I see you’re getting a lot of good help here, so I’m sorry to pile on, but somebody’s got to plug the older dogs!
With an adult dog, you know exactly what kind of temperment, personality, and conformation you’re buying. The dog may come pre-loaded with apps like ‘Fetch’, ‘Heel’, and ‘Don’t Poop On The Carpet’.
You won’t have to worry about teething, the ‘adolescent phase’, or ‘will my dog look like an ugly slab-sided mongrel because the breeder wasn’t none too careful about gates’ syndrome.
A puppy is a crap shoot; a 12-18 month old is a sure thing, and you can find loads of them for a nominal fee at your local shelter, craigslist, or breed rescue. :-)
Sounds like great advice for most people :) Thank you!!! I don’t need a puppy, a younger dog I wouldn’t mind. I just have one thing that concerns me about that. I have a toy fox terrier and a cat and a learning disabled child(adult body, child mind). I always felt getting a puppy is the best for the situation. They are then raised with all of this. If you get an older dog even if it’s a young one and they aren’t use to the new animals and daughter who might just give the dog a great big hug real fast. Don’t know how a dog would react to that.
I just signed up with my local (no kill) shelter to foster large breed dogs. My neutered American Mastiff is a sweety, he has been socialized to strange dogs that I welcome. The shelter neuters all dogs, say that they have a problem finding foster care for the large ones. I can’t start till the middle of June, due to my commitment to help care for my son-in-law who has cancer.
I really love the large dogs.