A dog provides unconditional love and great companionship, not to mention that he will make sure that you wake up early every day and take healthy walks. He will help you be less stressed, more equilibrated, with better social skills and confidence.
That said, adopting a dog should be carefully considered, as it involves a lot of responsibility. There are so many different breeds and cross-breeds out there and each dog is different than the others. Some need more exercise than others, some need more space while others can live happily in an apartment, some are quieter while others are more playful and energetic, some have a longer coat, while some look lean, others look fat, weird etc. So, before making any decision, try to determine which dog would be right for you.
Where to start?
Maybe the first step should be all about making a list with everything you need in order to be able to properly care for a dog: space, enough money to afford food, vet care and unforeseen situations, time to spend with him and a lot of love in your heart to give unconditionally. More specifically, the things you should ask yourself include:
Is my residence providing enough space for a dog?
Can I keep my dog secure and prevent him from wandering and getting lost?
Do I have enough time to play with him daily and provide him regular exercise?
Does my lifestyle allow the flexibility it takes to bring a dog in my life?
How long will he be alone?
Do I have very young or very old or disabled family members living with me?
Do I prefer a quieter breed or very energetic dogs?
Do I prefer a small or a big dog?
Do I like any breed in particular?
Is the length of his coat an issue for me?
How much can I afford to spend for my dog, every month?
Do I want a pet or a guard dog?
Do I prefer a male or a female? (Or does it really matter???)
Some of these questions are included in various "select-a-dog" tools available online that will help you make a choice. There are also dog breed selectors such www.akc.org, that will give you suggestions on compatibility based on information about appearance & behavior, look, care, activities, results, friendliness, independence, hunting skills etc. As a result, you will receive recommendations of breeds that are compatible with the information you provided and then you can start selecting. For even more useful information, you can also discuss with other dog owners as well as with breeders.
Choose wisely and do not adopt a dog only because he is cute, without thinking about all the implications, because there is more to having a dog than just enjoying his cuteness and some dogs will adapt well to your environment, while others may not.
