April 26, 2012
Posted in Pet Food, Pet Health, Pet Supplies

Are you thinking about adopting a dog? Great! There are thousands of dogs at shelters across America that need loving families and comfortable homes. When you go to pick out your next canine companion, you may start with the youngest residents of the shelter, skipping over the older pooches in favor of something you can train to be just what you want. However, there are plenty of reasons to adopt an older canine – it might have just the personality you need.

Personality

Sure, you can kind of mold a young dog to have the personality you want from it, but not always. Getting a puppy is like choosing a big old question mark for a future. Exciting, sure, but if you are the type of person who knows what they want, getting an older dog that already has an established personality may be perfect for you. You will know right away whether an older canine is going to be gentle, obedient, anxious or hyper.

Trainability

Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks? This old-time saying is a myth when it comes to actually training dogs. Of course, once you get to know your older pooch a little better, you can decide what types of new tricks you can train it to do. But one thing you won't have to suffer through? Housebreaking. Older dogs come trained to eliminate outside, not on your rugs.

Care

It seems like older dogs would need more care and have more expenses, but when you consider the initial costs of getting a puppy vaccinated, groomed and everything else, the numbers just might even out. All dogs need to stay on flea and tick preventative medication like Frontline Plus and Comfortis. Of course, older dogs might need additional pet drugs and joint supplements like Dasuquin with chondroitin and glucosamine for dogs.

You should welcome your older canine home with cozy beds like the Plush Memory Sleeper, which has memory foam to reduce the aches and pains that an older dog may feel with its joints. You should also invest in the best pet food for your new addition. Consider a senior formula like Now Fresh Grain Free Senior Recipe Dry Dog Food, which has natural antioxidants and other nutrients to help your pooch's body function its very best. 

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1. Consider adopting an older dog
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3. How to feed an older dog
4. The truth about canine distemper
5. Adopting a cat? Here’s what you need to know