First Dog

Question
I have gotten the okay from my parents to get my first dog!! But I was wondering what dog would be best for my first dog. I have 3 cats and a big backyard. What would be best for me? Thanks

Answer
www.akc.org and www.purina.com have breed selector pages on their site. You might try them. Don't take a recommendation for some obscure, hard to find breed too seriously. Even if your puppy doesn't grow up like you expected, how you raise it helps make it what you need. The first 12 weeks of a dog's life greatly affect its adult personality. Expose it to your lifestyle, and it will be comfortable with you. Gretchen, our one German Shepherd did not grow up suspicious of strangers. She knew no other life except being out and petted by strangers from the night we picked her up at 7 weeks old. After she was a year old, the dog guide school chose to retain her as breeding stock.

The breed selectors will steer you away from terriers and other dogs with what is called a high prey drive.  That means they want to catch small animals, not good for the cats.

 One of the best sources for dogs with a predictable personality is the rescue dogs. These are dogs that lost their home, but were taken into a foster home to be retrained as necessary and placed in the right home for them. You may find a rescue near you starting at http://www.akc.org/breeds/rescue.cfm The rescues charge a fee to help cover their expenses, but is much less than the price of a puppy plus all its medical expenses the first year.

Be sure to come back for more help once you are ready to get the dog.