Puppies are attractive, overwhelmingly. A pup can turn a 350-pound, two-fist, nail-spitting, bare-knuckled pole wrestler into a cooing, baby-talking mound of mush in a nanosecond. Baby dogs are too cute for words.

They can also be machines for walking, crying, looking for trouble, peeing and pooping. But they are so irresistible that we don’t care. Cuteness conquers all, and we stumble, tripping over the leash that binds us to that adorable little ball of fur that’s chewing on our sneaker laces, and generally finding minuscule ways to cause maximum chaos in our lives while trying to find out the best evacuation time. — exactly how many minutes and seconds after eating the remains of the last meal will find its way out the other end — so we can teach the little bastard to relieve himself outdoors, as well as make sure he doesn’t eat anything valuable, obstructive or toxic. We set the alarm clock at regular intervals, then wake up twenty minutes before the buzzer goes off and worry that we haven’t timed it right. We take our precious new little one outside and beg and beg, “Go to the bathroom, good girl/boy, time to go to the bathroom, please hurry up and do it, don’t you have to go to the bathroom now?” Returning to bed, we set the alarm once more, and the moment we fall into that deep theta-wave sleep, we are awakened by an anguished wail from the puppy who now really needs to go to the bathroom. It didn’t happen thirty minutes ago. He repeat as needed overnight and sometimes for several weeks, even months, afterward.

Those puppy teeth. Hydraulically actuated hypodermics. Puppies chew. It’s part of their makeup, and there’s nothing they like to chew on more than something we hold dear, like the new $80 sandals, the corner of the table given by the hawk-eyed mother-in-law, the prized toy collectible we’re saving to pass on to a favorite niece or nephew, or to our own pain-sensitive skins.

But it’s so CUUUUU!

Sometimes tenderness is not equal to everything. Sometimes our lives are such that it is not a good start for a puppy. We don’t have the time and can’t sacrifice sleep or sanity to give a puppy the guidance, teaching, and attention that are required to raise a healthy, stable, and happy dog.

The number of adolescent and adult dogs in shelters and rescues is staggering. They’re past the agonizingly attractive baby stage and now their former owners have realized they don’t have time, or didn’t have time at first, and now they’re unwilling or don’t know how to correct behaviors. that should have been addressed before they had a chance to start, way back when the animal still stunk cute. Or has it become apparent now that the dog is older than they brought home a lovely little puppy who grew up to be much more of a dog than they are prepared to handle, so they give up and leave him at a shelter or rescue, or on the side of the road or on craigslist or kijiji.

But you’ve been wanting… needing a dog in your life.

Very often, what these older dogs need is someone to give them a fresh start. A person who will show patience and intelligently communicate what is expected, rewarding and reinforcing desired behavior while gently leading them away from bad habits.

An adolescent or adult dog has a bladder of more than two hours. There is a reasonable hope that he can sleep through the night. There are more ways to safely burn off a senior dog’s energy. You can, once you are aware of their unique temperament, take them to places like dog parks and let them run around. Long walks are a definite possibility. Wrestling, throwing, fetch, frisbee… all the things you can’t really do with a puppy, but you can with an average or adult dog. The learning curve is much shorter, and somehow most of these dogs understand what you have done for them and respond with gratitude and a devoted desire to please you.

An adult or near-adult dog also doesn’t need the same amount of direct supervision and is easier to leave alone in a safe place with toys to keep it occupied while you go out and earn that cash.

Puppies are wonderful, but so are dogs and almost dogs, and depending on what’s going on in your life, one of those older, maybe not-so-lovable ones might be a custom option. Surely there is a lot to choose from; maybe you should take two!