Find a good companion dog that fits your personality

If your kids are thinking of a good companion dog, you probably would tend to first look at just look at a few of your favorite breeds, choose a good selection of puppies and then pick the one with the best spirit. And there are hundreds of breeds to choose from – just think of the Bluetick Coonhound and the Toy Poodle. But, you would be better served to find dog that fits your personality. Seek a pet that has the qualities that you had in mind and can bond with you. Age is not really a concern most of the time. Breeds may have a certain reputation, but there are no hard, fast rules. These tips, though, can guarantee that you will find a good companion dog.

Find a dog that has a personality that fits your own personality and your experience. If you have experience with more independent dogs, then a more dominant, independent dog may work for you. However, if you are not aggressive or not acquainted with working with a dog, a more submissive animal may be a better choice for you. When you are looking at puppies, hold one and turn it over on its back. A dominant dog will fight you, trying to turn over. If it struggles, try to comfort it. If it calms down shortly, it is more submissive. If it does not struggle at all, but just lies there, you have a very submissive dog.

[caption id="attachment_1870" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="American Eskimo Companion Dog"][/caption]

A dog that is calm and requires little care is better for you if you are more laid back and more sedative yourself. If you have an active life you may find a more active, hyper dog to be more your style. If you are gone much of the time and your dog would be kenneled during that time, you want to find a dog that is a little self reliant and will not suffer from separation anxiety.

You also will want your new companion dog to be intelligent and eager to please. This will make it easy teach it what you want it to know and it will happily learn the skills and perform them. If you are taking your dog out in public, you don’t want a fear nipper or a dog that is aggressive to strangers. Obviously, this will come with effectively socializing the dog on a regular basis, but the quick learning dog will watch you to see who is a possible enemy and who is a friend.

Dogs can be superb companions having the right personality type for your needs. Also, while many folks feel that only young dogs can be trained, this is false. Many older dogs are rescued from shelters daily and they are trained quite easily. The key to getting a well behaved companion is bonding with it. When you have bonded with your dog, it will be happy to do what you want. They will learn to anticipate what your needs and will even search for ways to communicate with you. If you are attentive, you and your dog can establish your own special form of communication and this can give you a companion dog even the Arctic Husky or Maltese that is invaluable.

Photo source:dogwallpaper.blogspot.com