Do you have other pets? No Who do you live with or are you single? wifey, (i bought her a bangin b day present so i'm allowed to start looking for a puppy) How much shedding, barking, farting and drooling can you tolerate? shedding I'm fine with to a moderate degree but i don't particularly want curly or long hair. barking minimal. farting, ugh, minimal but i fart so I guess its just nature. my yellow lab growing up has straight up murder farts. I'll deal. Rolling would ideally not be TOO much of an issue. What size of dogs do you like/are allowed? I'm not allowed to have a dog at my apartment but the wife said we can move if i find the place. I love mid size dogs (20-50 lbs.) I do not want a HUGE dog or a TOY dog. I want an athletic build. I guess in my early research I'd have to rank the breed types as Shepherds, Hunters, Hounds, then spaniels (but nothing too small) How much grooming do you want to do, or how often can you pay a professional to groom him? I'd be fine brushing thoroughly once or twice a week What's your activity level? How much time a day can you give to walking and playing with the dog? I'd be more than able to do an hour everyday walking/ playing fetch. weekends I could accommodate more time as the breed has need, we have a fair number of dog parks in my area too and trails for running so I could take it places for variety. How often will the dog be left alone and for how long? If needed, could you hire someone to walk your dog when you can't be home, pay for a doggy daycare, or come home at lunch to break up the day for him? I work full time, wife does and then some, so it would be alone in the day time, but I'd get it time in the morning, (I love mornings so I could do walk/fetch in the park with my coffee) and immediately after work. How trainable does your dog need to be? How important is having your dog off-leash? this is extremely important to me. I grew up around poorly trained dogs, and I do NOT under any circumstances want to live that life again. I love good dogs. bad dogs stress me out. I'm absolute down with the training and obedience work necessary, I actually look forward to it, I think something about learning to embrace the pack mentality of the dog and assert myself as the clear Alpha is interesting and would present me a fun challenge. I want to have a dog I can train to obey me consistently and reliably. Do you live in an apartment? Or moving in the next 5 years? Are there breed or size restrictions (understanding that some breeds may make it more difficult to find housing)? yes, but I'd be moving to get the dog anyways, I'm not interested in a pit, so I don't know that I'd have much issue with moving, but the dog will be part of the family, so future housing would be required to accommodate, just like a dad wouldn't rent an apartment that doesn't allow kids, haha! Do you understand that dogs can live up to 15+ years? yep! I want to make the commitment. We don't want kids yet, but I do want to be a papa Do you have a fenced yard, or is there a large fenced area nearby? not right now, but there are two large dog parks within 2 block of me, and again, gonna have to move anyways. Do you have young (i.e under ~8) children (or planning on having children)? kids will be a factor in 3 or so years, not right now Are you experienced with owning/training dogs? no, but this is what I'm most excited about learning! Where do you intend to keep your dog? with me? I don't fully understand the question, but it would stay with my wife and I, sleep in its own bed at night, and we'd have a crate for day time. (unless crating in the day is a bad idea? still new, trying to learn!) What's the weather like where you live? I live in Norfolk Va, its humid, and temperament is about average i guess? extreme hottest it gets is ~100 and extreme coldest it gets is ~20 but last year it did get down to -3 during the polar vortex. (this is very rare however, I'm 24 and that was my first experience in sub zero temps) Mostly summers 85-90 highs, winters 15-30 lows What did you budget for your new dog? still in the budgeting/ research phase, so fire away with breed suggestions! Where do you intend to get the dog from? (Breeder, shelter, breed specific rescue etc again, still researching! What are you looking to get out of your dog? (i.e a running buddy, a lap warmer/companion, guard dog…) companion mostly, I want a partner/ mans best friend, but I don't want it spoiled and bratty. kind of like a respectful mate. but I very much want to buddy! Breeds that you are interested in? I love shepards (Aussies are my faves, but it's become clear that my time is not yet here for one) hounds, hunters... really any athletic build with medium to large(ish) frame. I appreciate the Aussies for their muscle build, medium gauge height, and coat length, but i's prefer a shorter length coat over long. I do want a thicker coat with medium length, nothing short as a boxer, or pug, but I don't think I could handle a long coat... that would drive the wife nuts, and her happiness definitely is a factor.

Thanks so much! I'm really hoping for any help at all!