Doggie Dilemma!

[Avocet]

I think I’m ready to adopt a dog! I’m scared though and I don’t know where to begin. Background - I’m married and have two kitties (seniors). I haven’t had a dog since I was a kid. My husband is supportive but not wild about the idea. He was really reluctant until we fostered his sons dog for two months this winter. It went really well and made him – and me too- realize that we could take care of a dog and would have fun with it. That said, neither of us want a psycho dog. I am adamant about getting a dog from a shelter but he’s afraid that all the dogs at the shelter are rejects that have problems. I’ve tried to convince him otherwise but the fact is, there are lots of dogs with problems at the shelter. How do we minimize the chances of getting a problem. For us, when we make a decision and bring a dog home, it’s huge and will affect us for years . I don’t want to regret it. My husband thinks we need to find something between 6 and 10 months to minimize our chances of getting a dog that has bad habits. That’s been scarce at all the shelters in my area. I don’t really care about a specific breed – other then I don’t want a really small dog. I would like something that could go hiking with us. So, how do we go about finding the right dog for us?

[TsPoet]

Shelter dogs have baggage. All dogs will need trained. Especially for a shelter dog, I'd suggest CGC training.
In general, dogs have a 'fear period' between 6 and 10 months of age, so be aware that at that age, his/her personality may change and you will have to deal with a fear period.
I have 2 shelter dogs, both with issues. I became a dog trainer (volunteer with a club, not professional) due to having to deal with them. i also hate to admit it, but I now have a well-bred pure bred dog from a very good breeder. I was too tired to get another shelter dog.
If you go with a breeder, avoid a back yard breeder and a puppy mill with all your might. PM me or post more questions and I can help send you down the road to a good breeder - generally, though, you need to pick the breed or a few breeds first.
Shelters are pretty good with honest evaluations of their dogs, an older dog, say 1-2 years will have been evaluated by a rescue and you may have a better idea of what it will be like. Speaking of that - shelters are good places and you can find a good shelter - there are other types of rescue orgs as well, many work through fosters, so will definitely have suggestions for you about dog personality.
I know this has been scattered, but here is another scattered thought - while shelters guess at breeds, breed characteristics are very real things, so thinking of a breed, breed characteristics, might help pick a personality type.
What type of dog did you foster? what personality traits did you like? hyper? calm? snuggly, aloof...? Many (most, or all) people pick a dog by looks - sounds like you are smart enough not to necessarily do that - so instead go in with a list of what you like/want and ask them to help you pick.
I have an aloof, and incredibly smart, shiba inu- mix
A tough little reactive tank of a doxie-mix
and a scatter-brained, hyper, extremely fast and not very trainable, purebred Italian Greyhound
- all of their personalities are surprisingly close to "breed" characteristics, good and bad.
The last thing is gender - many many people want females because they aren't aware that dogs are opposite of humans - males are easier and nicer and generally the calmer and quieter gender (often with more potty issues), females are more apt to be dominant and domineering and more pushy. (or maybe that is more human like, LOL)

[PamNY]

Two suggestions: find a good rescue group, and do some reading before you get a dog. Authors I suggest are Jean Donaldson, Karen Pryor, Ian Dunbar, and Patricia McConnell.

[Biciclista]

a lot of rescue groups will take the dog back if it doesn't work out. I don't agree that all shelter dogs have issues. SOmetimes all they need is someone who cares enough to be consistent with them. So many people get dogs on a whim and when they realize they take a lot of work, they dump them..

[Kiwi Stoker]

Or get a shelter puppy. Yes I know that an older dog is less likely to be adopted but you also have 2 cats to think of. You are better off socialising a younger dog than an older.

[smilingcat]

You might want to check out a rescue group. Rescue groups have dedicated foster parents for the dogs.

You can ask the fosters about the nature of the dog and if the rescue group is reputable, the fosters will give you an honest assessment of the dog.

It is also in their best interest to tell you honestly and to best of their ability to say what the dog is really like. They want to match the dog to a right family so the dog isn't returned.

As suggested, figure out what are you looking for in his/her personality? Once you figure that out, and know what kind of dog you want, check with rescue groups. They should help you match the right dog for you. You do have the last say in which dog you get.

yes we used to foster dogs too and not just cats.

One more thing, since you have senior cats, you do need to check to see if the dog has lived with a cat. or is okay with a cat. Jack Russel are too hyper for a cat so not recommended. Goldens we have fostered have never given any grief to our cats. We are biased obviously toward golden retrievers.

Wish you lots of patience in finding a right dog. It is worth to be patient to find the perfect one. And you will find him.

best wishes,