Puppies are much more difficult to live with than adult dogs. If you are home most of the day and have the patience and time to devote to raising a puppy, it is a very rewarding experience. However, it is not a coincidence that most of the dogs turned in to rescue or shelters are older puppies or young adults. Raising a dog from puppyhood is difficult and frustrating, and failures are common. Be sure you are prepared to get through the bad times with your puppy and plan in advance where to get the help you might need.

Please do not get a young puppy if you cannot be home with her for most of the day for the first few months! A puppy should not be expected to spend 8-10 hours a day alone. Like children, dogs do not raise and train themselves, and puppies who are expected to do so often end up in shelters or rescue before age one.

Don't bring home a puppy who left his mother before he was 8 weeks old. Though puppies are weaned and can physically leave their mothers several weeks earlier, the socialization skills they receive from their mother and littermates are crucial to the puppy's development. You will have far fewer problems with a puppy leaving his mother at eight weeks or even later. This is one major reason puppies from pet shops are a bad bet. They are shipped out of the puppy mills at four to five weeks so they will be available in stores at the "cutest" age.

It is absolutely not true that you must get a dog or puppy at a certain age in order for it to bond with you. Some people say that adult dogs seem to become even more devoted to them than puppies, and rescues seem to know and appreciate that they have been given a second chance.

Here are the pros and cons of puppies and adults as noted by Petdogs-L members.

Puppies - Pro

Puppies are fun and they are cute.

If you want your dog for a specific reason, e.g., to travel with you, it might be easiest to start with a clean slate and train your dog from puppyhood up

You know what experiences your puppy has had in life. There's seldom any emotional baggage that you aren't aware of.

If you are home most of the day, have lots of patience, and can train the puppy, nothing is more satisfying!

The first year is very important to a dog developmentally. You are able to control exactly what habits and learned behaviors your pup absorbs.

Puppies - Con

Puppies are a lot of work. They are messy and destructive and demand a lot of attention. They can take "forever" to housetrain.

Puppies nip, chew, and bite until trained not to...which can take several months.

Puppies grow up. Though having a puppy can be a lot of fun, remember that it's a temporary condition. In a year, you will have an adult dog anyway!

Adults - Pro

An adult often has already been trained to some extent. He knows not to bite and nip, may be housebroken, and is seldom as destructive as a puppy.

Adult dogs are easier to train. They have longer attention spans than puppies and are often more eager to please.

Housebreaking an older dog is much easier than a puppy: he has more physical control and a larger bladder.

An adult dog by definition has already reached his final size. You know exactly what you are getting.

If you work full-time or for most of the day, an adult dog is much more able to cope with being left for eight to ten hours at a time.

Adults - Con

Often you don't know an adult dog's complete history. You may have mysterious quirks to deal with or behavioral problems to correct.

An adult dog will not have as many years to share with you as a puppy would.

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