There are many resources today that offer to help you decide which breed of puppy may best suit your situation. They ask a series of standardized questions regarding the size of your family, home and yard. And certainly, questions like these are important. Yet time and again, no matter how well they thought they had prepared, people tell me nothing prepared them for the actual day-to-day commitment and stamina a puppy requires – no matter what the breed may be.

I cannot emphasize this enough – make sure that everyone in your home is looking forward to having a puppy. It will have an enormous impact on your life for many years and one way or another, everyone will be involved.

Take your time – If you are undecided about the type of dog you want don’t depend on what you read. The information will be a good start but most of the information will be very general and sometimes biased. Go to dog shows if you can. Talk to breeders. Most good breeders will be happy to speak with you honestly about the pluses and minuses of their breed.

If you think you already know the breed of dog you want – do your research. You may know a dog that embodies the perfect dog in your mind, but that dog may not typify the breed. A lot of work may have gone into that outstanding dog.