it’s the right time in your life to get a dog, it’s time to think about the practicalities of bringing a dog into your home. Obviously, whether you’re interested in getting a Chihuahua or a Great Dane is going to greatly impact the answers to these questions! 

• Do you have the physical space for the dog you want? Where will they sleep – dogs do best with multiple spots to rest around the home so consider if you’re happy with them on sofas, beds etc. Where will their water bowl go? Where will you feed them? 
• You need to have somewhere that your dog can rest without being disturbed by the day to day coming and going of everyone in the home. This is especially important if you have children.  
• Depending on your home and family set up, will you need baby gates, pens or a crate to keep your dog separate at times? Again this is incredibly important if you have children in the home or even as regular visitors. 

It sounds obvious, but dogs need a reasonable amount of space to move around and play too. Living in a flat or apartment doesn’t mean you absolutely should not or cannot get a dog, but having lived in a house with a garden and a flat with dogs, I can tell you it’s much easier having an outside space your dog can access when they need to. 

Finances

If you’ve got the time and space for a dog, it’s worth looking at the costs of living with a dog. It’s not the most fun part but it is important when thinking about what to consider before getting a dog.  Again this will vary dramatically on the individual dog – big dogs simply eat more than small dogs. Other things will vary on the individual dog, like grooming. A cockerpoo is going to need a full groom with a professional groomer every 4-6 weeks at a cost of between £35-£50 unless you’re going to groom them yourself. On the other hand, you might never need to take a Greyhound to a groomer.  Here’s your ‘running costs’ to think about. I’ve also included how much we spend on Duke every month too, for reference. 

• Food including daily meals, chews, treats
• Pet insurance or savings to cover any care needed
• Monthly treatments like flea & worm, vaccinations, any medications needed 
• Grooming costs if you have a long haired breed
• Dog walker, doggy day care, sitters 

Duke’s food – roughly £60 a month
Treats and chews- I buy these in bulk as I use a lot with clients but probably £25-30 on Duke alone.
Pet insurance – £18 a month.
Medications- £75 a month.
Grooming- I groom him myself so no additional cost on a monthly basis.
Dog walker, day care, sitters- We have a dog sitter that looks after Duke occasionally but we’re lucky to have friends and family that mostly help. So average cost of about £50 a month including holidays across the year.

Total- £233 per month (Bare in mind, Duke is a 7 year old 25kg spaniel with medical conditions). 

What to consider before getting a dog- the right dog for you

Lastly, you want to think about what dog is going to be the right dog for you. I could (and probably will!) write a whole post on this topic in itself because this tends to be the area where most people go wrong. What I see a lot is people getting the breed that they’ve had a few positive experiences with and now want themselves. No judgement if this is you- we have a Sprocker Spaniel because a friend had a Springer who we thought was great! I’m not going to cover whether you should get a rescue or puppy as that’s also a huge topic in and of itself. Suffice to say, I have worked with about the same number of people struggling with a dog they got as a puppy as I have with rescues over the past 6 years. You probably have an idea of the dog that you want, but here’s some things to consider before you commit. 

• Research the breed you are interested in as thoroughly as possible- not just a 5 minute google search. Talk to multiple owners of that breed and ask them what problems they tend to have. What was the breed bred for? I have a series of posts here about the different types of breeds and their common issues.  
• I would strongly advise against getting a working breed unless you have plenty of time, energy and really like a challenge. Even if you do have these things, tred very very carefully before getting a Border Collie, Malinois, Australian Shepherd or similar. I absolutely love training these breeds, but they frequently struggle as pet dogs. You have been warned!
• Finally, consider what you’ll do if things don’t work out as you’d hoped. Hopefully your new dog will be a wonderful addition to your life, but things happen. I’ve known situations where people have to return dogs to their breeder/rescue as family members turn out to be allergic, the new owner broke their leg 24 hours after bringing the dog home or other, completely unexpected, things happen. 
• Research force free, reward based trainers (hi, that’s me!) before bringing your dog home. Consider booking a session with them (ahem, me) within the first few weeks of bringing your dog home so you know you’re setting everyone up for success.

What next?

• Looking for help with your dog? Contact us to arrange in person or online training.
• Read more blog posts here.
• Perfect Recall: Teaching your dog to come back when called every time. Our guide is free to download when you join our email list- sign up here.