For just a pet consider a rescue dog. A good shelter or organization will let you know what to expect regarding the dogs size and temperament. A mutt also can avoid some of the diseases that can occur more often in purebred dogs. If you want a certain breed there are specific groups for that breed such as collie rescue which is featured in 1911tuners sigline on THR. Those collies look gorgeous.
pete
This is worth repeating.
We adopted our dog, a mix of hound and terrier that looks very much like a petite basset de griffon (rare in the US, common in Europe). She was an adult when we got her and already house trained. She's just about the perfect house dog. She rarely barks (mostly when playing with our daughter) and doesn't tear up stuff in the house. Unfortunately, she does follow her nose like hound, so we have to keep her on a leash when she's outdoors. Otherwise, she's very obedient and docile. It's almost as if she's grateful for the opportunity to live with us.
Adoption/rescue is definitely worth looking into.
FWIW, our neighbors down the street had a basset. He was a good dog, but was a bit lazy. It took some coaxing to get him out for his walks. They also had to keep him on a diet as he tended to pork up.
Chris
Crates sound like they are cruel, but dogs actually seem to like them. They feel safe in them. I have had three beagles and all of them spent time in crates. They often would go in them to sleep even with the doors left open. The current beagle spends a lot of time in her crate and the door has not been closed in probably 6 or 7 years.
Dogs are a critter that likes to den, crate simulates the den. Like mentioned above when we are gone more than a few hours we crate our lab. Also when my lab just wants to be left alone she goes into her crate and sleeps.
Rather than training them, they tend to train you, as they are infinitely patient in adjusting your behavior.
number one secret of all dog training. Any breeds can be a handful with out proper training.
Plus with a puppy you almost need to let the pup out at least every hour until they are house broken. That times varies and it really isn't until they are a year old that they can be trusted as fully house broken. I got lucky and my current lab only took 5 days to be house broken with two mishaps afterwards in her first year. I have known of dogs that took 6 months or longer to be house broken.
Just remember a dog is a lot of responsibility and you'll have to plan weekend getaways and vacations around them.
-C
I've got two Bassets as seen here:
http://www.f150online.com/galleries/albumview.cfm?num=10427Two rules:
1. Keep them on a leash or in a fenced in area...they follow their noses and have lousy sense of direction. Meaning, they will wonder and will not find their way back home.
2. They are attention hounds...they want to be where the action is, even if nothing is going on.
Anything else you want to know??
R/
Craig
Where'd you get your pair from? I'm in Maryland too.