NEVER buy a PUPPY younger then 8WEEK old!
They need to remain with the litter until that age to develope proper behavioural and socialiation skills. Small/toy breed don't tolerate the outdoors, so they need to be indoor companions. however dogs like a labrador can adapt and tolerate most adverse weather condition providing it doesn't SNOW during winter.
1.NEVER BUY A PUPPY just LOOKS, colour, looks, fur type alone-NO INDICATION OF DOGS TEMPERMENT!
2. Consider your lifestyle-
3.Are you out more then 8hours a day
4.Consider your energy requirements, Size, Grooming.
5. Don't just buy because someone says this is the dog for you, people particular on yahoo answer will give you there particular favourite breed& what suits them, not what actually suit you.
6. Read all you can-THERE are alot of false information on the web and in books about different dog breed.
7. DON'T TRUST THOSE DOG BREED SELECTORS-MOST OF THE RESULTS ARE INCORRECT. Ex i search large breed dogs, and the Pomeranian came up, which of cause is a toy dog breed!!
8. NEVER BUY FROM A PETSTORE, BACKYARD BREEDER, PUPPY MILL OR NEWSPAPER, DON'T BUY FROM NEXT DAY PETS OR DOG BREED INFO, RESCUE AN ADULT DOG OR SHELTER PUPPY!
9.Are you willing to give up holidays to care and train and socialize your pup until its old enough to stay home around 1yr old on its own, with someone coming by to check on it, feed and water and walk it and play with it?
10. Are you looking for a companion for another dog, Go to the shelter/pound and pick one that get along with other dogs
NUMBER 1 ALL PUPPIES BARK AND WHIMPER! THEY MISS THEIR FAMILY, AND NO DON'T PUT THE HEATER ON, AS HEATER LEFT ON CAN CAUSE A HOUSEFIRE! We had a heater on for our two adult rescue cats, and in less then 2hours, the house caught fire KILLING OUR ADULT CATS, our dogs survived, but she was outdoors hence the reason she did not die, we also had very little chance of survival ourself, we had 99.9% chance of death!
Puppies 8week old should be kept indoors until 9month old, so the laundry is probably the best place.
However their are alot of negatives to owning a puppy
How to prepare for a new puppy! Humorous but true!
1. Pour cold apple juice on the carpet in several places and walk around barefoot in the dark.
2. Wear a sock to work that has had the toes shredded by a blender.
3. Immediately upon waking, stand outside in the dark and in the rain for at least 20 minutes saying, "Be a good puppy, go potty now - hurry up - come on, lets go!"
4. Cover all your best suits with dog hair. Dark suits must use white hair, and light suits must use dark hair. Also float some hair in your first cup of coffee in the morning.
5. Play "catch" with a wet tennis ball.
6. Run out in the snow in your bare feet and underwear to close the gate.
7. Tip over a basket of clean laundry, scatter clothing all over the floor.
8. Leave your underwear on the living room floor, because that's where the dog will drag it anyway. (Especially when you have company.)
9. Jump out of your chair shortly before the end of your favorite TV program and run to the door shouting, "No no! Do that OUTSIDE!" Miss the end of the program.
10. Put chocolate pudding on the carpet in the morning. Don't try to clean it up until you return from work that evening.
11. Gouge the leg of the dinning room table several times with a screwdriver - it's going to get chewed on anyway.
If this sounds a bit overwhelming, especially if you work full-time, you may want to consider adopting an adult dog
2. Puppies are not housebroken! Most people work during the day and are gone for 8 hours or more at a time. Puppies need to go out on a regular schedule so they have frequent opportunities to eliminate where you want them to. Puppies can't wait for the boss to finish his meeting or the kids to come home from school. Adult dogs can "hold it" for longer periods and, often, a Rescue will have the dog housebroken before it is adopted.
3. Intact Underwear. Puppies chew! You can count on at least 10 mismatched pairs of socks and a variety of unmentionables rendered to the "rag bag" before a puppy cuts all its teeth. Shoes? yes, puppies like to chew them also. Expect holes in your carpet (along with urine stains), backs and pages missing from books, stuffing exposed in couches, and at least one dead remote control. No matter how well you watch them, it will happen. This is a puppy's job! An adult dog can usually have the run of the house without destroying it.
4. A Good Night's Sleep. A puppy can be very demanding at 2am and 4am and 6am. Puppies naturally miss their littermates and a stuffed animal is not a substitute for puppy pile with littermates in the dark of night. Prefer peace and quiet, an adult rescue dog usually sleeps through the night?
5. Finish the Newspaper. With a puppy loose in the house, you will NOT be able to relax when you get home from work. Do you think kids ever really feed the dog? Clean up the messes? Walk in the pouring rain every hour to get the dog housetrained? If so, you probably have a severe case of denial. An adult dog will generally sit calmly beside you as your workday stress flows away and your blood pressure lowers as you pet it.
6. Easier Vet Trips. Puppies need a series of puppy shots and fecals, then a rabies shot, then surgery to spay/neuter them, and generally a trip or two to the emergency vet after eating something dangerous. (All of this usually adds up to substantially more than you paid for the dog!) When adopting an adult dog, the adoption fee should get you a dog with current vaccinations, this is altered, heartworm negative and on a preventative, at the minimum.
7. What You See Is What You Get. How big will the dog get? What will its temperament be? Is it easily trained? What will its personality be like as an adult? Will it be hyperactive? Adult dogs are, to steal a term from Internet lingo, WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get.) All of your questions are easily answered, because the dog is already an adult. You can pick large or small; active or couch potato; goofy or brilliant; sassy or sweet. Further, the rescuer and/or foster homes can help guide you in choosing just the right match for you. (Rescues are FULL of puppies who became the wrong match as they got older!)
8. Unscarred Children (and Adults). If a puppy does not teeth on your possesions, it will teeth on you and your children. Rescuers often get calls from panicked parents sure their dog is about to seriously injure their children. It usually turns out the puppy is just doing what puppies do, i.e., mouth or nip. Parents, too emotional to see the difference, just want to get rid of the dog. A growing puppy is going to put anything and everything in their mouth. It must be taught bite inhibition. As the puppy grows, the puppy's jaws become stronger and its teeth are replaced by its adult teeth. The mouthing and nipping it did as a puppy now can have serious consequences. Far better to get an adult dog that has "been there, done that, moved on."