Puppy Selection

Picking the Perfect Puppy
Adopting an Adult Dog
Adoption Resources

Bringing a new puppy or an adult dog into your home is a big decision. We want to help make sure that you choose the right dog for your family. Also it is important to make sure you and your home are ready to welcome this new member of your family. Starting with the right information we will aid you in finding the best dog for your family. You will bring home a new member of your family who will be a welcome and exciting addition.

Let our trained staff help you make the right selection. We will meet with you in person or over the phone to discuss what you are looking for. We can help with conversations with breeders. We will go with you to evaluate a litter of puppies. We will even temperament test the shelter dog you think you want to bring home. Call us we can help you work through maze of finding your perfect dog.

If you already have chosen your new puppy/dog, whether it is your first or you are a veteran, adjusting to a new family member can be a challenge. But it doesn’t have to be. We offer private sessions for your family and your new puppy/dog to make the transition as seamless as possible.

Picking the Perfect Puppy

Who doesn’t see a puppy and think “oh, it’s so cute.” Cute they are but cuteness does not assure that the cute puppy you just have to have is the right puppy for you and your family. There are many different factors that should influence your puppy choice other than cuteness.

Pure bred puppy or mix breed?
When you choose a pure bread puppy you need to consider if that breed is the right one for your lifestyle. Are they known to be good with children? How much exercise do they require? What kind of grooming is needed to keep them cute? What health screening should be required of the parents? Are there any genetic illnesses common to this breed? Am I getting the puppy from a qualified breeder.

With a mix breed puppy the questions are often the same but the amount of information on the puppies’ early life may be little. Remember even if a shelter tells you that your puppy is a Cocker Spaniel mix that will only be 40 pounds at the most, you could end up with a 75-pound Golden Retriever mix when it is finished growing. The shelter staff can only go on what the people who turned the puppies in told them, or the staff’s best educated guess if they were brought in a strays.

Events in a puppy’s life that occur when the puppy is as young as 3 weeks old can determine a puppy’s temperament for the rest of its life. That “cute” puppy could be a real handful.

NEVER BUY A PUPPY AT A PET STORE!
WATCH OUT FOR PUPPY MILL PUPPIES!

Adopting an Adult Dog

There are many wonderful dogs looking for a new and loving home. Many of these dogs that end up looking for a new home aren’t bad dogs. What frequently happens is that people get a puppy but never take the time to train it. When it reaches adolescence (7-18 months), the age most dogs end up in the shelter, the dog is no longer “cute” and is now unruly. This is only because the dog was not trained, given enough exercise or attention. With a little love these dogs are wonderful addition to a home and often less work than a puppy.

Adoption Resources

Contact the following shelters and rescue organizations directly:

Vashon Island Pet Protectors
Vashon, WA
206-389-1085
www.vipp.org

Humane Society for Tacoma and Pierce County
Tacoma, WA
253-383-2733
www.thehumanesociety.org

Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue
(Foster homes, no shelter to visit)
206-654-1117
www.spdrdogs.org

PAWS
Lynnwood, WA
425-787-2500
www.paws.org