...but for an inexperienced family isn’t a puppy better? And that of an easier breed? Respectfully, no to the first question, and definitely yes to the second question. Keep in mind that I do animal rescue, so I see alllllll the bad stuff and not as much of the good stuff.
This post turned out to be way too long. No need to read it all. I was rambling.
Every family (puppy/dog buyer) varies, but what you did is the right thing to do. You recognized that you were inexperienced and you read up on things so you would be more prepared to handle all the things involved in raising (properly) a puppy. Many people do this. Many people don't. A good breeder will weed through all the people wanting to buy their puppies and they will not sell a puppy to someone who isn't willing or able to do the work necessary to properly raise and care for that puppy. Where I live, when you see a pickup truck on the side of the road with a plywood sign spray-painted "Dobermens $300" (mis-spelled and everything), and a box of puppies sitting on the tailgate, you know they are not asking the buyer any questions. You got $300? Pick a puppy. End of story. The buyer may have let the last three dogs they owned get hit by cars, but that doesn't matter to the seller as long as they have $300 cash. But I digress...
An inexperienced family should not get a puppy unless they are willing and able to do what you did: Learn about dogs, dog behavior, health issues, training, etc., and properly train the puppy. If they are not willing and able to do all that, then an adult dog is a MUCH better option for them.
I can't tell you how many times I read ads that are "getting rid" of a puppy or dog because it pees in the house. (Who's fault is that???) Or some other behavior that is CLEARLY the fault of the human for lack of properly training that animal. And then there are all the cases of "the dog got to big" (what part of German Shepherd did you think was going to be a small dog??), "we just had a baby" (you've had the dog for 5 months, yet you knew you were pregnant 9 months ago, so why did you get a dog in the first place???), "we're moving to an apartment that doesn't allow dogs" (so move to a dog-friendly apartment!!!), etc. If you want to ruin your day, read through the Craigslist ads in any major city some day and see all the stupid reasons people are "getting rid" of their pets.
With an adult dog -- either purchased from a breeder, or rescued from anywhere, you have a much better chance of knowing what you are getting. You will know the size of the dog, the dog's general temperament, his behavior, and you'll have a good guess about his breed. A good rescue dog will probably already have some training, house manners, etc. Every breed has breed rescues, so people looking for a specific breed can get one from a rescue if they want. We recently placed a couple of purebred (well-bred) adult dogs that were fabulous dogs, fully trained, etc., because their owner unexpectedly died.
I handle people on a case by case basis. If they can handle a puppy, then fine. But if this is their first dog ever, I usually recommend they start with a foster dog, just to be sure that after 3 weeks of having a dog in the house, they don't decide they aren't up for the commitment, or that one of the children is allergic, etc. If the foster situation works out, they may want to adopt that dog, or they may want to keep looking.
Your second question, about getting an easier breed, that's a resounding YES. If I could tell every family what kind of dog they should get, I swear we would have half as many unwanted dogs in this country. People choose their breeds poorly. Most people choose a dog breed based on looks. But looks is the last thing a breed should be chosen for. A breed should be chosen based on how well the temperament and breed characteristics will match with the personality/temperament and lifestyle and goals of the individual family.
For example, a family with three children under the age of 5 should NOT get an Australian Cattle Dog or Australian Shepherd or Border Collie, for example. That family has a HERD of children, and those dogs were bred to HERD. So are those parents going to be happy when the dog starts nipping at the heels of the children in an effort to keep them in a herd? What about a children's birthday party in the back yard when Johnny brings 15 kids over... and the dog tries to herd them by nipping their heels. Dog goes to pound the next day.
Another example: A family lives in a nice quiet neighborhood and has a lovely back yard with lots of flowerbeds and well-manicured lawn. They get a Beagle. Beagle constantly digs holes in the yard and barks half the time, ruining the yard and disturbing all the neighbors. Beagles dig. Beagles bark. These are givens with this breed.
Some breeds are very compliant and obedient, and some are not. So yes, an inexperienced family should get an "easier" breed. But if they let the kids pick out the dog based on how it looks, they are setting themselves up for failure.
Once a good BREED has been selected, then the individual dog needs to be selected. Some lines (from certain breeders) are bred to be performance dogs with high drive and energy. Some lines are bred to be good companion, pet dogs, with less drive and energy, but the same intelligence and temperament. There are high-drive Shepherds and "regular" Shepherds. There are field trial / competition German Shorthair Pointers, and there are "regular" Pointers.
And then, within each litter, there will be individual differences. My current dog was MY personal pick of the litter because the puppy was LESS energetic than the others. I wanted a dog that would be happy to lounge around the house all day, because of my work schedule. But another person wanted a dog to do Agility and Tracking and Obedience, so the right puppy for them, in that same litter, was a different puppy. Both dogs have the same breed characteristics and temperament and good health, but both dogs have different individual personalities and energy levels.
So dogs should be chosen first on breed, then on breeder (choosing a breeder who ethically breeds the kind of dog one is looking for), and then the right litter (based on the sire and dam matching what you are looking for), and then on the individual puppy. Only if there are two puppies with very similar temperament/personality/drive/conformation, would I bring "looks" (sometimes this means color) into the picture. And Gender of the dog is one step above looks. Males and females do have different characteristics, so that needs to be considered in the decision process.
If someone wants to rescue, rather than go to a breeder, then all the same steps apply: Choose the appropriate breed first, then the source of the dog (choose a reputable rescue group or person), then the individual dog.
In many cases in rescue, we don't know what the breed of a given dog is. In that case, we are placing the dogs based on their temperament and behavior. But this is exactly why you choose breed first -- because you need to know what temperament and behavior you are getting. With rescue puppies, it really is a crap shoot unless you at least know who one of the parents is. But more often than not, you don't even know that. One cute puppy looks like the next, so you are really guessing about everything with that puppy (size, temperament, health, etc.).
it wasn't too long a post -- a very interesting one. Since I am inexperienced, I'm listening to everyone who's had more experience than me on dogs
Mine seems to have the Scenthound temperament -- she's very calm and patient and doesn't bark in the house at all, and only rarely when outside, mostly "play with me!" barks and sometimes "Stop nipping at me".
i've been working from home these couple of months to ensure I spend enough quality time as I've read that the first 6 months are crucial and I want to ensure we have a very good adult dog.
My dog loves to dig, which is not a problem as we have a lot of open areas around my house and an 18th century fort complex where she loves to run up and down.
Though, if, in the middle of play she finds a stick, she will pretty often just sit down and gnaw and ignore all her friends. I figure out that's because she's teething, but I'm not too sure
She doesn't gnaw any furniture, though we've lost a carpet and two mats :) but hey, it's worth it -- and she gives back all of that and more in love
We didn't actually pick the dog out -- never even saw her but my wife's cousin's husband found an abandoned pregnant dog in the woods (what barbarians to do that to an animal) and he adores dogs.
He brought them back home (they have a house and lots of open space) and she gave birth to 9. Wifey's cousin calls us up one day and says "congratulations! we have a pup for you!" -- we were hesitant, but felt that they didn't have room for all the puppies so we said "ok, we're on holiday for 2 weeks. if no one takes her, we will" -- and I guess they stopped looking!
So we got this unknown puppy when we came back and she was perfect! My wife and I say we are very lucky and I intend ensuring that we never regret this by having a badly trained dog.
And it's really true -- when our puppy listens to a command she is happy!
