As many of you know I am an avid dog lover*. I think they are wonderful animals that only want to give you unconditional love, and that every home would be even more blessed if it housed a dog. Recently I found a wonderful show on Animal Planet that gives wonderful information about different breeds of dogs. It’s called Dogs 101.
I always had a dog growing up, but when it came time to get my first dog as an adult I had a lot to think about. There is so much more to getting a dog than most people know. Each breed is different and brings different traits to the table. Every person looking to get a dog should look into what type of traits the particular dog you want brings. Dogs 101 recently did a show that featured Pomeranians. If you want to catch the clip you can see it here. They hit the nail on the head about everything I had learned about Poms when first wanting to get one. What’s great about the show is that it talks about both the positives and negatives of the breed, so that you can see if that particular breed is right for you.
Here is what it said about the Pomeranian Breed:
- Average 4-6 lbs: When I got Tinkerbell I was living in an apartment. I knew that I couldn’t have a bigger dog, and as much as I would’ve been happy with a dog from a shelter, I knew I needed a dog which was purebred so that I could meet both the mother and father and know how big she was going to be.
- Versatile, can live anywhere
- Bark Excessively: The show says that you need to train Poms early to make sure they don’t bark. I got lucky and my Tinkerbell is not a barker.
- Lives 12-15 years: Thank goodness! Although my Tinkerbell is going to live forever, it’s good to know they have a long life expectancy.
- Prone to Early Tooth Loss
- Constant Shedders: Tinkerbell goes to get groomed every 2 weeks. They make sure she is always looking pretty. If you are allergic to dogs this isn’t the breed for you.
- Happy Dogs and Love their families: This is certainly true.
- Not recommended for families with young children: Since Poms are so little you need to be careful with small children picking them up.
- Head Strong: This is true. Tinkerbell owns me…she runs this house and does what she wants. But she is just so cute and lovable!
I have heard so many stories where people buy a dog because they like how it looks, only to find out that it’s rowdy, or sheds, or got too big. Then they bring it to the shelter. It’s not the dogs fault, and they should not get punished for your lack of research. That’s why I think Dogs 101 is such a great show!
So here is my PSA. Take the time to research your dog breed before you go to buy one. It is very easy to get caught up in the emotion of the cute puppy, but that puppy grows up, and takes on the traits of it’s breed, so you should be well aware of what you are getting into. Check your local listings for dogs 101 to see if the breed you are interested in gets featured, or if you look at the Animal Planet website you can find other dog resources.
One more note….don’t buy ANY dog from a pet store. Check out my post about puppy mills and you will see where that cute little puppy came from.
To find out what other people love stop on over to The Diaper Diaries for Things I Love Thursday!!
Great post! We researched our dogs pretty thoroughly before we bought them, and we got them from reputable families who breed dogs, not from the pet store.
What a great idea! I’ll definitely have to check out the show when we get ready to get a dog. I’m thinking about a pom, but we’ll have to wait until we’re in a bigger place.
Totally agree! Growing up we always had dogs from shelters and they were the best!! I love Pugs and hope to have one some day when my kids are older.
My favourite dog breed it’s the labrador retriever . I like it a lot because it’s a large breed and it’s very friendly with people . Your blog it’s very good, thanks for sharing interesting articles.