“Should I get a dog?” is a question that all prospective first-time dog owners ask themselves as well as those dog owners who are thinking of adding a dog. I’ve worked with thousands of dog owners in my behavior consulting career and have put together my list of things to consider before getting a first dog or adding another dog to your family.

The picture you see with this article is of my Great Pyrenees, Luke, relaxing in his crate. Luke frequently chooses to spend time in his crate voluntarily; I leave the door open so he is free to do this. Dog owners have mixed feelings about crating their dogs. Some feel it’s like putting their dogs in jail while others feel it’s a great “dog cave” or safe sanctuary for their dogs.

Dog breed is not the ultimate predictor of how well a specific dog will fit into your life, but breed types do have disposition tendencies that need to be considered. Picking the right breed, or breed mix, is especially important for first-time dog owners.

Of all the creatures on earth, have you ever wondered why humans and dogs seem to really “get each other”? Dogs really enjoy being with us. They appear to read our moods and our motives. They are forgiving of our worst transgressions. Their love is…unconditional.

When I was eight years old my mom asked me to take the groceries in from the car. Instead of taking a bag or two at a time, I loaded all five bags in my arms at once in order to make just one trip. Unfortunately, I dropped all of the bags on my way to the kitchen breaking many glass bottles and all of the eggs.

There are a number of key concepts that are extremely important when working with dogs that have behavior issues. I’ve included three of the most important of these below. While the things I detail below seem rather simple, they really aren’t in practice. These axioms are hard to implement when we are frustrated with our dog; furthermore, they can also feel counterintuitive.

If your dog has one of the following problem behaviors, you might be thinking about getting another dog in an attempt to fix the problem. There are seven common instances where I find dog owners considering this remedy. Read below to see why this may, or may not, work for your dog.

“Let’s go visit the Smiths! We’re all good friends and all of us love dogs too! Wait! Let’s take Bella with us so their dog, Luna, and ours can be friends too!” Sounds like a good idea, but it probably isn’t.

Rescuing a dog, versus buying one from a breeder, is always a great idea for a number of reasons. Primarily you are keeping a potentially great dog from being euthanized. By rescuing a dog you may also take a sale away from a puppy mill since the majority of puppies come from puppy mills these days unfortunately.

I’ve seen hundreds of dogs that are aggressive to humans. I feel the owner’s confusion, frustration, disappointment and anxiety as soon as I meet them. Unfortunately, some owners bring me their human aggressive dogs when it is realistically too late to modify the dog’s behavior in any significant way.

Certified dog behavior consultants, like myself, are frequently asked to quantify and provide details about human dog bites. Aggressive human dog bites are required to be reported to animal control.

Deciding to euthanize your dog is always filled with anxiety over whether you’re doing the right thing at the right time. I’ve had to euthanize some of my personal dogs for health problems and it was very difficult. Prepare Yourself for the Journey. Before you euthanize your dog, please read my article When should I euthanize my dog?

Dog adoptions are way up since the beginning of the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic. Adoptions are estimated to be up 200% over the same period last year. People are hungry for companionship as they find themselves locked in their residences for who knows how long.

We’re all hunkered down in our homes worried about how COVID-19 is going to impact our health and those around us. Many of us also worry about our jobs and the economy. But how about our dogs? How is all of this affecting them?

Almost everyone who owns a dog that is aggressive to people outside of the family asks me some form of the following question, “Why is my dog such a great and loving pet with our family but is so vicious and aggressive with people outside of our family?”

Five years ago I had an extremely challenging canine behavior case that I will never forget. Of the thousands of dog cases I’ve been involved in, this one rises above all others. Not because of the dog, but because of the people involved. It was an amazing learning experience for everyone…me included.