When you are in the market for bringing a new dog into your home, you’ll want to have a checklist of items before you go out on your quest. First off, find out what general size of dog you want. Pretty much everything you can imagine exists out there. From a miniature Chihuahua that might weigh a pound at birth to slightly a larger Boston Terrier. If you desire smaller dogs know your options.

If you’d prefer to go to the opposite extremes, understand there are animals that can weigh as much as 200 pounds and standing on its hind legs can be as tall as a 6 foot man!

Most likely, you’ll want something middle of the road. A dog with energy and spunk but has the tendencies of loyalty and protective instincts. One such breed, the Australian Shepherd fills all of these requirements.

With a life expectancy of 15 years and longer, you’ll definitely have plenty of time with an Aussie to truly learn about the animal. And your dog will get to learn all about you as well. These are very protective dogs that were originally bred to protect herds of larger animals. It seems their life as a domesticated pet is time off for good behavior back in their earlier days of a developing breed.

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