Vets say that before choosing a dog you should first ask yourself a number of questions: why do you want one (company, security, to do more exercise, for the kids to look after,�), where is it going to live (apartment, garden, the country�) and even can you afford to look after it? It should be not be forgotten, for example, that some breeds are not suitable for keeping in just a few square metres and others need the kind of exercise that many owners would find simply exhausting.

So if you still think you would enjoy the company of a pet dog, here are a series of practical tips.

See the vet
Your vet will be responsible for giving your dog a basic check up to see what kind of medical shape it�s in, and this should include a treatment against parasites. You have to bear in mind that, although the puppy may look healthy, it may be carrying parasites inside which could affect its normal development and even put its life at risk.

The first vaccine should be given six months after it�s born. Your puppy shouldn'�t go out on the street until the first vaccination period is over since it could contract potentially fatal diseases. It is also important not to bathe it until the vet says it�s all right to do so.

Food
The best food for a puppy is dry food (commonly known as kibble) and, if possible, a top of the range product. It is very important never to give it home-made food for two reasons: it is very likely never to want to eat dry food again and it will be getting an incomplete diet which will lead to nutritional deficits.

It is a good idea to feed it three times a day, always at the same time. As far as quantity is concerned, follow your vet�s advice. Food leftovers should not be used again for the next meal. One important tip is never to offer it food from the table when your family is eating. If you do it just once it will be back for more every time you sit down for a meal, since it will associate your meal times with extra titbits. And of course, your puppy should always have plenty of fresh water available.

Basic training
You have to start to correct your dog�s behaviour when it is still a puppy, and prevent it from doing anything you don�t want it to get into the habit of doing. The most important rules to follow are:

- Prevent the puppy from doing its business anywhere it likes in the house. You need to find a suitable place, as far away as possible from food, and line it with newspaper. When it does its business somewhere other than the proper place, you should tell it NO very forcefully (never use physical violence) and take it to where the newspapers are. This will mean that the puppy will associate newspaper with the place where it has to do its business.

- If it should go in the wrong place, it is very important to clean the mess up thoroughly so there are no traces which your puppy might smell and thus associate that place with where it should always do its business.

- When its had its vaccines and it�s starting to go out on the street you can start getting rid of the newspapers in the house so that it gets used to doing it outside. It is vital, especially in the first few months, to take it out at a fixed time and ideally after feeding times.

- The first time it does its business in the street you should congratulate it effusively with a big show of affection and perhaps even reward it with a special doggie sweet. And it goes without saying that you should use a plastic bag to pick up the excrement afterwards

- If you don�t want it to jump up on the chairs don�t let it do it even once. Otherwise the dog will never know when it is allowed to do it and when not.

- If it does something naughty (eats a plant, breaks something valuable�), all the members of the family, without exception, should tell it off. It�s no good one person telling it off and another feeling sorry for it as this will simply confuse the dog and it will never learn how to behave properly.

- It should learn to respect and obey all members of the family or it will grow up to become lord and master of the house. This can lead to the classic situation where the dog becomes aggressive and the owner ends up having to abandon it or to put it down because of the problem it has turned into. It�s an easy problem to avoid if its dealt with properly in the first months of the dog�s life.

- Instructions to the dog should be short, sharp, clear and never contradictory. And don�t forget to congratulate it and give it rewards when your puppy behaves correctly and obeys a command.

- You should never train your dog by shouting or using physical punishments. You will only end up making your dog obey you through fear. This can lead to unpredictable behaviour, maybe even unprovoked attacks on a member of the family. There is nothing worse than a dog which has grown up in a state of fear.

Paperwork
Having a dog also means abiding by the current legislation. First of all, you need an obligatory insurance policy to cover any third party damage the dog may cause. Some home insurances also cover pets.
There is no national legislation regarding the registration of dogs, but most of the Regional Autonomies oblige owners to fit a tiny chip under the animal�s skin before it is six month�s old. This device contains a unique number which the vet will send to the Veterinary School together with details about its owner. This information is of enormous use if, say, the pet gets lost.

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