[spence]

Originally Posted by striperman36

Do your homework, decide the type of dog that suits your lifestyle.
It took us 2 years to find the sheperd we have, thru the gsrne.
Even after we had him in the house we went thru Stage 4 Heartworm, successfully, and several thousand dollars in treatment. Be careful adopting, without having a full checkout of the animal, by a vet you know and trust. Rescue Leagues normally get animals that have had a bad experience and require more attention than other dogs for that reason. Our Sheperd, still has personality traits, 4+ years, that are a result of previous abuse or neglect.

Also find a vet you like, vets are very different. we have a practice that we bring our animals to for over 20 years, owned by 2 different vets but of similar disposition.

Dogs, most pets, become part of the family and you should be prepared to invest as much time, affection, at times frustration and finances as you would with a young child.

Given all that, I wouldn't trade our life with the 2 dogs, and cat for any other.

All great advice.

If you can take the shedding, a lab or golden seems like a good fit as long as you're prepared to do the basic training.

-spence