Aspiring pet owners often have a soft heart for rescued puppies. These puppies often look cute and adorable. Their homelessness tugs at the heart that they be cared for adoption. Common sense, however, dictates that rescued puppies may not make for the ideal pets. That is unless the prospective pet owner is willing to bear the heavy burden of raising these homeless puppies.

A puppy needs all the attention in a household. It needs to be housetrained which would require much time and effort. In the housetraining period, the pet owner has to be prepared to deal with the mess that a puppy leaves behind. Sufficient time has also to be devoted to taking the pet out to train it to use its own allocated outdoor bathroom area. This training involves having the puppy on a leash which by itself needs some training. To have an idea of the time needed in housebreaking an adopted puppy, a three-month-old dog will likely need to pee every three hours including at night. This kind of housetraining will need a lot of commitment from a pet owner.

Hence, animal welfare groups which put up rescued puppies for adoption will carefully screen those looking for a puppy to adopt. These prospective pet owners will be asked extensively about their family and their lifestyle. The responsibilities that go with the adoption of the puppy will be thoroughly and painstakingly explained. After this screening process, it is most likely that the adopting pet owner will be made to sign a detailed contract. The same process is followed by responsible dog breeders who give out puppies either for sale or adoption. Potential pet owners looking for puppies should best avoid dealing with some irresponsible breeders who are merely interested in selling their dogs’ litter for their profit.

Rescued puppies found in the kennels of animal welfare organizations most often come from these irresponsible dog breeders. Hence, there could be inherent problems already from these puppies which could be the result of inbreeding. These puppies are more likely to have inherited breed-related defects and genetic diseases.

Instead of adopting rescued puppies, the ideal option for adoption would be adolescent dogs aged between 9 and 18 months. These dogs would make great pets after some training and grooming, as well as neutering. They are very affectionate and will easily bond with their adopter easily provided that the new owners act as a good pack leader asserting authority over the pets.

Another alternative to rescued puppies, is adopting young adult dogs which are between 2 and 5 years of age. These dogs come as a varied lot. Some may be well cared for while others are not. Nevertheless, these animals are often just entering the age of social maturity and can be effectively molded by a pet owner who can exhibit the authority of a pack leader. Owner and pet bonding in this case will proceed quite quickly, along with any remedial education that needs to be undertaken. In sum, much will depend on the pet owner whether adopting a puppy, an adolescent or a young adult dog.