Important:
Preparing for a relationship with a dog should be considered carefully. Perhaps you are looking for a special relationship. In that case focus on compatibility of personalities. Perhaps you are expecting a dog who will perform specific tasks. In that case focus on skills and abilities. It is not fair to the dog to ask it to be someone it is not or to do something for which it has no aptitude.

Choose a dog whose behavior will be a good match for your life. Do you need a dog to:

  • Snuggle at home?
  • Safely share a home with children?
  • Stay quiet in a crate?
  • Relax in a hotel?
  • Relax in busy settings?
  • Enjoy training in agility?
  • Compete in dog sports?
  • Hike in the wilderness?
  • Play with other dogs?

Type of dog

Choose a purebred for:

  • Size
  • Coat
  • Predictability of what puppy will become
  • Risk: Not all puppies grow up as expected – some may have abnormal characteristics

Choose a designer mixed breed for:

  • Qualities you cannot find in any purebred dog
  • A breeder that you know and trust
  • Risk: mixed breeds are less likely to produce predictable results, so more likely to have a range of characteristics

Choose a rescue dog to:

  • Give a dog another chance
  • See something of what you are getting in the adult dog
  • Risk: a dog may not behave in your home as it did in the foster home or shelter where you met it

Source of dog

Choose a breeder:

  • Who does health screenings on the parents
  • Who applies best practices in socializing puppies and starting house training
  • Risk: even careful precautions cannot prevent the unexpected

Choose a rescue:

  • That is an established 501(c)(3)
  • That is strict about making a good match
  • That does not adopt out dogs that have bitten
  • Risk: even the best operations are understaffed and, although caring, staff are often not very knowledgeable

Age of dog

Choose a puppy under 12 weeks to:

  • Be able to shape the puppy’s world view
  • To put in all the time and effort required to raise a puppy to suit your lifestyle
  • Risk: Early mistakes in training can have life-long consequences

Choose a dog between 16 weeks and 2 years to:

  • Re-train the puppy to suit your lifestyle
  • Enjoy the adolescent dog on the road to becoming who they are going to be
  • Risk: the puppy may come with a world view that cannot adjust easily to your lifestyle

Choose a dog over 2 years to:

  • Get one that has adjusted to life and shows adaptability*
  • Get one that already has some polite behaviors which are compatible with your lifestyle
  • Risk: surprise behaviors that do not show up when you first meet
  • * A dog that does not show adaptability will have a hard time adjusting to life with you.

Choose a dog based on behavior rather than appearance.

Behaviors that show promise for easy training:

  • Approaches you
  • Enjoys being touched
  • Looks at you, especially your face
  • Follows you
  • Growls during play

Behaviors that indicate issues to overcome:

  • Stays at a distance
  • Startles easily
  • Remains constantly vigilant
  • Nips excessively
  • Growls and freezes

It bears repeating:
Preparing for a relationship with a dog should be considered carefully. Perhaps you are looking for a special relationship. In that case focus on compatibility of personalities. Perhaps you are expecting a dog who will perform specific tasks. In that case focus on skills and abilities. It is not fair to the dog to ask it to be someone it is not or to do something for which it has no aptitude.