This is my first post here, I have been reading a lot, and mostly just trying to stay out of any "discussions" (disagreements?)that I have been reading. I have to be honest when I say that I am a bit shocked at some of the posts in this thread...
Anyway, My name is Cameron. I have been training for a few years, and I work mostly with SAR (Search and Rescue)dogs. I have done a bit of protection work, but right now my main focus is SAR. I have a Boxer that I am working with currently, and I hope to be adding a second Boxer later this year.
I had something that I have wanted to say in reading this thread from the first post on.
I think that the original poster deserves a lot of kudos for recognizing a situation for what it was, and doing the right thing for everyone in the situation. It takes a strong person to step back and re-examine themselves, and it takes an even stronger one to take responsibility and make the change needed based on that responsibility. In my opinion, this is the best kind of pet owner.
I believe that any dog from dachshund to Wolfhound can be aggressive, dominant, submissive, and anything in between. There is a way to find a good fit for the family, no matter what the breed of choice is. Some breeds may take a little longer to find a good match, but ultimately if you are willing to put in the time and patience,and have a knowledgeable trainer/breeding to help guide, you will find the right dog AND temperment. The idea of just not being a dog owner based solely on a problem is like a trainer saying "well, I can't figure out how to get through to this dog, so I'm giving up" Just because someone has a problem with a fear does not mean they shouldn't be a dog owner. It means (to me) that they just need to seek out more education and training (which, from what I read, is exactly what has been done). Humans are more likely to be afraid of things they don't know and understand. Learning and finding that understanding is many times the first step in overcoming a problem. I'm glad that you have continued to post, Debbie, and I wish you the best. I think you have taken some great steps that will open up some new doors for you.

Sorry, I forgot to add one more thing... like mentioned earlier, sometimes an adult dog is the way to go. There are many breeds used for therapy and service work, but most of the time they are raised and trained by others until they are ready to be paired up with their human partners. I know a few people that have used a service dog for anxiety reasons, and one of those people started out with a dog trained by a breeder, and when the first dog was ready to retire, they had reached a place where they had gained the confidence and skill to train their next service dog. I know you are not looking for a service dog, but there are many breeders that sell adolescent and adult dogs they have already trained. Something to keep in mind, give you more options maybe.

Welcome Cameron!!!!

First...you might want to copy and paste this into the "Members Bio" section so more people will see it.

Second....most threads and discussions are not like this one. We are all pretty willing to discuss anything but sometimes we get pretty passionate about dogs.

Third....Did I say WELCOME yet??? Always great to have new members.

 Quote: Cameron Feathers

... sometimes an adult dog is the way to go. .... I know you are not looking for a service dog, but there are many breeders that sell adolescent and adult dogs they have already trained. Something to keep in mind, give you more options maybe.

What an excellent suggestion!

Thank you Cameron.

I truly appreciate what you had to say.

In the past, we have had a GSD.
Her name was Dinah. We lost her about 16 years ago.
She came from Germany, and was the best dog, in our opinions of course!
Her hip dysplasia (she couldnt walk any longer) and blindness, led her to doggie heaven at the age of 10 years.

We have also had a Golden Retriever.
Her name was Kody.
We rescued her approx. a year after Dinah passed away.
She had been abused and left for dead, when an older
woman found her, and listed her in our local classifieds.
Again, a fantastic dog.
Some may say dogs are not able to 'appreciate' love and caring, but this dog did.

So in a nutshell, we have not had a dog in about 12 years or so.

It took us 6 years to conceive our daughter, who is now 6 years old. We wanted to wait until she was in school, before bringing a dog into our family.

Last year when Karla had a litter, we werent ready.

This year, we were ready.
We built on / prepared our home, for about 2 months prior to Evander's homecoming.

Again... thanks, and Im not planning on leaving
the board, there's just so much 'dog knowledge' here!
I just needed a few days to regroup myself.

Debbie, you mentiond your previous GSD was from Germany. If you ever want some help getting a dog from Europe let me know.

Another option ofcourse is rescuing an adult dog.

This is ofcourse assuming you don't want to deal with puppies. I know lots of people that just don't wanna do the "puppy thing" again. Also buying an adult obviously gives you more indication of what the dogs long term temperament will be like.

To answer your other question, I have 1.6 acres here at the end of a rural neighborhood on a hill. Only have neighbors on 2 sides of me, and there are fields of cows and sheep seperating me from them. I also have 26 acres in Florida but my dogs haven't experienced that yet. Land in Europe is expensive (as you mentioned about SB), so in general people who have alot of dogs do so on alot less property than you might think.

I wanted to clarify something that I said earlier... I am by no means against shelters and rescues, but there are some times when I think it is not the best idea to get a pet from the local SPCA. Many times, animals are brought to the shelter for exactly the same reason you had to take a step back from your last pup. It is also important to know that in a shelter environment, an extremely dominant pup (or adult) can look very meek and mild if the environment is intimidating enough. (environment meaning the shelter, not necessarily the people) Once you get the new dog home, and it is out of the shelter environment, it can be a big wake up call to see a completely different dog than you thought you were bringing home.
It can be difficult for a knowledgeable breeder to pair the correct pup and owner, and mistakes are sometimes made. But the breeder (that is, the RESPONSIBLE breeder) should more or less know what they are looking at temperment wise with each pup, and should be able to make decisions of who to place and where, based on that knowledge. Imagine how hard it is for a shelter who many times know absolutely nothing about the animal or the past experiences. In the best of circumstances, the shelter workers are experienced and knowledgeable about dog behavior and temperment. In my past experiences, this was sadly far from the truth.
Again, I am not at all saying that I am against shelters, I am just trying to say that although I believe rescuing an animal from a shelter is a noble thing to do, there are times when it is not in the best interest of the family (or individual) to do so. I cannot tell you that I would be able to go into a shelter and say with absolute certainty "that one will bite someone, this one will make a great therapy dog..." and so on; but I can say that I would at least have a pretty good idea about what I would be getting myself into based on the dogs' temperment and behavior.
(I feel like I may be opening up a can of worms here, and that is definately not my intention.)
I have personally worked with a lot of sad situations where the dog (and the family) would have been better off if the dog had been placed in a different home, and the family had found a decent breeder or trainer to work with choosing their new pet.
Given your situation, it would probably be best to stick with trustworthy professionals (ie, breeder, trainer) than to look into a rescue situation (breed rescue or otherwise) The adult dogs that I was referring to are the adults that breeders sometimes hold back for their own use breeding or working wise, then decide that they are not suited for the task and re- home them in suitable families.
One example would be to contact Seeing Eyes For The Blind. Only 20-30% of their dogs make it through to become seeing eye dogs, and most are failed between 9 months to 2 years. During that time, they are highly obedience trained, and raised in family situations. The foster parents are given first chance to bring them home, then they are adopted out to suitable family situations.
Wherever you end up looking, it will take patience, and may take a few times of looking at a wonderful dog that you would love to take home, but ultimately don't because it is not a suitable match.
It sounds like you are really taking some great steps in learning, and I encourage you to keep up the good work. I'm glad you are still here ;-)

I don't know....I agree that when you adopt from a shelter, there's more of an unknown element, but adopting from a rescue - you can watch the dog in a home environment, see how it interacts with the family - look for a dog that has been a foster home w/children, in this situation, and how it has behaved around the children, and you can get a better idea of the temperament, especially if you visit a few times.

When I first got a dog, I wanted to make sure the dog was good w/small animals....Luc was in a foster home w/9 free range gerbils (no, you didn't read that wrong). He left them alone, and his behaviour in the foster home translated well into my home w/the cats, rabbits and guinea pigs. When I adopted Teagan, I adopted her from a shelter - she had not been temperament tested around small animals, and I'm not sure how much I'd rely on a shelter test of that anyways as it is a strange situation....let's just say I now have a rolling lockdown of small animals or Teagan to ensure the safety of the non-dogs in the household

I'd add to this that taking along an experienced handler-trainer when you check out a shelter or rescue dog and NOT taking along any children can make the adoption process far less fraught with uncertainty.

I think it is awesome you are in an area with what sounds like a well run shelter. When foster situations are set up like you described, it's a great way to find out what you are getting yourself into.
I guess I've had bad luck with shelters. Most that I have been around were very poorly run, and many times the foster homes were worse. I've seen "behavioralists" have a child tease a dog or snatch food or toys away from a dog, and when the dog reacted to the child say the dog was unsafe around children. It's good to know that there are still some out there that are operated a bit better.
I still suggest looking into one of the seeing eye dog schools - its a great way to get a solid dog (both health and temperment wise) with great obedience training.