5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Getting a Dog

I got my dog seven years ago, and looking back, there are five things I wish someone had told me before he came home. If you’re researching things to know before getting a dog — or you already have one and want to feel a little less alone in the chaos — this one’s for you.

Our Story

My little one was actually a birthday gift, just an early one. His litter was born in summer, and my birthday is in October, so my father couldn’t exactly make him wait. I’d always wanted a dog. We had family dogs growing up, but let’s be honest — I was a kid, I didn’t raise them, my parents did. This time I wanted to actually raise a puppy myself, to build a lifelong friendship from day one.

When it came to choosing a breed, I froze. Too many options, too many decisions. So my father made the call for me. That’s how I ended up with a white Pomeranian, completely out of the blue, as a surprise.

And that surprise taught me a lot faster than I expected. Here’s what I’d tell anyone standing where I was seven years ago — the short version, and then the whole story:

Quick List: 5 Things to Know Before Getting a Dog

1. Research the breed before you fall in love with a face.
2. Training is everything — but it’s not about being “the alpha.”
3. Be honest about your readiness — time, patience, and money.
4. Choose food and treats wisely, especially for smaller breeds.
5. Some days you’ll regret it — and that’s completely normal.

1. Research the Breed Before You Fall in Love

I can’t say this loud enough: do your research before you bring a puppy home, not after. Every breed comes with a different personality and a different set of needs, and it’s not just about size.

A sheepdog needs serious exercise and mental stimulation. A lapdog needs far less activity but bonds hard — and can be just as stubborn. You need to know, honestly, what you’re signing up for. A working or guard breed is often not the easiest choice for a first-time owner. Every dog is different, but every breed also comes with tendencies you can prepare for in advance.

2. Training Is Everything — But Not the Way You Think

This is probably the most important one. Your dog needs guidance, structure, and consistency — both inside the house and out in the world, for their safety and yours.

Here’s what I’d correct in my younger self’s thinking, though: it’s not about being “the alpha.” That whole dominance idea is outdated — even the researcher who popularized it walked it back decades ago, and it doesn’t hold up in how dogs actually learn. What works is consistency, patience, and positive reinforcement. Be the calm, steady presence your dog can trust and predict, not someone to be feared.

You will be tested. A lot. But Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is a well-trained dog.

3. Ask Yourself If You’re Really Ready

This matters most in the beginning. A puppy needs time, patience, and love — more of all three than you probably expect. Make sure you actually have the time for training and play, and the patience to survive the phases that test it.

Also: prepare to spend. Dogs are expensive, and so is their care — food, vet visits, grooming, the unexpected stuff. And spontaneous weekend trips? Those get a lot harder to pull off.

4. Choose Food and Treats Wisely

There is so much unhealthy dog food and so many overhyped treats out there. Research what you’re feeding your dog — you don’t need to buy the most expensive, most heavily marketed option on the shelf, but you do need to choose wisely. Plenty of dogs, especially smaller breeds, deal with allergies and sensitive stomachs, so this is a place to be genuinely responsible.

If you take one piece of advice from this whole post, let it be this: for training treats, skip the store-bought ones and go for something simple and genuinely irresistible — a small piece of plain cheese, for example, works wonders for most dogs (just keep an eye out for lactose sensitivity, since some dogs don’t handle dairy well). Food is one of the strongest motivators you have in training, so use it wisely.

5. Some Days, You Will Regret It — And That’s Normal

I said what I said. There will be days you feel like the worst dog parent alive, days you’ll wonder what you were thinking. The puppy phase will test you, and if you let it, the teenage phase will absolutely wreck you.

You know how they say love wears rose-colored glasses? Same thing applies here. It gets better, I promise. You’ll doubt yourself, you’ll struggle — but it’s going to be worth it.

Dogs are for life. Remember that. Everything you give them is all they have — you are their whole world. Their time on Earth is limited, but you get to make it beautiful.

One more thing: prepare yourself, because loving a dog is one of the greatest joys you’ll ever know, and it’s also going to be one of the greatest heartbreaks. Choosing to get a dog is one of the bravest decisions you can make — because from the very first moment, you already know you’ll outlive them.

Personal Stories From Seven Years In

All of this — the research, the training, the readiness checks — sounds a lot more serious than what daily life with him actually looks like. So here’s the part that reminds you why you do it in the first place: a few stories from life with my little smartass.

One time, when he was already a bit older and I genuinely thought he’d “matured,” we were at a restaurant. Our food arrived, and out of nowhere he started barking — loud, sharp, the kind of bark that feels like someone screaming directly into your ear. I couldn’t calm him down, so, frustrated, I got in the car and drove him home — we were only a few streets away — left him there, and went back to finish eating. When we got home later, we found out he’d chewed the corner of the sofa. I was furious at first, especially since we’d been to that restaurant plenty of times before and he’d always been calm and well-behaved. All we could do when we saw the damage was laugh — because clearly, this was his revenge.

Another one of his favorite hobbies: digging up the plants in our house. But he was sneaky about it — he knew exactly what he wasn’t supposed to do. So he’d always wait until we were distracted, watching a game, cooking, caught up in something else. Honestly, if it ever got too quiet, that was our cue that he was up to something.

Turns out he’s smarter than we ever gave him credit for — and he uses that smartness entirely for his own benefit.

But there are heartfelt moments too. You know how people say dogs can sense when you’re happy or sad? I’m 100% sure that’s true, in my family dog and in this one. He’s always there when I’m feeling down — following me around, leaning against me, looking at me in a way that says he knows I’m not myself. That’s unconditional love, plain and simple.

This is exactly why the Dogs corner of this blog exists — not just for the cute moments, but for the whole, messy, honest picture. My little one runs my entire household, tests my patience weekly, and somehow still teaches me more about love and commitment than most things in my adult life. No filters, no “perfect dog owner” act. If you’re standing where I was seven years ago, working through your own list of things to know before getting a dog, wondering whether you’re actually ready — I hope this gave you a little more clarity, or at the very least, a little less alone.

— D