Should You Adopt a Dog or Puppy Who Is Already Trained?

When people are looking for a dog to adopt, they often focus on finding the dog breed that is right for them. However, another important thing to consider is the training level of the dog that you adopt. Some people may work best with a dog who is already trained, while others prefer to train their dogs themselves. Here is everything you need to know about adopting a dog who is already trained.

How Old of a Dog Do You Want to Adopt?

The biggest reason that people buy an untrained dog is because they want a very young puppy. Though puppies are cute, they normally cannot learn more extensive training commands for at least a few months. Some talented breeders can provide puppies that are house trained and able to follow basic commands by about eight weeks, but more extensive training requires a lengthier time. High level training typically means that a dog cannot be adopted until it is at least six months old.

Can You Deal with Behavioral Problems?

Dogs who have never received any training can begin to manifest behavioral issues as early as eight weeks old. Sadly, many dogs end up being placed in shelters if their owners are not able to handle behavioral issues, even though these problems are completely preventable. Dogs that have been trained from a very early age never get the opportunity to develop any behavioral issues, so they instead build habits that make them more enjoyable pets.

How Much Free Time Do You Have?

Training a puppy is a very extensive undertaking that requires a lot of time and patience. If you are a busy working professional, adopting a pre-trained dog is typically beneficial, because you may not be able to provide the lengthy monitoring needed to house train and crate train a dog. By choosing a dog who is already trained, you can spend your time getting to know it instead of trying to prevent it from going to the bathroom everywhere and chewing on everything. Even getting a dog with just a small amount of training can save time, because it will be more responsive to learning new commands.