What to consider before getting your first dog

Nobody regrets thinking it through. Plenty of people regret not doing it. This is the list we'd give a friend before their first dog — not to talk them out of it, but so the first year is the good kind of hard.

It's a ten-to-fifteen year decision

Think about where you'll likely be in five years: renting or buying, kids or no kids, same city, same job, same energy levels. A dog comes along for all of it. That's the joy of it, and it's also the commitment.

Time is the real currency

A settled adult dog needs somewhere around one to two hours of your attention a day across walks, feeding, training and general fussing. A puppy needs far more, in small, frequent, badly timed increments.

Money, unromantically

Set-up costs: bed, crate, lead, harness, bowls, ID tag, microchip registration, council registration, desexing if not already done, and the first round of vaccinations. Ongoing: food, flea/tick/worm preventatives, annual vet visit, grooming, training, and care when you're away.

Then the one nobody budgets for: a single emergency can run into thousands. Insurance or a dedicated savings buffer — pick one now, while it's theoretical.

Who is actually doing it?

Households fall out over dogs more often than you'd think, and almost always over unspoken assumptions. Before the dog arrives, agree out loud: who walks, who feeds, who books the vet, who cleans up, who gets up at 2am in week one, and whether the dog is allowed on the couch. Especially the couch.

Training isn't optional, and it isn't obedience

The point of early training isn't a dog that does tricks. It's a dog that can cope: with being alone, with strangers, with the vet, with the vacuum, with a child running past. Reward-based training and early, careful socialisation do more for a dog's lifelong happiness than almost anything else you'll buy.

• Book a puppy or adult class before the dog arrives — good ones fill up.
• Practise being alone in tiny doses from day one, before it becomes a problem.
• Reward the calm behaviour you want to see more of, including doing nothing.

Your holiday plan is part of the decision

Work out who looks after your dog when you're away, and check they'd actually say yes. Family, a trusted sitter, home-based boarding or a kennel — each suits a different dog. A sociable dog thrives in a busy setting; an anxious or elderly dog usually does far better in a quiet home with a small pack.

Sort it early. The worst time to find care is the week you need it.

The first fortnight

Expect a quiet, slightly flat dog for a few days, then a personality that unfolds over two to three weeks. Keep the world small at first: same rooms, same routine, short outings, plenty of sleep. Puppies and newly adopted adults both need more sleep than people expect — often sixteen to eighteen hours a day for pups.

Go slower than feels necessary in week one and you'll spend the next ten years going faster.

If the answer is 'not yet'

That's a legitimate outcome, and a kind one. Foster for a rescue, walk a neighbour's dog, borrow a friend's for a weekend. You'll learn more in three days of real dog than three months of research — and the right time tends to announce itself.