Before the actual dog adoption
Before you actually adopt the dog, there is a process that you need to pay quite a lot of attention to: deciding on which dog to adopt. It may seem trivial and unimportant - most people just go to a shelter and pick the one that strikes their fancy most. It does work, but the most work usually yields the best results so, if you are determined to make the most out of your decision, you may want to take a little more time to think.
The first step of a dog adoption is deciding why you need a dog. Do you want a dog that will keep you safe or a cute dog for your kids to play with? Based on that, you can establish exactly which type of dog you need: every breed has its own characteristics and each of them can fit you more ore less, depending on what you are looking for. You may also want to decide whether you prefer to adopt a pup - giving you the chance to raise it and educate it the way you would like - or a fully grown dog - sparing you the effort of having to train it but at the same time presenting a risk of not having been raised the way you might like.
After the dog adoption
If you picked the dog and adopted it, the next step is adaptation. Especially in the case where you haven't had a dog before - you will need to learn to take care of the dog and deal with his presence in your house. If you have a small child, you will have to teach him to handle the new pet and you will have to train the dog to respect and care for your child. New hygiene habits will have to be adopted.
Although in theory it is very easy to go through a dog adoption, for it to go perfectly, you do have to take a little bit of care and put a little bit of effort into it. Think the process through before going through with it - make sure that you know exactly what you are signing up for. Having a dog can occasionally be a challenge, especially if you haven't gotten the right dog for you. Ask for advice - shelter or pet shop employees will be more than happy to offer it to you. Check out with your friends that have pets - make sure you understand what having a dog entails. And, after having made the right choice, enjoy the rewards - which are plenty.
