I am titling this "Your Pet is not a piece of Furniture " for s very good reason.  So many people get a pet and its not what they think it should be, doesn't mind, gets too big, etc so the discard it like its a piece of old furniture.  This makes me furious.  It doesn't make any difference the type mixed breed or purebred, no pet deserves this.  When you get a pet and we'll start with puppies, you are making a commitment to that dog for anywhere between birth and 18 - 20 years depending on the breed. Yorkies for example that are in good health can live up to 18 - 20 years.  Shocking but true.  There was a mixed breed dog in which a You Tube video went viral a few years back because the owner would take the dog to a Lake I believe he lived in Michigan every early evening to help the dog get to sleep because it helped the dogs arthritis.  A VERY touching story.  When the dog died I believe he or she was 17.  I will need to find the video and share it. The point being no matter the type of dog you are committing to taking care of that dog for the life of that dog.  If you can't do --do not get a dog.  The are some legitimate reasons to rehome a dog although now days there are not many in my book, death of the owner would be one, if you end up in the service or travel a lot would be a couple of others but that is something you need to consider BEFORE you get a dog.  Moving too--now days is NOT a good excuse as MANY places now will allow dogs. 

Parents DO NOT get a puppy for your small child unless you plan on training that child to carefully handle that small  dog.  Many small breeds do not do good with children.  Pay attention to the type of dog you are getting.  I hear of a lot of parents getting Lab puppies for their young children then the Labs end up in shelters because they grow up to be big dogs and are too much for the parents and kids to handle.  Labs need a job, they need activity they can be destructive if they don't have exercise.  ANY dog can be destructive if they don't have much exercise or a job to do.  A lot of pets end up in shelters because people automatically think the doesn't need to be trained --they want a dog they can just bring home and it will do everything right.  You have to potty train a dog.  You have to teach the dog like you do a child.  The dog HAS to know what is expected just like a child.  If he or she does not know, they will invent things to do right or wrong.  Mixed breed or purebred, a dog HAS to be taught.  Mixed breeds might be the perfect dog for a young child.  I would strongly suggest staying away from puppy mills and back yard breeders.  If you are looking for a particular breed. Check your local breed rescue groups.  Do keep in mind some of these dogs may have issues that you will need to work thru with the dog.  You don't know the circumstances these dogs have come from but I will tell you MOST of the rescue groups work with these dogs before placing them and the dogs if you have a special place in your heart to be able to continue to work with that dog it will be well worth it.  Go to your local Shelter if you are not wanting a specific breed.  Go to a kill shelter, there may be a deserving dog on Doggie Death row in need of a home.  Make sure you get as much history on the dog as you can so you will know what or if there are any health issues.   My step daughter got a boxer from I will not name the shelter--it was not a breed rescue place I will say that but it is in Mississippi, had to put a couple of thousand dollars in the dog only to loose her just a few short months after getting her because she was not thorughly tested for diseases. She was not told on the front end the dog had issues.
  It killed her when she lost her.  Needless to say she didn't go to the shelter again.

Ok, stopping for now but this will be a continuing blog. So until the next post.