Should we adopt a puppy or a dog? what do you think?

Question

My boyfriend and i are planning on getting a dog, hopefully within the next year or so. We are going to wait until we get a house and enough money. Basically a more stable life style. Well i have been waiting my whole life for a dog, so i have been doing all kinds of research, and i bring up the topic a lot. We both have our favorite dog breeds, but the one we have in common is a pit bull or pit bull mix that we would get from an animal shelter. The only problem is that I want to adopt an adult dog, and he wants to adopt a puppy. I want an adult dog because they are not generally as demanding as a puppy, they are usually house trained, more calm, and a lot of them at some point had an owner that helped with training. And adult dogs are more in need of a home. And puppies require so much energy, time, and money. THey have to get all their puppy shots, get fed every few hours, go out every few hours, time every day spent on training. ........ continues...

He wants a puppy because he feels that in doing all of that helps us bond with our dog. And he also is nervous of not knowing an adult dogs background, and if they get along with people, kids, other dogs. I understand how he feels, but i also know that old dogs can learn knew tricks, and as long as we pick out a dog together, one that we know is friendly with kids, dogs, and cats, then we can work on training in any problem areas. It is very difficult for us to come to a decision. What are your thoughts? Do you have any ideas or opinions on how to compormise?

i work at a vet clinic so i get a discount, but even then it is still expensive for puppy shots, and getting them up to date on everything.

we are not having kids, ever. Just dogs and cats.

Answer 1

Thanks for adopting from a shelter.. and yes we always have tons of Pit Bulls. On one hand an adult dog may be less demanding...unless it has some bad habits, destructive behavior and such. A puppy will require more time and you will hopefully be able to train it the way you want. From experience ( at where I work anyway) we screen ALL dogs regardless of breed for temperament. Check your shelter and see if they do that as well. The temperament test can help draw out negative behaviors so you know what you are getting. Also most shelter have some type of "return policy" which although I suspect you would not want to return a pet..sometimes it is necessary.
Most of the dogs I impound are younger... 6 months to year or two...they are often great with people but have a tendency for animal aggression ( as they were bred for 100's of years to fight other animals) so I would not recommend any cats be in the household.
You will just have to go and look when you are ready..the right dog will make itself known to you.
Good Luck

Answer 2

If you decide to adopt a puppy from a shelter, usually the adoption fees include the vaccination shots so you shouldn't have to worry about that. But puppies do require a lot more energy and a lot of attention. You can't leave a puppy alone all day while you're at work...it could cause issues with socialization in the future.
There are a ton of adult dogs that need homes out there too, and you can always train a dog no matter how old it is. Adult dogs need vaccinations too, but again, the shelter you adopt from should include that in the adoption fee.
It really is just a matter of how much time you have to devote to your animal.

Answer 3

My husband and I adopted three dogs from an animal shelter. We got two as adults and one as a puppy. The puppy is definitely more attached to us than the other two. The adults love us to death but you can tell a slight difference. The puppy listens to us a lot better than the other two. To be honest... It is a decision that only you two can make... We went looking for a dog and we really had no preference. We knew the dog would pretty much pick us and they did. It was nice to bring the first two home with no accidents and no extensive training. Also, we adopted from a high kill shelter and its common knowledge that puppies adopt faster than adult dogs. We felt like we were saving them. We wouldn't trade our three for the world!

If you are getting a pit bull then I would suggest getting a puppy just because of the breed. A coworker of mine raises and breeds pit bulls. She will not buy an adult pitt bull because you never know how it was previously raised, especially if you are adopting from a shelter. They are sweet dogs but it all depends on the owner. Hope I could help!

Answer 4

I'd adopt a dog- Someone else has trained it- Now adult dogs go through so many tests etc, and the centers know there history, its hard to find a bad one- We have 5 from the SPCA- Ranging from a huge Great Dane type dog, but its a X, to Chihuahua and never had any problems them, except we were told that Troy (his new name), our little jack russell X teddy bear, was afraid of men with long hair- Though the individual choice is yours, I would always side with adopting an adult dog. On a more serious point, pit bulls are dangerous anyways- They are simply fighting dogs, I'd not even chance a pit bull puppy. Again though the choice is always down to you-

Answer 5

i just got a puppy a few days ago from an animal shelter. she is only 2 months and the cutest thing in the world. but she is also a lot of work. i would tell you to go with an older dog. there are a lot of bonuses to older dogs: they dont chew, they are loyal, they are housebroken, you know that is the size they are going to stay and many more. Puppies are very expensive and my puppy because she is soo young she catchs illness easily. plus the shots are very costly. the spraying, the rabies shot, the 3 weekly booster shot, the vet visits when she is sick. plus for the past two nights i had to stay up with my puppy becuz she was found adonbed and for some reason cant sleep without me holding her first. ALSO, try getting your animal from a shelter. puppies need A LOT OF YOUR TIME. so if you have it to give but if you dont it will be animal creulty. that pup needs you by her almost every moment of the day. sorry it soo long. GOOD LUCK and if you need more help ask me.

Answer 6

Many of the animals in the shelters are owner drop-offs. When they take these dogs in, they get information on if the dog is good with children or not. Even if the animal was a stray, the shelter workers can have a good guess on if the dog would be OK with a young child. I worked with Rottie rescue for years, and always used my daughter when I temperament tested the dogs to see if they were OK around children. It is pretty obvious, if you know what you are doing, to tell if a dog is afraid of children. All this being said, I would go with a young adult from the shelter. Ask questions and see how much information the shelter has on the dog. Also, take your toddler with you to the shelter, this way, you can see how the dog reacts to the baby. In your situation, I would not go with a puppy. There is just so much work that you would have to do, and with a young child, you would be exhausted! With an older dog, you would have avoided the teething stage, the house-breaking stage, and the adolescence stage. Good luck to you!

Answer 7

Puppy need care and time to play but puppy can learn more fast that an dog, If you wanted an puppy to teach trick that is good idea to buy one. About dog if you wanted that dog protect you pit bull is the best dog. But if you are planning to have kids you has to know that sometime you see in the NEWS that a dog attack BABY or your families.

Answer 8

if you plan on having kids in the next 15 years, or have them now, I would get a puppy, if you are set on a pit bull. almost any other breed, I would recommend an adult dog.

If you both work, I would not recommend a puppy at all, though. a puppy needs someone home most of the time.

maybe you could compromise with your boyfriend and get an adult dog of a breed that he likes?

Answer 9

I'd say adopt a puppy considering the breed you are after. I can understand the nervousness on your boyfriend's part with the breed you have in mind.

And what's to say you can't adopt both a puppy and a dog? Maybe not at the same time, but eventually. Just be sure that the dogs get along.

Answer 10

it sounds like youve never had a dog before..

so my advice . DO NOT get a pitt bull
that would be extremely unwise

go with the puppy. but get something that you wont have to watch every second that it is outside. How many stories have i heard about some stupid son of a .. say " i only turned my back for a second and he was always such a nice dog .. i know hes a pittbull but he always seemed fine around children before"

and this type of person is the same stupid son of a bi.. who said that Pittbulls are nice dogs if treated and raised properly.

sigh..

Get a Lab puppy. they are great loyal dogs and do not have "attack
implanted into their genes

dont get offended but by some of your comments you sound extremely immature. Im glad that you are at least waiting a year until you get a dog.