Save-a-Pet’s in house behaviourist on the do’s and don’ts when adopting a puppy

20 Mar 2024 | Cat Kelleher

Marcelle with one of the many pups available for adoption at Save-A-Pet

In celebration of World Puppy Day on Saturday, March 23rd, we’re going all out to encourage folk to ‘adopt and not shop’. Shelters across our broadcast footprint are overflowing with puppies and we’d love you to consider adopting a puppy if you are thinking of adding to your family.

But, before we get there, a little background information on World Puppy Day: the day was founded in 2006 by Celebrity Pet & Home Lifestyle Expert and Author, Colleen Paige, as a day to help save puppies in shelters across the globe , and to educate the public about the horrors of puppy mills and backyard breeding. The day has since gained international recognition, trending worldwide on Twitter/X every year since 2012.

These are the questions we put to Marcelle Van Heerden, a COAPE Qualified Animal Behaviourist working as a full-time staff member at Save A Pet. In addition, Marcelle runs an animal behaviour business called Hakuna Matata Rehabilitation for private consultations.

Should you wish, you can choose to listen to a Podcast of the interview right here :

In between the questions I have posted pictures of the irresistible puppies up for adoption at Save-a-Pet in the hope that all of them will soon find loving homes and laps to call their own!

Question: How do you know whether getting a puppy is the right decision?

There are a lot of factors to consider when getting a puppy.

Firstly, pets cost money. When you’re getting a puppy, it will need a course of at least 3 vaccinations within the first year of his/her life, as well as more regular deworming. The puppy will need to be spayed or neutered at an appropriate age (usually 6 months).

Puppy will also need to be on a good quality puppy food to optimise growth and development, and to help avoid health/mobility problems later in life. Not to mention that puppies need to chew A LOT, this means having a budget for chewing treats and toys, otherwise you’ll end up paying to replace furniture.

We highly recommend that puppies attend puppy classes. This means that you will need to put money and time aside to train, socialise and habituate your puppy. If you would like more information on why puppy classes are so crucial, please visit our social media pages.

Then make sure you are getting a puppy for the right reasons.

As a behaviourist, we often get calls because an older dog is unhappy with the new puppy. If the puppy is replacing a dog who has sadly passed, you need to seriously think about whether or not the dog who has been left behind will like and be able to tolerate a puppy.

You also need to consider the ages of EVERYONE in the home, from gran/grandpa to the children. It is very popular for people to get a puppy for their children, but you need to make sure you are prepared for the fact that puppies don’t know better and they steal food, jump, scratch and sometimes even play-bite until they are taught otherwise.

The most common misconception we hear at the shelter is “I need a puppy so that I can train it”. Let me debunk that phrase for good. Any dog at ANY age can be trained! It is often even easier to train an older dog as they are better able to focus when learning.

Question: How do you choose the right dog for your family?

Again, there are a lot of factors to consider…

What would you like to do with your dog? Consider how active your family is and make sure to do your research so that you get a dog who suits your family’s exercise requirements and vice versa.

Consider the other animals in the home. How sociable are your current animals with new dogs? This includes the cats - people tend to forget about the cat. If they have grown up with a certain animal, it may not automatically mean they are okay with an unknown dog.

Do they have any health concerns? Do they have any current behavioural concerns such as resource guarding? Do they have preferences towards males/females or certain types of dogs. All of this needs to be taken into consideration when determining if animals will be compatible.

I just want to reiterate how important it is to do your research. We have ways to categorise mixed breeds too, so you don’t need to get a purebred dog. If you have questions, contact a qualified animal behaviourist like myself and we will be happy to help you.

Question: Why would you encourage people to adopt from Save-a-Pet Animal Shelter in Greenbushes.

Our adoption fee is reasonable and it includes at least the first vaccination, microchip, up-to-date deworming and external parasite control, and spaying/neutering.

Our thorough application process allows us to match right dogs up with the right families

We do careful meet-and-greets, which I oversee, to make sure everyone gets along well.

Our trained staff and volunteers put a lot of work into our rescues to socialise them and prepare them for their new lives in a home. With our puppies, we also focus on habituation (that is, getting them used to various sounds, textures, environments, and situations) from an early age. We even give you a discount voucher for Across The Breeds Training School Puppy classes.

As a behaviourist, it is an important part of my job to equip adopters with all they need to know about their new pet before bringing them home. Also, providing ongoing behavioural support when needed.

Question: Please tell us about Save-a-Pet’s adoption process.

If you’re interested in adopting, you can go to our website www.saveapet.co.za.

Click on ADOPT A PET and fill in an online application. This process only takes a couple of minutes at most.

As soon as we receive the form, we review it and the office will contact you back to make an appointment to meet a list of suitable pets.

If you would like to browse the animals up for adoption beforehand, there are links to our photo albums on the website, you will also find it on Facebook: Save-a-Pet Adoptions. Every animal available for adoption will be in the relevant folder with the necessary information about them.

The reason we have an application process is so that we can narrow down a list of dogs who suit your family. It can be very overwhelming visiting the shelter and meeting 130 dogs at once. We want to make sure we put the right dog in the right home so that they never have to come back to the shelter.

After booking a dog, we arrange a property inspection. Once that passes, the adoption process will be completed (including signing a contract) and the doggy can go home.

Question: Where can we find out more about Save-a-Pet and what you are up to?

Saveapet.co.za (all one word) is a comprehensive website that explains who we are, info on adoption, volunteering and so forth.

Please also check out our social media as we are constantly posting content such as behavioural tips, cute videos of our rescues, upcoming events, ways you can help etc. We welcome questions and suggestions for content where we can provide relevant advice and information.

We are active on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. You can search for Save-a-Pet or there are links on our website.

Our upcoming fundraisers are our Kiddies Easter Egg Hunt and our first-ever Doggy Treat Hunt. For more info on those visit the Facebook event pages!