Are you thinking a shepherd like an australian shepherd, or a german shepherd? Or something else? Most shepherds aren’t good breeds for a first time dog owner, though you can make it work. If you want some more detailed breed suggestions, below is a questionnaire that we use on a dog forum. Some of it is pretty basic and not relevant to you but I’ll paste the whole thing.
Who do you live with or are you single?
How much shedding, barking, farting and drooling can you tolerate?
How much grooming do you want to do, or how often can you pay a professional to groom him?
What’s your activity level?
How much time a day can you give to walking and playing with the dog?
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?
How trainable does your dog need to be?
How important is having your dog off-leash?
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)?
Do you understand that dogs can live up to 15+ years?
Do you have a fenced yard, or is there a large fenced area nearby?
Do you have young (i.e under ~8) children (or planning on having children)?
Are you experienced with owning/training dogs?
Where do you intend to keep your dog?
What’s the weather like where you live?
Did you budget for your new dog?
Where do you intend to get the dog from? (Breeder, shelter, breed specific rescue etc)
What are you looking to get out of your dog? (i.e a running buddy, a lap warmer/companion, guard dog…)
Breeds that you are interested in?
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