by Lauren Edwards

Adopting a dog to enhance your family unit is not a decision you should take lightly. You need to put as much careful planning into the adoption process as you would in buying a house, preparing for a baby or when organizing your wedding. Researching the right breed for your circumstances is of paramount importance, as unfortunately many prospective owners rush into the decision, often swayed by a new designer breed, without considering what the animal may be like.

It is a good idea before embarking on the dog adoption process that you evaluate how your life could fit around a dog and not how a dog could fit into your life. You need to calculate how long the dog may be left alone during the day if your family is at work or school, as more than four hours is not really acceptable. Furthermore, you need to decide if you can put aside time to exercise your new canine friend and whether you would be prepared to train it. Puppies will need training whether for toilet needs or for when you are walking them.