Reply to How do I research the right dog breeds and breeders for our family? Where to start?

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[quote=Anonymous]Thank you, pp, for taking the time to write that lengthy post with good advice. I held off getting a dog for years because I knew I wasn’t ready for the additional burden. When my youngest was 12, I felt ready. I did a lot of research on different breeds and really thought about what would be a good fit for our family — which traits were really important to us and which ones we could compromise on. The breed that was the best fit for us wasn’t one I would have picked based on looks.

Coincidentally, it was a breed that is available through rescues. I got a purebred dog without paying an exorbitant fee to a breeder. I also was able to get a dog that was just exiting the puppy phase, which was great because I didn’t want to deal with puppyhood. He’d lived with fosters who could tell us about his personality. We had asked the rescue to match us to a very easygoing, calm dog because we were first time dog owners, and they really came through. Our boy was confident, non reactive, and super chill. He truly was what we were looking for and he has fit seamlessly into our family.

Doing our research really paid off. There are lots of websites that will list the characteristics of different breeds; whether they’re a good guard dog or good with children; how high their energy level is and how much daily exercise they need; whether they’re a working breed that needs a job to do or will become bored and destructive; how much they bark; how much they shed; what their grooming needs are; whether they do well when left home alone; common health issues for different breeds. It’s good to visit multiple websites to get a full picture. It’s just as important to think about traits you don’t want as the traits you do want. There will be tons of breed specific information online and once you’ve started narrowing down your options, you can visit online forums for specific breeds and find videos on YouTube dedicated to specific breeds.

Best of luck on your search.[/quote]

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