Hello, I am looking at getting a labarador and am uncertain whether to go for a puppy or a dog. I have been offered both and whilst I can see the benefits of getting a mature dog I am concerned that it wouldn’t bond with me as well as a puppy. Does anybody have any thoughts that might help my thought process. It would be very much appreciated thank you.
Hi @Ann Pearson Welcome to the site. Why not spend some time with each dog? Try to ignore the inherent cuteness of the puppy. instead see if you can spot an inkling of the puppy's character, which I admit is not an easy task and something of a lucky dip. Evaluate the mature dog's friendliness. Check out what cues the mature dog can do. Is she toilet trained? Crate Trained? Will she walk without pulling? Then go home and sleep on it. Then and only make your decision. Enquire whether you can give the mature dog back. Assistance dogs and the new owner sometimes don't work out. But some owners on this site of puppies do acknowledge that they made a mistake, during the adoloscent period. Admittedly, most weather the storm and love grows deeper and stronger. Assistance Dogs are generally not puppies bond but still bond with their new owners so I don't see why it wouldn't work for you too.
I can only offer one side - we have had 4 adult dogs through adoption, bonding is definitely not a problem. It comes so easily for me...I am a softy for dogs. And the bond gets even stronger as you train with your new friend. Our work situation means we cannot give a puppy the attention it would require, so an adult is perfect for us. They are usually house trained (this is a must for us) and have some very basic training. Luckily, ours have been fine with being left for a few hours too. All plus points for an adult dog. The minus point is they may come with problems, but we work through those. Another plus for an adult is you may be able to spend time with the dog and evaluate it (this is highly unlikely with a puppy)....but beware - the bonding will start straight away. We went to see our latest girl, Meg, up at the rescue. I said "we will go in with our heads, not our hearts"...and guess what, we fell for her straight away. And she responded so well to us. We still took 3 weeks or so before we actually took her home, and then it was officially on a week's trial (we both knew there was no way we would send her back). Meg does have her problems. I wish you well with whichever dog you decide to go with.
Hi, many thanks for your comments which I fully take on board. I agree we have in the past taken on adult dogs and found them extremely loving. We went to see the dog last night but felt she was probably not suited to our situation and therefore have decided to go for the puppy. I’m sure I will be posting asking for more help in the future as our puppy grows. Once again thank you to both for your comments.
