[Blarg]

It's very important to read up about the different dog temperaments before you get one. Some vet offices are excellent for this too. They will tell you what types of dogs tend to act out in certain ways more or less, etc. It's easy to pick a dog solely based on looks or the personality of one when you saw it in a park one day; however, you didn't see that dog at home all day!

Two people not to ask are shelter workers and breeders. The first are not really trained and often not well read or experienced. They also may want to just foist any dog on you, or a troubled one, to get it out of there. It may not be conscious, but it really does nothing for you. Breeders, on the other hand, may know a lot about their breed, but tend to downplay it because of two things. First, they probably love the breed and that's why they chose it above all others. Love is blind. And defensive! Second, because they are trying to sell product. So do some independent reading and ask a vet. That will also tell you what genetic problems particular breeds are likely to have, which can help you when picking your new pet from a litter. Bear in mind that some of these are fairly costly chronic conditions.

On being alone, you can be away all day, but a dog is a lot like a kid. If you come home and your kid is hungry, he doesn't give a damn if you've had a bad day at work and want to take a nap for an hour -- he wants his dinner! He's probably dying for some attention too. Maybe he needs a walk and to go poop! All this falls on your shoulders, and there are no days off. If you want to have a dog but have days off from having a dog, it's just not going to work.

Note that that also means that going on trips can be more costly and burdensome. You have to ask friends to take care of the dog -- which many may do quite poorly -- or board them at a kennel, perhaps adding a couple hundred dollars to the effective cost of your trip. Do you want to do that? It's a pretty real problem.

Regarding a crate, crate training your dog is fine, but leaving him in there for 8 or 9 or 10 hours a day is excessive. Let him stretch his legs a bit and walk around your place. There's no harm in it. Crates for anything but small dogs take up quite a bit of room too.

Another thing -- one dog can keep another company.

Also, agreed with another poster that puppies need, and should get, a ton of attention. It's very important to their socialization.