4 Important Factors to Consider Before Buying a Service Dog
What is a service dog? It refers to the one that offers both emotional and physical support to a person with a disability. Service dogs often go through rigorous training from as young when they are 2 days old. The training does not necessarily have a time duration as some may go for years. Some of the disabilities that service dogs help with include dealing with seizures, depression, anxiety, helping the blind, and also the deaf.
When it comes to owning a service dog, you have the option of either buying a puppy and taking it for training or buying fully trained puppies for sale. If you decide to go with the latter option, you need to do in-depth research and find a service dog school that has a good track record.
Here are four factors that you need to put into consideration before buying a service dog:
1. Costs
Owning a service dog is quite an expensive investment. However, the good thing is that you will always get value for your money, especially if you buy a fully trained puppy. Compare the market prices for the service dogs before making your purchase. Extremely high prices might just be a way the seller tries to rip you off, whereas low prices might mean that the dog has not undergone rigorous training. Buy a service dog that meets your needs accordingly and is within your budget.
2. Maintenance Requirements
Purchasing a service dog is not the end of it. You need to understand that there are a lot of maintenance and care requirements you have to deal with after your purchase. You have to factor in the fact that you have to buy dog food often, perhaps hire a dog sitter to play with your dog, and also medical expenses of the dog. Additionally, you might be required to take your service dog for more training once in a while. Therefore, ensure that you can be able to keep up with all these before buying one.
3. Type Of Service Dog
Service dogs are unique. In as much as all dogs can be trained to be service dogs, some of them cannot perform some tasks. Yes, there are some similar tasks that they all can handle, but some are very specific. Depending on the disability they will be dealing with, the dogs usually are trained accordingly. As such, before choosing one, ensure that you first identify your needs. This will, in turn, help you choose a service dog that meets your requirements accordingly and performs the tasks as expected.
4. Check if the buyer has a valid license to sell the service dogs
When buying a service dog, you need to ensure that you buy from a legit seller. Anyone can pose as a service dog seller only for you to find out that they are not trustworthy. Insist on checking if the dog company has a valid license to perform the training as well as sell the dog to you.
