Never owned a dog...which breeds should I consider

I have another question, I have a "common area" backed up to my backyard, we have a required 2 rail fence 36 inches high. Per the neighborhood rules we can put chicken wire up to 48" high along the fence for kids and animals safety, how concerned should I be about a dog jumping the fence? Someone suggested a boxer but I've heard they like to jump.... I suggest you just go to your local shelter and walk up and down the aisle and look at each dog. They have papers on their cages telling some info about them. I would definitely read that since some of them are on medications or have certain issues. Find a dog you feel has sweet eyes. Read about them and ask to take them out. I feel it is hard to tell a dog true temperment at a shelter since when they come out of the cage lots of them will act the same way: happy to be out, pulling strongly, sniffing everything and everyone, and so on. Go to one of the pens with them (if available) and try and play with them and interact. Take them for walks and try to get a fel for the dog. If it doesn't work go back in and look for another. Once you find one you like make sure your kids like him/her too and make sure the dog isn't rough or aggresive with them. Some things you may want to watch out for: If they shy away from people> although they may have been abused and just shy many scared dogs will try and protect themselves by biting, and once again possibly not to be mean but to avoid getting hurt. (continued)

I do not feel these kind of dogs are at all suitable for children because of their quick movements, loud noises, and many kids like to cling on. However I think they would be good for a single owner who can work with them in a quiet enviroment, obviously not your case. Watch out for lunging or growling at people or hair sticking up. If you get a male walk him around the inside of the shelter and make sure he is potty trained and not marking everything in site. Although many dogs will not be it is very hard with males since they pee on things, messy and sometimes you won't even know they did it until later. I would make sure and buy some books and do LOTS and LOTS of reading you can never learn too much. Make sure your building has no breed restrictions and if it does steer clear away from them. I have good experiences with pitbulls but they are restricted just about everywhere and I don't know if you would want them around your kids. Many little dogs also tend to have a big temper. 36 inches is not high enough, if your dog ever saw something outside of it he/she could jump right over. I've never heard about the boxers jumping anymore then any other dog, my boxers have never tried to escape and i never noticed them jumping. My German Shepard/Pitbull mix jumps a lot higher and will sometimes jump over boxes in the house or jumps at the horse stable just for fun it seems like. Any dogs I reccomend are: Boxers (so great with kids), golden retrievers, and labs. Hope this helps!

Hi again, I think Sassy had a lot of great things to say! From reading all the previous posts I agree with a lot (I love Yorkies but with two little kids that may have lots of friends over - they are very small and vunerable which means YOU have to be careful). I also love Staffies and Boxers. As much as I love Boxers, they can have a lot of energy and be stubborn, so as a first time dog owner, that would take some thought. Staffies are great, it's the Pit Bull reputation that will cause that dog to suffer (especially if your friends, or parents of other children have issues with you having a Staffie). I would take a short list with you to the shelter (if you have decided to go that route) with your pros and cons. Do you want to groom the dog, do you want to walk it a lot (some dogs require this MORE than others - although walking your dog gives you the chance to be it's pack leader, and to bond with it alone and the dog will always look to you as it's 'boss'), look at their ears (ears that lay over can have more infections than ears that stand up), jeez - there are a million things you can write. BUT, mainly, look at the personality of all the dogs in there cages before you take them out. Are they looking at you, interested in you, engaging you, wagging their tail, are their ears forward and perking and showing interest - or laid back with their eyes wide and showing fright (again - there may be some history there as Sassy said)...read the history posted to