LAST EDITED ON 04-30-13 AT 01:54 PM (EST)

LAST EDITED ON 04-30-13 AT 01:53 PM (EST)

As someone with 4 kids and a new dog adopted 6 months ago I say go for it.

However please think about rescuing a dog. You save that dog and another who will take it's place. Think less about sex of dog and focus on temperament and maintenance (grooming and food).

We were set on a female dog since our last 2 were but fell in love with our boy because of the way he interacted with all of our kids, especially the 2 year old. He was 8 months old when we got him, the rescue place had neutered him already and vetted him. He was fully housebroken and luckily not much of a chewer. He did get my 6 year old's Ugg boot though but she learned to put her stuff away!

Our last 2 were Border Collie's and fantastic. They required a lot of trips to the groomer. Current dog is a lab/husky mix and just needs an occasional brushing which my girls love to give him. He follows all of them around and loves them. They all take turns putting his water and food down so he knows they all are "above" him in the pecking order.

Downside is that vacations require finding someone to care for him. We have a fenced in yard so yes our lawn is burned. You can train them to go inevents . one spot in the yard. It has raised all of my kids awareness of shelter dogs and we are thinking of fostering dogs soon. You keep the dog and take it to adoption events and are then able to give prospective families info on how the dog behaves with kids and other animals. Try to find a rescue group that does this so you will know more about the dog before bringing him home!

The rescue group we used rescues dogs from down south where there are so many dogs waiting in high kill shelters. They are all highly adoptable, meaning healthy, even temperament dogs who just need a home to love them!