You’ve talked it over and have finally decided it’s time to adopt a dog. Within that decision-making process did you ask, “Do we get an adult dog or a puppy?” 

Depending on your household and lifestyle, this could be a weightier decision than you think. Many people who come in looking for a dog stop to see the puppies before moving on to the older dogs. The soft faces and fuzzy little bodies hook them every time. Before you know it, they have a small new addition to their family. Don’t get me wrong, this is a wonderful thing! But I encourage lots of folks to consider visiting adult dogs as well when walking through a shelter because there are numerous benefits to adopting an older dog.  In addition, not everyone’s home and lifestyle is set up to care for puppy

What you see is what you get
One of the many beautiful things about adopting an adult dog is that what you see is what you get. This applies to both personality and size. Provided you don’t over feed him, he’ll stay roughly the same size as the day you took him home! When it comes to personality, you will know from the moment you meet whether Rover is a couch potato or an active pooch, whether he has lots of energy or is a more laid back fella.

Those personality traits are important considerations when integrating a new pet into your family. How will the new dog take to the kids? How will your older dog accept the new addition? To get a picture of how everyone will get along, bring both your children and any canine member of the family to visit with an adult dog before adopting.

Want puppy personality without the puppy hassles?
An adult dog can still be playful, and his stamina makes him better suited to keep up with the kids or to go along on your morning jog. Like puppies, dogs like to chew, yet adult dogs can be taught to chew on the rawhide and not the chair leg. I’ve never seen a puppy that didn’t need housebreaking. Some of our older dogs are already known to be housebroken, and others surprise us. Adult dogs may even come with basic obedience skills taught by a previous owner or by our staff and volunteers.

Young puppies’ inoculations begin at the Richmond SPCA, but they must continue their vaccine schedule by getting additional shots from your vet. A more mature dog leaves us fully vaccinated for the coming year.

Most adult dogs can be left alone for the common workday or for an evening out. If you don’t want any unexpected surprises, lengthy excursions are probably not the best of ideas with a new puppy at home.

Every life is precious
If you are debating dog versus puppy and plan to adopt from the Richmond SPCA, also think about our mission. In order to save the lives of homeless animals, we need the space in which to house them. Puppies and their littermates are housed together in our facility. Adult dogs each need their own kennel space. We want every one of these guys to get a home; however, when an adult dog gets a home, it gives us space to save another life.

Whether you adopt an adult or a puppy, you’ll bring much joy and love into your life. I’m just asking you to think about the differences between the two, and find out which one suits you best.

Today’s blog author is Gerry Strong. Gerry is the adoption coordinator at the Richmond SPCA.

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