Hi there Invincible and congratulations on getting a dog!
I have been one of the fortunate people to have adopted a dog from my local humane society, and she and I were the best of friends until her death at the ripe old age of 15. :) I have never regretted a day that I had her as my pal. You're in for one heck of at treat. Some little things that made my ownership alot easier I can share with you. They may not work for your future dog, but at least it's some stuff to start off with.
Fleas, to me at least are number one priority. Try your darndest to keep the pests at bay. CEDAR CHIPS!!! They're great for flea repelling, smell good, and au-natural. I tried a collar made of a bandana with I think it was perrywinkle loaded up in it. WHEW BOY!! it smelled SO awful, I ended up tossing it before I could even begin to see if it did anything for the fleas.
Fresh water every day, and as much of it as it wants. Food, definately look deeper into finding something good for him/her. I never had the money at the time to pay for something outside of the commercial market.
Grooming, need to consider that. What tools you may need, toe nail clipper (for poochy), maybe even consider getting it chipped. So if the poor dear gets lost then found, it can be scanned by a vet to show you as it's owner. TOYS! Especially chew toys. heh, one never knows. A good lead for walks.
Urination and bowel movements. They usually happen soon after they eat or drink. When you notice them starting to sniff around, that may be a clue they are ready to do the job. ONe thing I found when I was house training my dog, when I took her outside to poddy or poopy, I ALWAYS praised her after she was done. It took no time at all for her to realise that doing that OUTSIDE was a good thing. But do expect accidents to happen, and be prepared to clean up after it. If you notice the sniffing behaviour, take them outside and walk them around the yard, or block for a few minutes. If and when they do poddy or poopy, praise them for doing it. It's alittle embarassing if someone is watching you praise your dog for doing what it normally does, but it's a teaching tool. You'll soon become numb to the looks. *chuckle* I got into the habit, as well as my dog did, of going outside to poddy first thing in the morning. Maybe take him/her outside when you get up? Dog are also creatures of habit, so remember that when you want to train it to do something YOU want it to do.

I gotta wonder about that fasting for a day, ideal. The dogs we own as pets are domesticated animals. They aren't wild dogs like you see in Australia or South Africa. I never fasted my dog, maybe sometimes we BOTH went without food for a day, but not on a regular basis. I adopted her when she was 2, and she lived 13 years with me. I like to think I gave her the best I could, kept her immunizations up to date, and she lived a good long life with me. j

In closing, my dog Kishka chose me when I went looking for a dog. I walked in the kennels, and out of all the dogs barking and whining and yelping, I heard her over all of them. She was near the back and I went directly to her. Just one look and I knew she was the one. It was the feeling you get when you just know something is right. Dog ownership is great adventure. It has ups and downs, especially when they get sick :(
I hope some of what I've shared helps in some way. Again, congratulations on getting a doggy! OH, talking to them in a normal voice, I swear they learn our language and KNOW what you're saying, so mind the 'walk' word!

-Loni

P.S. The shelter will probably give you certificates for a vet check up and spay/neuter discount certificate if it's not already been done. And they may also have literature for you to take home about dog ownership. ©†ƒ……•™¼‡_Original_Message_¾€š½ž¢«»¬ï°©

Hi there Invincible and congratulations on getting a dog!
I have been one of the fortunate people to have adopted a dog from my local humane society, and she and I were the best of friends until her death at the ripe old age of 15. :) I have never regretted a day that I had her as my pal. You're in for one heck of at treat. Some little things that made my ownership alot easier I can share with you. They may not work for your future dog, but at least it's some stuff to start off with.
Fleas, to me at least are number one priority. Try your darndest to keep the pests at bay. CEDAR CHIPS!!! They're great for flea repelling, smell good, and au-natural. I tried a collar made of a bandana with I think it was perrywinkle loaded up in it. WHEW BOY!! it smelled SO awful, I ended up tossing it before I could even begin to see if it did anything for the fleas.
Fresh water every day, and as much of it as it wants. Food, definately look deeper into finding something good for him/her. I never had the money at the time to pay for something outside of the commercial market.
Grooming, need to consider that. What tools you may need, toe nail clipper (for poochy), maybe even consider getting it chipped. So if the poor dear gets lost then found, it can be scanned by a vet to show you as it's owner. TOYS! Especially chew toys. heh, one never knows. A good lead for walks.
Urination and bowel movements. They usually happen soon after they eat or drink. When you notice them starting to sniff around, that may be a clue they are ready to do the job. ONe thing I found when I was house training my dog, when I took her outside to poddy or poopy, I ALWAYS praised her after she was done. It took no time at all for her to realise that doing that OUTSIDE was a good thing. But do expect accidents to happen, and be prepared to clean up after it. If you notice the sniffing behaviour, take them outside and walk them around the yard, or block for a few minutes. If and when they do poddy or poopy, praise them for doing it. It's alittle embarassing if someone is watching you praise your dog for doing what it normally does, but it's a teaching tool. You'll soon become numb to the looks. *chuckle* I got into the habit, as well as my dog did, of going outside to poddy first thing in the morning. Maybe take him/her outside when you get up? Dog are also creatures of habit, so remember that when you want to train it to do something YOU want it to do.

I gotta wonder about that fasting for a day, ideal. The dogs we own as pets are domesticated animals. They aren't wild dogs like you see in Australia or South Africa. I never fasted my dog, maybe sometimes we BOTH went without food for a day, but not on a regular basis. I adopted her when she was 2, and she lived 13 years with me. I like to think I gave her the best I could, kept her immunizations up to date, and she lived a good long life with me. j

In closing, my dog Kishka chose me when I went looking for a dog. I walked in the kennels, and out of all the dogs barking and whining and yelping, I heard her over all of them. She was near the back and I went directly to her. Just one look and I knew she was the one. It was the feeling you get when you just know something is right. Dog ownership is great adventure. It has ups and downs, especially when they get sick :(
I hope some of what I've shared helps in some way. Again, congratulations on getting a doggy! OH, talking to them in a normal voice, I swear they learn our language and KNOW what you're saying, so mind the 'walk' word!

-Loni

commercial dog food, the type that is in the grocery store, is truly awful. They actually use road kill in the mix! Feed him leftovers whenever you can, it's a nice way to round out their diet. They just cannot eat onions, beans, chocolate, really spicy stuff, or grape seeds. But otherwise they are pretty omnivorous and do well with a bit of veggies and fruit in their diet.

At the pet stores are better dog foods, check out Innova, Wellness. There's a raw food movement for dogs, mine get a combo of raw and cooked. You can buy cheap frozen ground turkey, defrost and serve with a bit of extra oil added and leftover veggies. Great meal for dogs.

vitamins are great, Pet-Tabs and C-Biotic are great.

It can take up to a year for a dog to adjust to a new place. It's wonderful seeing their personalities come out as they trust you more and more. Beware of getting a dog with huge paws and really defined, high hindquarters - they're usually jumpers and diggers and can bound right over the fence!