what breed???

Question
QUESTION: my family's dog was put down about a year and a half ago and i have been looking for a dog for about a year. i am looking at labs, golden retrievers, and blue heelers. our last dog was a mix with a black lab/rottie... he was great so i was wondering you insight on which breed we should pick- thanks

ANSWER: A good idea might be to visit your local shelter,as shelters have a wide range of breeds available at any giving time,and the staff can help you decide on the dog that matches your needs the most

It might also help to read up on breeds you are interested in,all three breeds have high energy,bot goldens and labs are hunting dogs and do needs lots of space and long walks but are happy to lay at your feet in the evening

Blue heelers are herding dogs and like to have a 'job' to do,and aren't dogs for novice owners,but are great if your looking for a dog  go walking jogging ect

Also all three breeds are common in rescues/shelters as well

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: well we have almost two acres so it would have room to run. it would be a outside dog. our local shelter will not let us adopt b/c we have a child who is younger than five. so i was wondering what do you think about getting one from a news papper add?

Answer
That's unusual for a shelter not to allow someone to adopt because they have children

Good breeders are also a good choice-you do have to be careful of newpaper adds as many of them are what are known as 'backyard breeders' those are people that just throw two purebreds together without testing them for health ect

The best place to look for a breeder would be to see if you have any dog shows in your area,as only the best breeders will show dogs-although some good breeders will also put adds in papers as well,what you have to look for is if they show dogs or not,even though you probably don't want to show dogs yourself

By showing there dogs,breeders have to test for certain things that that breed is prone to-such as bad hips ect,and often breeders will have puppies that have show faults but will be great pets

Avoid petstores all together though,as no good breeder sells them through petsores-they come from backyard breeders or worse,through puppy mills