New Pet

I have people ask me almost on a daily basis about getting a new pet.  I will try and offer a few pearls of wisdom (or at least my opinions) about where and how to get a new pet. 
First of all the decision to bring another living creature into your household should not be made lightly.  There are so many people that walk into a pet store "just to look" and walk out the proud owner of a new puppy or kitten.  A very large percentage of those puppies and kittens, ofter turning into not so cute dogs and cats end up in the local shelter. 

• My first piece of advice is to NEVER make a purchase on an impulse.  

Go home and talk it over with your family.  Look at your budget, can you afford the first year of veterinary bills, food, training, grooming, etc.?  Think about how a new puppy or kitten will change your daily schedule and lifestyle (if you haven't already).  Do some research about the breed and whether or not the personality is a good fit for yours.  Then if after a few days you still think it is the right decision go back and make the not-so-impulsive buy.

• My second piece of advice is to research where the puppy/kitten in coming from.  

There has been a lot in the news lately about puppy mills and the horrible conditions that the animals are housed in.  What hasn't been in the news is any information about all those backyard breeders.  In my opinion the only valid reason for breeding a dog or a cat is to improve that specific breed.  In order to do this properly you need to have both a sire and a dam with excellent confirmation, temperament, and health.  Since dogs and cats can both start producing litters as early as 10 months of age (sometimes even earlier) it can be very difficult to determine if they are genetically free of the "bad" genes.  A responsible breeder will usually not breed until the animal has gone through at least one heat cycle (usually 2) and has been tested for the known problems that specific breed is known for.  In many cases this means not breeding them until the animal is 2 years old. 
Another thing a good breeder will do is only breed every other heat cycle.  Pregnancy is hard on the body (as any woman with children can attest too!) and back-to-back pregnancies lead to many potential problems.  Most "good" breeders are not breeding for a living.  Yes they would like to make some money, or at least recoup their expenses for the litter (which if done right can be upwards of a few hundred dollars a puppy/kitten), but they have another income source that pays the bills.  There are some exceptions to this, but in general it is true that breeders that are in it for a living are eventually more concerned with paying the bills and less concerned with the quality of dog/cat they are producing.  This is not to say you can't get lucky and get a good dog or cat this way, but it will truly be a crap shoot.

• The cheapest cost for a new dog or cat is usually the purchase price.
• You get what you pay for.

A good reputable breeder is going to charge premium costs for their puppies or kittens.  When they have a limited supply and they are putting in lots of time and money in genetic testing and showing/competing they can demand a higher price.  If you won't pay the $2000 for the dog then someone else surely will because they have the BMW of the dog world.  A back-yard breeder is going for quantity sales.  They want the puppies gone as soon as possible (sometimes even before the legal 8weeks old) and they want to sell lots of puppies.  The backyard breeder's puppies may be cheaper on the outset, but when the dog develops epilepsy, hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, lymphoma at 4 years old you will count the purchase price as a drop in the bucket to what you will spend in dollars and heartache.  Getting your dog or cat from a good source does not guarantee they will be healthy and live longer than average, but it dramatically increases the chances.  Most good breeders are also willing to take back a dog that you can no longer take care of. (As an aside a lot of back-yard-breeders are average people who just wanted to experience the "joy" of letting their dog or cat have a litter.  They may think they could make a little bit of money and recoup the cost of buying their dog, but you need to find out where they got both the male and the female and do some genetic snooping on your own about the bloodlines to be sure you will get as healthy a dog as possible.)

• You do not "rescue" a dog or cat from a pet store!

I have heard so many people tell me they bought a puppy or kitten from a pet store because they had to rescue it from the horrible conditions it was kept in.  In truth all they are doing is giving the owner of the pet store more money and a new vacant cage to put another animal in.  This in turn tells the puppy mills and other unscrupulous breeders to produce more puppies and kittens to sell.  If you truly feel that a pet store's conditions are unsanitary, unsafe, or inhumane for the animals kept there then call Animal Control or the Department of Health.  Do NOT purchase the animal.  You are only supporting the horrible conditions when you do this.

• A designer mutt is just an expensive mutt.

I want to apologize to all of those out there with your Peekapoos and Puggles because I know your specific pet is the best one you have ever had.  I just want to talk in general about the practice of breeding two different breeds together and then selling the offspring as designer animals.  The last time I checked two different breeds mixed equals a mutt.  This is just the latest gimmick to get people to buy more puppies.  There is no benefit to buying a mixed puppy from two purebred parents because those parents probably weren't the best examples of their breed anyways.  If you really want a mixed breed puppy, go to the shelter and look for one with the characteristics you want or even look in the paper for "Free to good home" puppies or kittens.

• Know what you are getting yourself into!

You may love the look of a German Shepherd, but how much do you mind sweeping up 5 pound hairballs on a daily basis.  You may think chihuahuas are absolutely adorable, but are you going to be terribly upset when it can't go on a 5k run with you?  And don't forget Labradors are the greatest family dog ever, but did you know that is because they have more energy than three 2 year olds?  Do a little soul searching and really try to decide what you are looking for in a dog or cat. 
What can you afford food and medication wise?  If you have a tight budget then you probably can't afford heartworm prevention and food for a great dane. 
What can you afford for health issues?  Can you drop $2500 (or more) in a second when your Corgi herniates a disc and needs emergency back surgery or heart medications and repeat testing when your Doberman develops dilated cardiomyopathy? 
What can your lifestyle handle?  Do you run several miles a day and want a companion to go with you?  If so you want an active dog that likes to get up and go.  Are you a couch potato?  Then get a dog that is content to sit at your feet and won't chew a hole through the wall from excess energy.
Where do you live or are you going to live?  Thick coated dogs like the St. Bernard and Husky don't do well in hot climates and thin skinned/haird dogs like the greyhound and chihuahua are lest tolerant of very cold weather.  How much square footage do you have for the dog or cat to roam?  How tolerant are your neighbors going to be to running feet or barking?  Do you have stairs to climb and when your pet develops arthritis are you going to be able to carry them down the stairs to go outside?
Do you have children or are you going to have children?  Some dogs are much more tolerant to having hair and ears pulled than others.  Do you have other pets?  Some dogs, such as greyhounds, have high prey drive and may kill a cat without a second though.  Or bird dogs like Pointers may think your parrot is there for practice.
Well I seem to have rambled on with lots of questions to ask yourself before getting a pet.  It basically all comes down to "know what you are getting yourself into."  Plan for a 10-20 year commitment and try and think of all the possible scenarios that you may have to face over the life of the pet and you will be much better prepared and a much happier pet owner.  If you aren't totally set on a puppy, but want a specific breed check out breed rescues and adopt an adult dog.  If you aren't dead set on a specific breed (or even if you are since 25% of dogs in shelters are purebred) then please check out the shelter or rescue groups.  About 4 million cats and dogs are euthanized yearly so even if you don't adopt then at least have your pet spayed or neutered.