There’s a time in everyone’s life that they’re looking for companionship. Your friends and family are such an important part of your life, but you still have room in your heart. A dog might be the perfect match to cuddle with you on the floor or to simply accompany you on your daily walks.
We want to make sure that when you’re ready to extend your family in the slightest, you’re making the best decision for yourself, for your family, and for the puppy pal just waiting around the corner.
We should break this out into two parts. The first covers what questions you probably should ask before you bring a dog into your home and life. Basically, we’ll discuss your lifestyle.
Then, when you’re ready to get a dog, we ’ll help you find your newest canine companion. That’ll be what we go over in the second part.
What better time than the present to jump right into puppy matchmaking! Let’s go.
What should you consider when you want to match a puppy with your family?
There are several different factors that you want to think about if a dog is looking more and more likely in your future. While we won’t be able to cover all aspects, we’ll do our best to give you a concise but comprehensive overview.
How many kids are in your family? How old are they?
All families are different. Spouses and numbers of children vary from household to household. But kids are an important factor when thinking about inviting the perfect pooch into your home.
If you’ve got a newborn or a toddler then you want a puppy that’ll grow and evolve with your little one. (A Goldendoodle could be a perfect fit here. Just saying.) A teen or twenty-something should be ready to run with a pup who’s active or at least not bothered by their energy.
Whatever the number of children in your household and what ages those children are, it should be a factor in what dog breed you bring your home.
Are you living in an apartment or a house?
You have a routine. You wake up. Make your bed. Brush your teeth. Breakfast is next. Then off to work.
All of that happens within the four walls that you call home. You could share a studio apartment with two friends. Maybe you live in a five-bedroom two-story house with the rest of the Brady Bunch. Whatever your specific situation, your living environment is a major factor in, if, and when you should get a dog.
The dog breed that you choose should fit into your dwelling with enough space for them to stretch their legs… literally. You wouldn’t want to trap a greyhound in a bedroom too small for them to run – they are the fastest dogs in the world, after all. You should consider a miniature breed until you can upgrade to something larger. For example, a mini Goldendoodle versus a standard.
Everyone deserves to be comfortable. This, of course, includes your pup.
Are you living in a city, suburb, or rural area?
Speaking of living situations… You could inhabit a thirty-acre farm that is only home to your tiny house. Or could you possibly have a two-story penthouse in the heart of Manhattan? It’s not just the home that affects you and your pup but also the surrounding area.
With acres and acres of space to run, your puppy pal can get all the exercise they could ever want or need. Just consider that, depending on breed, your dog will head into the horizon and never look back.
Our cities are populous and filled with people walking their dogs in close proximity.. Make sure that the puppy you choose won’t be anxious and unable to cope with meeting other pups or making new friends with different people. That’s not to mention what kind of mess a nervous dog could make on the sidewalk. And you have to clean that up.
No matter what size homestead you’re fortunate enough to inhabit, your dog has needs to think about as well.
Any dog allergies amongst yourself or family members?
Do you sneeze whenever you’re near your cousin’s cocker spaniel? Maybe the general vicinity around your grandma’s German Shepherd sends your nasal passages into a tizzy. That’s definitely your allergies begging for relief!
But you shouldn’t deny yourself a dog on these premises alone. Coming to your rescue is a hypoallergenic dog. Let’s get this straight from the outset. There is no such thing as a truly “hypoallergenic” dog. Dander causes these allergies to be triggered. The less an animal sheds, the less dander there is to react to.
Maybe we’re biased, but some of the most hypoallergenic dogs, due to their poodle heritage, are the doodle family. From the Bernese Mountain Doodle to the Goldendoodle, these dogs are your best bet for a snuffle-free existence with a dog still living in your home.
There is hope for us all. If you didn’t know it, our co-owner, Seth, actually has one of these “fantastic” (sarcasm) dog allergies, and look at him now! For a truly deeper dive into this specific point, check out our blog on the best Doodle for dudes with allergies.
Your family and new dog’s exercise levels are important
Eating right and getting outside for exercise are important to you. But you have a choice of whether to veg out in front of the tube as well. Your dog doesn’t have a ton of ways to communicate it's needs to you. One of those being: Exercise!
It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog. What we mean is because you have a smaller dog, that doesn’t mean they will need less exercise.
Depending on your lifestyle, your dog’s best and worst qualities will be exacerbated by a lack of options available to burn off their excess energy.
Examine your and your family’s hobbies
Some of us are gone all day at work. The kids might have a combination of softball and piano lessons and lumberjacking after school. All of these combine for the busiest of schedules that leave little opportunity to spend time with and manage the needs of your dog.
Make an appraisal of your schedule to see what time you really have in your day for a new family member of the fluffy kind.
The more time that you have to train, the more opportunities you have to socialize them. The best outcome is for you to have a well-mannered and well-behaved dog that serves your family with loyalty, devotion and love.
Which puppy matchmakers can assist you in finding the right dog for you and your family?
There are puppy consultants and concierges. Both of these options will highly personalize their search in order to procure what you’re looking for in a dog. What are these and what are the differences in services you ask?
A puppy concierge can clear up a lot of the confusion and help you decide on the best course of action for you and your family. A concierge could be required to find a specific dog of a very specific set of criteria as set forth by their clients.
A puppy concierge service can help you decide the breed that best fits your lifestyle. They walk the client through everything they need to know about this big decision.
A questionnaire, in most cases, will be required before a consultant’s talents are put to work. They’re trying to find the perfect dog based on what they see as their clients' needs.
The questions mentioned earlier with the puppy consultants are employed prior to making house calls to finish accessing what dog will suit the owner’s needs along with their lifestyle and personality. Due to Covid and other like-issues, many of these consultants meet over smartphones or computers.
While they seem quite similar, there are notable differences in motive. It’s a simple want versus need. You want this type of puppy so we’ll find it for you versus this is what type of dog you need.
We believe there is an all-in-one service that we offer that can assist you with all of the ins and outs of finding the perfect puppy for your family.
How can our Puppy Matchmaking Process help you?
Makenzie from the JLDD team explains the advent of our Exclusive Matchmaking System.
“We have always used matchmaking, temperament, and personality testing as part of our program, but we made the commitment to find the absolute best fit for each puppy (put the puppy's needs first) in July of 2020 by only using our Matchmaking process to send puppies home.”
At JLDD, we have an incredible staff who watches over the first weeks of our puppies' lives as their personalities begin to form. We then take the information from our puppy application and phone interviews with you and intuitively match all of the information that we’ve gleaned to complete your family.
We’ll do everything in our power to set you up with your next forever friend.
There will always be what seems like an insurmountable number of questions and variables at this turning point in your life. As long as you’re doing right by those living under your roof and making sure that everyone’s needs are met, things will work out for the best.
Jenna and the JLDD Team