To get a puppy or not get a puppy, that is the question.

[Selkie]

Thread drift warning -- I've "bought" five golden retriever puppies (not at once, of course). Our two youngest are from an extremely reputable breeder who screens her dams/sires (hips, eyes, heart, elbows are tested/cert'd). Bloodlines are excellent---she breeds for longevity. Had to sign a contract and she screened us before she'd let us adopt one of her beloved babies.

Rescue dogs are great, but it's really a personal decision as to how one acquires a dog.

Lime---best wishes to you. Agree that an adult dog (probably a young adult but one who is mature) probably would be a better fit if you decide to take the plunge. Puppies are a lot of work because you essentially have an infant in the house. Be advised that larger breeds tend to have extended puppyhoods. Our goldens' were around three before they settled into a modicum of maturity. That said, even the 11.5 year old still has her wild wolf moments. :-)

[Aggie_Ama]

I would discourage a Weim. They are magnificent dogs, beautiful, but everyone I know with them say they are very attention needy. It works great if that fits with your family but my friends with Weimer's say they must take the dog for quite a bit of exercise or they tend to get bored and destructive.

My local shelter does a foster to adopt program. You can essentially "test drive" the dog. That might be a great option when bringing him/her into a house with cats and kids. Dogs act very different in the shelter, they are usually scared and unsure. It isn't uncommon for them to have a different personality after a few days of feeling safe. I know my shelter cat was the same way.

We have bought our dogs. It is a personal choice, for us we rescued in the past but she had a lot of health problems and it was very difficult emotionally. We weighed a shelter dog when we got Jens but for us it was the right choice to go pure bred. That being said, if I could do it again I would try to get a year old or so puppy. You know the terrible twos? Well that is about how a puppy is for at least a year. They whine, they have to be trained, they sometimes "forget" their training when they want to, they destroy things, they need to be watched very closely. For a newbie owner it may be more than you bargained for.

[Irulan]

The thing is, even buying a dog with certified bloodlines, being vetted out by the breeder (signing a contract etc) and all that, doesn't guarantee a perfectly healthy dog, or the temperament. It might increase your chances, but there are no guarantees. Been there and done that with a very well bred golden who had heart failure at 7 - it turned out that out of the whole litter he was the only that that wasn't a total spaz.(Golden)

Certainly it's a personal decision. My experience with purebred rescue is that the dogs are full of love: they know you are the new owner and they love you for giving them a second chance.
I've done breed rescues for Malemute and Goldens.

[Chile Pepper]

The thing is, even buying a dog with certified bloodlines, being vetted out by the breeder (signing a contract etc) and all that, doesn't guarantee a perfectly healthy dog, or the temperament.

We got a golden when my son asked for that breed specifically. She's a wonderful dog in a lot of ways, but she is very aggressive with the rest of the pack (three other dogs) and somewhat aggressive with the kids. Her personality is totally golden, but she's an alpha golden. You just never know what you are going to get, even from a reputable breeder.

I would also recommend an adult dog. A puppy will be very rambunctious until it's at least two years old, and I wouldn't want to deal with that with a toddler. A young dog will play roughly, and your kid's face will be right at dog level.

[Chile Pepper]

In a dog pack, there has to be an Alpha. If the human doesn't take that role, the dog will.

Thanks, but don't worry. We are quite competent at managing our dogs. My point was not that I couldn't control my dog (I can), but that there is variation of temperament within breeds. Even the nicest breeds can have undesirable characteristics.