Picking the Right Pet

Picking the right pet for you, your family and your lifestyle is an important part of the adoption process. Adoptions counselors are available to help you find the right match for you. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

How much time do you have to dedicate to a pet?

How much time do you have to train a pet?

How active is your lifestyle?

Do you value your furniture and rugs, or are you planning on replacing them in a few years anyway?

Are you adopting for you, or is this pet for someone else?

Are you ready to commit to the lifetime of your new pet?

Many families come to the shelter to adopt a puppy because the children have been begging for a dog for years. After spending time with an adoption counselor, many families decide that adopting an older pet that is easier and faster to train than a puppy is more suitable for their needs. Many families with young children often realize that a teething puppy or rambunctious young dog isn't what they want near their infant or toddler.

Some people want a cuddly cat who will purr in their laps, and others specifically want a cat that is independent and loves other cats. Kittens are always adorable, but choosing an adult with a personality that matches the adopter's needs is sometimes better than choosing a kitten whose personality when grown is unpredictable.

For those who are prepared for the joys, challenges and surprises of "puppyhood" and "kittenhood," we often have these pets available for adoption. Since these pets are usually adopted very quickly, we offer the Special Companions program to members to assist you in your adoption search.

There is a matching pet for everyone. We hope this information has been helpful, and we look forward to providing adoption counseling to you as a free service when you are ready to adopt a pet. Please visit us during regular shelter animals or email us at info@njshelter.org

Size of the Pet

Many families come to the shelter in search of a small dog because they live in an apartment. However, there are many small dogs, such as Jack Russell terriers that require a great deal of exercise and outdoor time. These are not ideal apartment pets at all. Some larger breeds, such as greyhounds, are actually perfectly suited to sleeping on a sofa all day.

Also, toy breeds are sometimes nippy and less patient with children. Their size also makes them more sensitive to rough touch, so toy breeds may be unintentionally injured by an unsupervised child.

Picking a pet by personality and temperament is often the best, rather than by size, color or breed. Some of the best adoptions occur when you can describe the personality, activity level and other temperament qualities to an adoption counselor, who can then suggest potential matches for you.

Pure Breed or Mixed Breed?

The Labrador Retriever gained its reputation as an all-around family companion, great with children, friendly to people and other dogs, an easy-keeper for an active family. But a Labrador Retriever in a family that is not prepared for a large, boisterous, energetic dog that retrieves everything that's not nailed down and can clear a coffee table with a swing of the tail is a dog that quickly becomes a liability. Labs with no manners end up in animal shelters and in rescue, their owners disillusioned with the breed.

A pure bred dog or cat from a reputable breeder or breed rescue group can make wonderful pets. However, mixed breed dogs and cats make great pets too, and mixed breeds have some advantages over pure breed dogs.

Health Concerns:

One of the benefits of a mixed breed dog is genetic diversity. When people breed for particular traits in a dog or cat (color, size of ears, shape), they are also unintentionally breeding some undesirable traits which lead to some common health risks in many breeds.

For example, golden retrievers commonly develop cancer. German Shepherds are often diagnosed with hip problems. Dachshunds often have spine problems.

Abyssinian cats can develop Renal Amyloidosis. In the Maine Coon, the most common inherited health problems are hip dysplasia, which can produce lameness in a severely affected cat, and cardiomyopathy, which can produce anything from a minor heart murmur to severe heart trouble.

Behavioral Matching:

Pure breeds were often bred for a particular purpose. For example, a herding dog meant to run all day and herd sheep, might become very destructive if the dog is bored and not exercised enough.

For example, if you are looking for a dog to play Frisbee with you, practice agility or just enjoy hiking in the woods with you, a Border Collie mix might be a much better match for you than a pure breed Border Collie, especially if you don't have any sheep in your backyard.

You may have met a particular dog in the neighborhood that seems great to you. Adopting or buying a dog of that same breed does not guarantee that you will get a dog of that same personality. Remembering this will help prevent some disappointing surprises for you and your family.

Remember to take the time to really research breeds. Dogs on TV and in the movies receive an incredible amount of training and dedication by their owners, and those breeds simply might not be the right match for you.

Also, the media might not tell you the whole story of a breed, or might even report inaccurate information and blame a breed with a bad reputation. For example, are you looking for a dog who loves to cuddle? Believe it or not, a pit bull might be the perfect match for you. They are one of cuddliest of all breeds! Pit bulls often get a worse reputation that they deserve in the media. A rescuer once told me about a dog attack story that took place in