General information to know before owning a dog as a pet

Before taking a decision you should think about many aspects. It is not a short time affair. If you get a just born puppy the relation will go for minimum 10 to 20 years. You should be able to take care for that much period. A lot of services is to be carried out. There will be a lot of work for the ladies in the house. Another problem you have to think is how to take care of the dog when we go out of the station.
The following points are to be taken care of.
1. A protected and clean living atmosphere is to be created.
2. Always we have to provide fresh water to drink. We should see that they are hydrated always.
3. The food habits should be seen properly. A portion of quality food is required and obesity is to be taken care of.
4. The dog should be taken to a veterinary doctor regularly for a check-up
5. It should be allowed for a lot of exercises so that it will be active always.
6, You have to take enough care in maintaining their teeth. Grooming and nail trimming is also very important.

How to adopt a dog.
First of all, decide on the breed of Dog. Once you decide on the breed, go to the shelter where these breeds are available. Select the pet you want. Make friendship with that dog in the shelter itself and get the dog bonded to you. Then ask the shelter owner to give all the medical records of the dog and study them and if you feel necessary show it to a veterinary doctor.
Then you will have to follow the adoption procedure. Mostly the shelter person will ask you to sign a document in which various points like taking care properly at your home, getting good medical aid to the pet and vacation plans etc. They may ask you copies of your identity proofs. Once you fulfil these points you can take home the dog.
There are many breeds of dogs belonging to other countries as well as Indian breeds also. You have to select the one as per your liking. In most of the houses, we see dogs from the breeds like the Dalmatian, German Shepherd, the Pug, or Saint Bernard. are foreign breeds. There are many Indian origin breeds also. Some are like Indian Pariah, Karwani, Kombai and Gaddi. You can visit the shelter in your area and see the various breeds available there and get conversant with those breeds by discussing with the shelter owner and then you can discuss with your family members and then can decide.

Pets are a great company and give an emotional company to the owners. Whenever a person feels lack of that in ones life that is the best time to go for a pet. It could be a dog or cat or any other animal which we can keep as a pet. Though everyone enjoys their company but children in particular get attached to them. Once you keep a pet in the house then slowly it becomes like a family member.

Keeping a pet in the house especially in the flats is a responsible thing and one has to abide by the rules regulations of the society regarding the pets. Another thing is that they have to be given certain vaccines or injections so that they do not get the usual ailments that catch the pets often. So one should have a pet centre or veterinary clinic nearby where one can consult about it if there is a pet health problem encountered. Keeping pets also requires that we have to take them out daily for walks and other physical activities otherwise they will become lazy and fat. Generally people take them with when they go for walk.

There are many breeds of the dogs available and mostly people go for Beagle, Labrador, Golden Retriever, Dachshund etc. Nowadays there is a trend to adopt a dog from the street itself rather than going for a costlier counterpart from the pet shop. Of course it depends on the individual liking.

One has to be careful while going out that there could be so many stray dogs outside and they can have a fight with the pet. So, one has to keep a stick in one's hand for tackling such an eventuality.

Before finalizing to adopt a dog you have to be mentally prepared that you are going to have a life long relationship with a dog, where you have big responsibilities on your shoulders to look after it at any cost like housing, feeding, bathing, cleaning, vaccination, regular check up etc, however, when you have the intention to adopt a dog I hope you must have thought about what responsibilities you will have to fulfil.

You can consider the following options:

- Almost dogs of all breed are available but you have to decide what breed you are looking for. You may consult your other family members/relatives and friends who have already adopted dogs.

- You can adopt a puppy though but I suggest that you have an adult dog instead from any Animal Shelter, and choose.

- You can also adopt a stray dog from your nearby area and get it the required vaccinations. It will prove more loyal to you.

Having a dog in a separate house found OK. But in case of apartments or flats it is vary dangerous and cumbersome. It becomes a nuisance to others as it may make noise either barking or crying in odd hours which may be tolerable to the owners.

Pets are a very good source of company and amusement. Humans were keeping pets since long especially dogs when they found that they were very useful also in protecting the house during night time to raise alert if someone enters the premises. Apart from usefulness there are other advantage of keeping pets and psychologists say that they are the great stress busters. Also, they are a great company to old people who have to live alone due to the nuclear family syndrome.

There are certain precautions and pre requisites for keeping dogs in the house. First and foremost is their medical check up and providing them required vaccines time to time, generally on an annual basis. Dog bite is not to be taken lightly. It has many implications if not immediately later in the human body. Another aspect is they are to be taken out at least two times a day to keep them active and disease free. Exercise is as important to them as to the humans who keep them. It means manpower is required to take care of them. If the owner feels that he can do this then it is all right.

The other important consideration about them is their acceptance in the housing complex or locality where one is residing. In some housing societies it is very much required that the dogs should not make the podium area or galleries or the lawns dirty and one has to keep a bag and polythene gloves in case the dog poohs at places. The owner or care taker has to pick up the things in a small bag to dispense it in the toilet. So in good societies these things are to be adhered to sincerely and one should consider these aspects whether one is willing to do all sots of such care in keeping a dog in the house.

As regards the breed it is the fancy of the people to go for a particular breed and it depends on the individual choice. In general in India people go for Alsatians, Dachshund, Beagle, Labrador, Pomeranian etc. However a new trend is picking up fast and that is to adopt a street dog or orphaned puppy. I would recommend for that as it would be a great service to the stray animals.

It's always good to adopt a dog or bring puppy home. They need special care like a human child. If your mind is set, make sure you are ready to keep them for life long. The average age is 10-12 years for any dogs. Below are your queries and answers.
a) When should one keep a pet in their house or home?
-> Puppy must be 2 months old.

b) Which are the breeds of dogs that are available for adoption and can be easily managed in our Indian climate and home for normal, middle-class and well to do family?
-> Go for Labrador. The lab is the most intelligent bread.

c) What are the adoption or registration procedures for owning a dog?
-> There is no such registration process if you are buying from pet shop. A bill should be enough. But, if you are adopting a dog then there is registration form that you will need to fill up and sign.

d) What are the cares that one need to know to keep their pet healthy like food, pet-house or shelter, exercise, vaccination, training, etc?
-> Pet needs special attention on the food intake and vaccination. You can consult a vat doctor and get a health card and diet plan. A basic training can be provided at home till 4-5 months later you can take to a dogs training school if you want.

e) Which are the best Indian breeds of Dogs that are easy and affordable to maintain in small houses or flats?
-> Indian spitz, Bakharwal dog, Gaddi kutta, Rampur Greyhound, and Bhotia dog. These are Indian breads.

f) Any other precautions/tips/guidance that one should know about keeping/owning a pet dog in the home/apartment?
-> A regular combing, grooming, bathing, etc will be required.

Before owning a pet in our house, there should be willingness from the side of family members to welcome the pet and even kids/ children are not scary due to the free movement of the pet. Before we decide to have a pet, we should consider the following points -
1) Availability of time - Let us examine whether we have so much spare time to have a walk with the pet regularly from anyone member of the house. This activity will keep the pet fit physically.
2) Brand of the pet - Adopt a popular breed such as Labrador so that this breed should prove an intelligent choice in the future.
3) Encourage the children of your house to develop friendship with the newly arrived pet so that both children and the pet enjoy the comfortable environment.
4) Take adequate care of the pet providing a separate cabinet for the pet where there should not be extrusion of foreign creatures such as snakes, birds, rats etc.
There should be the consultation of the veterinary doctor with respect to the advice of healthy breakfast/ meals of the pet, its immunisation programme, essential medicines to be administered in case of its ill health.
5) Train the puppy for the healthy habits - These habits include its bowel habits, your instruction to follow you if you give such a signal, following the diet timing and allow the pet to play different games under your guidance.
6) Before you you adopt a pet, get it examined by a registered vetenary doctor regarding its fitness of health.

We know how fun it is to buy a small cute dog. If a dog arrives in the house, the empty house rises in awe. But buying a dog or buying a small dog is not an easy task as it costs a lot of money and time to maintain and take care of it. There are some things that you have to understand before buying a dog. If the dog falls ill, it has to be taken to the doctor of which animals, all this work also increases.
It costs a lot of money to raise pets, so if you are thinking of raising a dog, then take a look at your budget.
Keep all supplies ready, like their food and its maintenance. If the dog is small, it is necessary to buy its sleeping bed, dog toy, and neck strap.
Before taking the dog, find a good animal doctor in your vicinity, it is very important.
If you are buying a small dog, make your house dog friendly. Because he does not know at which place in the house and where not. Make the house safe for small dogs.
Pay attention to your dog's hair, if they are growing up then cut it and set it. Do not let the nails of his feet get bigger, clean his teeth, and all this should be done by routine.

Keeping pet animals is not an easy task. Before taking this decision every member of the family should be agreed. Sometimes, without the consent of every family member, this work becomes a headache and finally, we have to hand over it to anybody.
The first and foremost thing is to select the breed of dog. There is a different kind of dog breed available in markets such as Dalmatian, German Shepherd, the Pug, or Saint Bernard as foreign breeds. And some Indian origin breeds are Pariah, Karwani, Kombai, Gaddi etc. Most people keep foreign breed dog as it is more intelligent than Indian breed in protecting our houses. After bringing pet animal in the house there are many things which are to be taken care as follows:-
1. At first, you should get vaccinated your pet animal so that if any incident happens in future then not effective on the body as dog's bite cases incident are becoming normal.
2. You should have a good arrangement for dogfooding, shelter, bathing, cleaning, toilet etc. Otherwise, there may be a problem for both the house owner and the dog.
3. Always get health checked up by a veterinary doctor.
4. Try to give good food to the dog which suits its body. Take them for walking and running daily otherwise, your pet animal may victim of obesity.
5. Try to keep them clean including nail trimming as much as possible.