Have you considered owning a pet dog at any point in your life? Maybe you are on the fence right now, mulling over the positives with the negatives. I think purchasing a dog can be a rewarding choice, and I'm about to demonstrate for you a few reasons on how I reached that stunning conclusion. The goal here is to list the pros and cons of owning a dog, and to decide if embracing a new pet would be beneficial to introduce to your family or not.
1. Guard Dog or Adorable Alarm Systems - Bark, ruff, arf, bow-wow, meow... no wait that's a cat. The other four sounds however, are the sounds dogs make when they want to be annoying or alert us to something important. Mostly just to be annoying though.
What's great about this loud, obnoxious sound is how it grabs our attention. Nothing will go unnoticed with the super aware dog on duty. Is someone knocking on the door, but you're busy elsewhere and haven't a clue? No need to worry, the dog will bark it's head off at the person, conveniently letting you know someone is at the door waiting.
What if a thief is trying to sneakily break into your home while you are fast asleep? Dogs have fantastic hearing, and any noise breaking the dead silence of night will tip them off that something is wrong. When dogs get that feeling, the urge to bark swells up deep inside them, and out comes a barrage of barking audio bullets.
The barking serves a double purpose here; it'll wake you up, making you cautiously aware something is not right. Second, the noisy dog may also scare off the intruder, because when he hears the dog barking up a storm, he will recognize his cover is blown and will likely flee the area. If not, well then hopefully your dog can provide you with a bit of protection. Unless you have a small Chihuahua or Maltipoo, in which case, start hoping the intruder has an irrational fear of tiny dog breeds. Hey, it could happen!
2. Responsibilities for Children - All loving parents want their child to grow up responsible, and what better way to teach a child responsibility than letting them care for the family pet? Often times, it is the children that want their parents to purchase a puppy for them, but the parents decline. Well parents, perhaps reconsidering the offer is in order.
A new puppy certainly needs to be taken good care of. The puppy needs to be fed food and water, have their bathroom breaks cleaned up after, get plenty of exercise and rest, and generally be taken care of. It's the perfect opportunity to teach a child how to be responsible. Of course, leaving the whole caring situation entirely up to them might not be the wisest decision, as you want to ensure they are doing a good job. Any negligence could lead to a dead puppy; nobody wants that.
The size of the dog is important to consider as well. Do you really want a 130 pound behemoth to be taken care of by a child that weighs less? That points to danger all over this danger measuring device I'm holding. A great starting point is a smaller dog breed, such as Chihuahuas, Maltipoos, Yorkshires, or Poodles. Or would you like a breed slightly bigger? It's up to you, but smaller breeds are easier to manage, and safer to have.
3. Money to Support a Pet - Guess what? Pets need to be taken care of. Shocking I know, but that means they need to eat. For them to eat, you need to buy dog food, which costs money! Then think about buying a playpen for the new puppy to rest in, dog beds, perhaps a heating pad for the winter time to keep them warm. Indeed, it all accumulates into a decent sum.
Again I'll note the size of the dog matters here. The smaller the dog, the less food they will eat every day. A single bag of dry food could last a very long time if it's feeding a mere 5-10 pound dog. A gigantic dog however, will gobble up that bag just for his breakfast(okay maybe a slight exaggeration), but bigger dogs most certainly have a higher upkeep. If you can afford it however, the choice is yours, not mine!
4. You Get a Loving Dog - Duh! Hello? Is this thing on? Introducing a new dog to your family means you essentially get a new loving family member. Dogs are super friendly, loving, and provide endless hours of entertainment every day. They can help a dreary day become a bright one, cheering us up when we may be feeling under the weather. It's a great feeling after a long day of work to come home and see an excited dog jump up and down happy to see you return, licking your face as they fail to contain their endless excitement. It's really cool! Just be sure to wash your face afterwards, you never know where that tongue has been.
rnThere it is, four interesting and fence-swaying choices for one to consider if they need help thinking up reasons on why it would be beneficial to own a pet. Or maybe these reasons helped reassure you on why you don't want to have a pet, who knows?! Only you do.