Where to get a dog?

You could go to the local humane society, or ASPCA, and get a pup for a minimal cost, but the dogs probably won't be purebred.

Check out this site, and answer the questionnaire:

http://www.ivillage.com/pets/tools/breedselector/questions/dog/size

There are a lot of variables- size of home, do you have a yard, how much time are you will to spend with the dog, what kind of dog do you want? All these considerations need to be factored in before you decide.

Buying from a breeder is far better than buying from puppy mills. With a breeder, you can see the parents of the pup.

Another thing. How much is too much?

Good luck!

I second the pound....you may have to make several visits before you find the right mid-size
doggy for you.

Another possibility is breed-specific rescue. Say you want a Boston terrier (they're small; my avatar is one), you can go to http://www.bostonrescue.net/ or the like (just put "Boston terrier" rescue into Google) and go from there.

Breed rescues are like the pound, but they are for purebred dogs of one particular breed. See, people give back dogs for all sorts of reasons, and most if not all responsible breed groups make an effort to take in rejected or returned members of their own breed. The advantage isn't in getting a dog with papers (personally, I find that sorta thing kinda silly, unless you're raising show dogs), but in making sure that you get a dog of the size and type that you want. The pound is catch-as-catch-can and often the dogs in there are large.

So if you want a smaller dog, your odds are considerably better if you go to breed rescue. This doesn't, of course, mean that all of the dogs at the pound are terrible or anything of the sort. I've had wonderful and also not-so-wonderful dogs from the pound. I also had a dog from breed rescue (retired racing greyhound).

As for which breed to get, Dog Fancy Magazine (they're online) has information that may be of help to you.

What is a "pound" please? Is this like a Dumb Friends LEague shelter?

Concerning what sort of breed: it depends on how much time you have for the dog. There are certain dogs who need a lot of exercise, who need to walked with a considerable amount of time. However, there are also dogs who do not need a lot of exercise, who aren't that active.

The pound = the animal shelter

You can get a dog for a reasonable price anywhere besides a pet store. Try a shelter or breed rescue or you can go to petfinder.org and find someone who has what you are looking for that they need to find a home for. Also you can try and find a good breeder but this can be hard to do and their pups can be kind of expensive. I would avoid ads in the paper too because its hard to tell if these people know what they are doing when breeding the dogs and they could charge you an arm and a leg too. Any idea what kind you are looking for? You should get your son a Corgi (Like my Toby in my avitar). They are fun and friendly and very smart! Downside though, they shed alot, are kinda hard to find sometimes and can be kinda stubborn Good Luck!

Thsnks to everybody. Kinda dot an idea which way to go.

I agree - go to good shelter. One that gives a history of the dog. Many shelters will be able to guide you to a dog that will fit in best with your family and you will be saving a dog that could be killed or giving a homeless dog a home. Also check and see if there are any non-profit non-government run shelters. They seem to be the best as they really care about the dogs. They also care more about finding the right home for the animal rather than just getting them out of the shelter. Also you can ask a local vet. Many dog breeds have their own rescue leagues where you can adopt homeless breeds. These rescue leagues can also give you good advice about whether the breed will be a good fit for your family. Ooops I see jespah had the same idea of rescue leagues.