Adopting a dog is not always easy, it is not always convenient, it is not always fun, but it is always worthwhile. If you are not ready for a ruined carpet, chew marks on the dining room table, or a hole dug in the favorite part of your garden, then please rethink getting a dog. These things are only a few of the disasters that have happened to me and millions of other successful dog owners. If you will be disgusted and want to quit on the dog because of such events, please rethink the decision to get a dog.

You must accept whatever comes your way with the new member to your family without exception. What did you do with your child when he put the peanut butter jelly sandwich in the VCR or cut a hole in the screen door or drew a picture on the living room wall? Was he thrown out of the house for the typical behavior of a child?  I highly doubt it. You probably lost your temper, put the child in a time out of sorts and cleaned up the mess. The same is true with a dog. If you don't think so, then please rethink your decision to get a dog.

Below are some of the normal realities of life. Think through them honestly. If you are willing to commit to seeing each obstacle through with your dog and NEVER think that you would have to find your dog a new home, then you are ready to be entrusted with the life of a dog; otherwise don't get a dog now until you  work on your commitment level.

Click on the areas below to think how you would handle each event.

Reason?