Welcome to our Professional Pet Selection Services

Cool Dog is very proud of this particular service, and we consider it to be perhaps the most important service that we offer.

So, what is Professional Pet Selection?

It is our way of helping you find the perfect pet for your family. Over 90% of the clients that we see for behavior and training difficulties with their dogs could have avoided the whole issue by simply selecting a different dog.

So, how hard could it be to pick out the right dog or puppy?

I mean, all you need to check is that he’s the right size and he doesn’t bite, right? NOOOOO!!!!! I know we sound a bit emphatic on this point, but you wouldn’t believe the number of HORRIBLE situations that you can get into in picking out a dog, and most of them are very difficult to see ahead of time without a lot of experience. Here’s a short list:

1. Genetic Health Problems: Dogs can become very ill due to a variety of reasons. Genetic diseases and disorders are the greatest threat. These diseases often don’t make themselves known until adulthood or later, and they are rampant in both purebred and mixed-breed dogs. Diseases can cause your family untold heartache, and thousands of dollars in veterinary care. Common issues include skin problems, allergies, bone and joint disorders, seizure disorders, heart problems, eye problems, and more.
2. Temperament Problems: Many dogs these days are genetically bad-tempered and/or their early upbringing (birth - 9 weeks) has set them up to become bad-tempered. Aggression, towards people or dogs, is a problem that shows up in all breeds, and in both sexes, and that generally does not show itself until sexually maturity (1-3 years). Other problems include shyness, fearfulness, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and more.
3. House-training issues: Certain breeds have more trouble than others with housetraining, and all breeds can be caused to have trouble if they are not raised properly during the first 6-9 weeks of life.
4. The wrong dog for you: The most common mistake that typical owners make is just plain getting the wrong dog. Many dogs that are perfectly healthy and have the correct temperament for their breed (or breed mix) still may drive you completely insane, and you may do the same for them. The thing that most of us forget these days is that 100 years ago, very, VERY few dogs were ever kept simply as pets. Most had some kind of job, and that job usually required them to be protective, aggressive to strangers, incredibly active, highly intelligent, etc. Some were bred to kill other animals or dogs. Some were bred to KILL ANYTHING that threatened their “pack”. Most of these qualities are not what you want in a pet. Even if you think that you would like a dog that will protect your house, you may re-think this idea when that dog starts biting all of your friends that come to visit, or your children’s friends. An active and intelligent dog sounds cool, until you realize that you need to devote at least two hours a day to intelligent activities for your dog, and that, even so, he never gives you a moment’s rest at home.

So, if all of this sounds like trouble that you want to avoid, the Professional Pet Selection service at Cool Dog should help you do just that. Here’s what we offer:

Consultation

This is the first step in helping you to get the right dog. Our professional trainer will sit down with you and your family and discuss some of the basics of picking out your dog. We will cover topics such as purebred vs. mixed-breed, breed characteristics, how to spot a good breeder, how to pick out a good puppy, what to look for in a rescue group or shelter, and more. See our prices page for the price of a consultation.

Research

After your consultation, you may choose to have us do the legwork for you and try to locate your ideal dog. We will search through a network of breeders and rescue groups that we know and like, or we will take the time to scout out a new source. We will stay in touch with you as we narrow down our choices, and by the time we’re done you should have a breeder, a litter, or a few rescue dogs picked out. See prices page for the price of the research service.

Assessment

This service may be used in conjunction with the Consultation and the Research services, or it may be requested independently. During the Assessment, the trainer will go with you to meet the breeder, the litter, or the dog that you are looking at and help to select a puppy or dog for you, and/or point out potential problems to avoid. See our prices page for the price of the Assessment.

Is your dog starting to scuff his belly on the floor?  Have you forgotten where his ribs are? Why worry?  He’s happy, right?