My qualifications? PhD in dogology.

Hello folks! It's been a while. This is going to be an informative, but interesting, post. Quite a long-winded one! The fact that I'm writing this post while my exams are in full swing speaks volumes. No, don't worry, I'm studying and my grades will be good, rest assured!

Dog - a man's best friend, companion, blah, blah, blah. You know all the regular stuff and you could write an essay on them. I have been a dog-lover since about a year or so, and always have been yearning to have a pet. Well, I need to spend time, and money. Most importantly, my own money. So, I decided to keep researching about various breeds and dogs in general until I begin to get fat pay checks (bah! I may not have enough time then). Here's the breed I chose finally. :-)

Beagle

Nope, Beagles aren't lazy, like what you're thinking right now. Anyway, I didn't start writing this to discuss about Beagles and their characteristics, but things that I discovered when I was researching about them. I talked to various puppy-owners I knew and I was appalled to see that very few of them did their homework when it came to taking care of, or even buying, a puppy. This post is to let you know some common mistakes people do when it comes to dogs, and what you can do, if you plan on buying a puppy. Let's see them!

1. "Oh-that-cutsie-wootsie-puppy": That's not an intelligent thing to say when you're buying a puppy, without knowing what breed it is or what temperament it has. I have seen umpteen number of owners who own Lhasa Apsos (see picture below) and bought it because it looked adorable. It looks cute all right, but not many know that Apsos are cat-like and dislike being cuddled too much. Sure, they're affectionate - but there are dogs which are specifically meant to be sitting on your lap. Not an Apso. Please! The minimum you can do is to check out what characteristics each breed has and whether you will be okay with them. Certain things you will have to keep in mind while looking for a suitable breed is its size, temperament, health problems, shedding, slobbering, gassiness, grooming requirements, food requirements, the pluses and minuses.

2. "My puppy's going to be an adult?": Many people don't think of how their puppies will look after they grow up. They might not remain as cute as they were. They can grow up to to be large breeds that you might not even be able to control.

This sweet puppy....

...grew up to be this gigantic beauty!

3. "Hey, let's buy a puppy today": If you're planning to buy a puppy on a whim, NO. Please do the dog world a favour and buy yourself a stuffed toy instead. When you bring a puppy into your life, you are raising a baby. It needs to be trained to follow the rules of your house. What might seem cute as a puppy will annoy you later on. A dog needs good food, training, time, patience, vet check-ups (that might include emergencies), toys, grooming and lots more. More than anything else, it needs to be with you for twelve-fifteen years. This isn't to say that you need to be extremely rich to have a dog, but you must be willing to spend to the best of your ability to keep it healthy and satisfied. Please don't neglect it! Never gift a puppy to someone, unless you have talked it out with them beforehand. My estimates show me that roughly Rs. 3000 would be needed per month to keep your dog reasonably happy. The costs would be even higher in the first year because of extra vet check-ups and more food. Here's the "cutsie-wootsie" Lhasa Apso which is now grown up! If you don't want such a long coat, you would need to keep trimming it! If you can't, choose a low-maintenance dog instead.

4. "I got a dog on discount!": I have seen people spend as low as Rs. 2000 in buying a puppy and that's one of the worst things you can do. According to whatever I've researched so far, a reasonably healthy puppy that will have lesser diseases in the long run will cost you about 10k to 20k. "Show quality" puppies (as compared to "pet quality" ones), will go up higher to about 35k. Why a healthy dog should cost more is explained below.

5. "I got my puppy from the pet store": This isn't an obvious mistake at first. Pets here are cheap and you can get all the accessories here. What's the problem? The problem is that pet stores source their animals from animal-mills. Mills are large industries which have a variety of breeds living in abominable conditions. The dogs are constantly bred to obtain as many litters as possible. No thought is given to the health of the dogs. Neither are they given adequate rest between the breeding sessions. Once a dog is found to have lost its breeding capacity, it is no longer fed or taken care of and left to die. If the dog is lucky, it may be given up to an animal shelter where better care might be provided. Meanwhile, the puppies produced are therefore unhealthy and will have problems in the long run. It is not uncommon to find puppies being shut in cages (eating, sleeping and relieving themselves in that very cage) while they await being sourced to the pet stores. Such puppies generally develop abnormal behaviour (fear, aggression, whining, etc., due to neglect and bad care), and several diseases or infections. Some puppies wouldn't have seen the sunlight until they are sourced. In short, puppy mills are in for profit and nothing else. Beware, it is not only the dogs that suffer, but you too. You will have huge vet bills to pay. Moreover, you will be supporting a horrible industry. Instead, you should look for reputable breeders who are sincerely promoting the quality of one, or at the most, two breeds at a time. Since the post is already long, I will not elaborate on what a "good breeder" means. You should google it to see what kind of questions to ask the breeder while buying a puppy and what they should be asking you.Their costs will definitely be higher, but you want a healthy puppy, don't you?


6. "I bought a puppy, I'm done!": No, you aren't. You need to ensure that the puppy's KCI registration papers have been sent to you by the breeder. You also need to make sure that the pedigree certificates of the puppy's mom and dad (called Dam and Sire) are available. The first thing you should do after buying a puppy is to take it to a vet and make sure it has no major diseases. It is better to return the pup to the breeder in the worst case. If your puppy is healthy, you need to give it regular shots (vaccines, deworming, tick and flea control, heartworm prevention and more). More importantly, it is important to neuter or spay your pup to avoid unwanted breeding. It has been found that neutering also lessens aggression in dogs. It isn't a cruel thing to do; in fact, you're helping your puppy live better.

7. "I feed my dog Pedigree": This is still an ongoing debate, but dog food brands such as Pedigree, Eukanuba, Purina, Royal Canin and others have been found to contain allergens that you shouldn't be feeding your dog. The top two ingredients must be some kind of meat or meat meals. Corns, corn fillers or corn gluten and soy are some of the supposedly no-no ingredients. Some people are also in favour of feeding your dog raw food (mostly non-veg), while some are against it. So far, no confirmation has been given as to which might work for a particular dog, just as in the case of human nutrition. It is important to know that while your dog can live on anything, it is important that it lives healthily. This may differ from dog to dog. When I have a dog, I would like to feed it brands like Artemis, Solid Gold or Orijen. Unfortunately they aren't available in India, but a suitable, albeit a little costly replacement would be Taste of the Wild being distributed by Natural Pet.

8. "My puppy has total freedom in the house": Though it sounds nice, you must ensure that you train your puppy from an early age to follow the rules of your house. Tough love works. A puppy who jumps on people might be adorable, but you don't want a giant Great Dane jumping all over you when it becomes an adult. Research on crate-training, paper-training and maintaining an alpha position must be done before you buy a puppy. Traits like possessiveness, aggression, separation anxiety, biting, growling or excessive barking are common in dogs. You must be able to restrict them to a minimum level. Do your research. Oooh, here's the "cutsie-wootsie" Lhasa Apso (first picture) becoming all nasty and bite-y.

9. "Purebreds are the best": Not necessarily. Societies like Blue Cross rescue stray dogs (cross-breeds and mutts) which are considered to be hardy breeds. Since they represent "survival-of-the-fittest", they are less prone to diseases. But yes, a well-bred purebred could also be healthy. If you think the costs of maintaining a pure-bred are astronomical, you could always contact a shelter like VSPCA and Blue Cross to adopt a homeless puppy or dog. The dog would remain loyal to you for the rest of its life. I have personally thought it out, but I was hell-bent on a Beagle's temperament and inherent "bad qualities" it came with, which I might not find in a crossbreed/mutt. Also, I wasn't too happy with the idea of adopting a dog about whose qualities I have no idea. Mutts could have a range of personalities! But if you think you can handle it, go for it. Once I learn to bring up a puppy, I will think of adopting a mongrel too!


Phew, that was certainly a long post, but I think people should find it informative. There are excellent resources on the web, so make sure you go through them! Never back out on your pet, especially when you have the capacity to support it! :-)