There are so many different ways to find a dog and so many different questions you need to ask yourself before bringing a new dog into your life. In this article I hope to go over some of the ways to find a dog, along with some of those questions you should ask yourself when searching for a dog. Dogs are a lot of responsibility and can take up a lot of time. Be sure you are ready for that before bringing a new dog home.

When searching for a new dog, first ask yourself these questions;

*Am I ready for a new dog?

*Am I prepared to wake up early to let them out?

*Am I prepared to walk and exercise them daily, even when it's not a good day outside?

*Am I prepeared to properly train my new dog and if it needs the help of a professional, am I willing to get that help?

*Am I financially prepared to take on a new dog, will I be able pay for dog food and any vet bills?

*Do I have enough time for a new dog? New dogs don't automatically know the rules of your house, you will have to devote time to teach them these rules. Dogs are not decoration or just a product, they are like a child and can cause a lot of trouble if you don't have time devoted to them.

*What breed of dog will match my lifestyle? Am I an inside person that likes to play on the computer and watch TV or am I an outside person, hiking, camping and love going biking? You'll want a dog that goes along with what you like to do.

These are of course not all the questions you should ask yourself, but you need to be fully prepared before bringing in a new dog. Treat the situation as though you were thinking about having a baby, that new baby is going to cost a lot and need a lot.

There are several different ways to go about searching for a dog. Are you looking for a rescue dog? A puppy? If your looking for a puppy, be sure to find a reputable breeder that does health tests. There are a lot of back yard breeders out there that simply breed their dogs and don't take all the precautions to be sure their dogs are free from health problems. I've seen this situation too much, calling a breeder to ask if the parents have been health checked and their reply is a simple "Oh yeah both parents are healthy, never had any problems." This is NOT the answer your looking for! You want proof of health checks on the hips, elbows, eyes, heart, and sometimes more. Best way is to do a search on the internet on what health checks the breed of dog your looking at needs.

For example, if I was looking for a Weimaraner puppy, I could do a search for; What health checks should Weimaraner's have prior to breeding? Or What OFA health tests should be done on Weimaraner's before being bred? This should bring you into what you want to be sure an ask about in your search for your new puppy. Parents who have been health tested and are free of actual health problems, will save you thousands of dollars with your new puppy.

If the breeder turns out to be a backyard breeder and comes back with the answer "Both parents are healthy, we've never had a problem", you might as well add 'Yet' on the end there. Just because they haven't had any problems yet, doesn't mean the dogs won't develop problems later in life such as hip dysplasia which can cost thousands to fix. Do your homework!

So when looking for a puppy, how do you go about finding a reputable breeder? You can start by going to the AKC website, do a search for AKC or American Kennel Club and it should be first on the list. This will bring you to a wealth of information all about dogs. It can also help you find a good breed of dog to go with. Other ways is to look up Champion dogs of your breed. If you can find champions, you can usually find health tests. Most breeders will put the health tests on their website. If not and you find a puppy you like, be sure to ask the breeder.

If you are looking to get a dog from a rescue, there are several rescues out there! I like doing a search for local shelters first, then if you don't find what your looking for, think of the breed you want. Lets use Weimaraner's as an example again. Look up Weimaraner Rescues. You should get a list. Another great place is of course Petfinder. Petfinder has thousands of pets looking for homes. Be sure to pick a dog based on your lifestyle, not on looks and personality alone. Though there are a lot of purebred rescue dogs, there are a lot of mixes as well. If you like staying inside watching TV and playing on the computer, a Border Collie Mix is probably not a good idea.

I certainly hope I gave you some good tips on searching for a dog. For information on bringing that new dog or puppy home, follow me over to Talented K9, by clicking on the Talented K9 link below.

Talented K9 - Amy Hiscocks is a Professional Dog Trainer and Behavior Specialist. For more tips on bringing a new dog or puppy home, house training, crate training, behavior problems, bored dogs, trick training, fun things to do with your dog, how to entertain your dog and much more, visit us today at Talented K9!