Well, having lost a beloved companion at age eight, you can see where starting from puppyhood doesn't guarantee you'll have them the number of years their typical lifespan might be. Most doggies are past the chewy, rambunctous puppyhoods by two years old, and still may have many more years to go, especially if they are long-lived breeds.

I am sorry to hear of your loss.........one of the most wonderful dogs I ever knew was my DD's shepard mix. I don't think any of us will ever really stop missing her.

I recently lost my beloved 7 yo Labrador, so I share your pain. I wear some of her ashes in a locket around my neck.

Every dog is so different, so generalizations on breeds or sex aren't really a guarantee, when it comes to getting a new dog.

18 months to 24 months is generally a good age for dogs to be past teething related chewing. (There is bored related chewing - totally different thing and not necessarily age related)

IN general, now realize this is general and not going to be true for all dogs, and of course its strictly my opinion, but over the years I've owned many dogs. IME, male dogs tend to want more attention, female dogs will love your attention too, but they can be content without as much attention.

Shepard mixes are good dogs. I had a couple over the years. Smart, reliable, easy to train. One of my longest lived dogs was a hound/shepard mix. Too smart for his own good and an escape artist, but we had a long happy life together. He was 15 when he died.

I love my labs too, though. I have a put a deposit down on a lab pup. This will be one of the first times that I have actually gotten a dog from a breeder. Most of my dogs have been either strays, rescues, or someone else's unwanted problem that I have taken over. Some of my best dogs have been other people's problems.

I am feeling a tinge of guilt for not doing another rescue. But I've found a reputable breeder and the parents have all the health certificates. So hopefully we will get a healthy dog who live a long time.

My current dog (almost 13) was adopted at 1 year old and I will never go the puppy route again! She was over the chewing and "to-much-puppy-energy" problems by the time I showed up in her life. She's one of those laid back calm disposition dogs that many people admire and most of them are shocked when I say I didn't get her as a puppy. The secret was that I adopted her from a rescue place with all teenage girl workers - they had too many pets to deal with to waste their time with bad behavior and they had the patience to work on problems. I'm not saying they were bossy but they had all the dogs perfectly trained. My dog is perfect because of their hard work.

You might want to ask some local rescue organizations - many have dogs in foster care and the foster parents can honestly tell you the temperments of the dogs. (Well, the good rescues anyway.)

The rescue I adopted from steered me away from the ones who were too high energy and needed working homes or massive amounts of exercise.

IME many dogs don't mature until 2 or 3, but after 1 they seem to have a better attention span.

Good luck - and thanks for considering adoption!

We have gotten 5 of 6 dogs from rescues. 3 were over 5 yrs old. We lost one after less than 2 yrs, and another after We were esp. torn up when we lost the one after 2 yrs, he was a great dog and we still miss & talk about him.

When we got ready to adopt another dog the rescue group tried to steer us to an older dog but we just couldn't take the emotional and financial (spent boatloads on heart defect dog only to find him dead on the floor when I woke one day)issues again so soon and insisted on a dog that was 1-3 yrs old.

We also used Petfinder, they have great search engines based on breed, sex, locality, etc. Our rescue group posts their dogs there too.
A nice part of dogs over 1-2 yrs is they are usually potty trained and chewing phase is over, and they're often really happy dogs when they settle into a stable home.

Good luck and thanks for considering a rescue dog. There are plenty to choose from and I'm sure you'll find the right one for your family.

There are plenty of young adult dogs in rescues everywhere, especially black lab mixes and shepherd mixes. Black dogs (and cats) don't photograph well, it's difficult to see those dark eyes against dark fur, and often people feel that they look "mean" regardless of their actual temperament. Black lab mixes are the most euthanized dogs in America today, with pits running an extremely close second. There are breed associated rescues for both, and for any other breed you can think of as well. I know my local Rottie rescue takes in mixes when they can. And because all dogs are in foster situations, they can match their temperament to what you're looking for.

You've got to update us on your search and your new family member! (With pics!)

My lab/rottie mix was put down last summer due to cancer. I wasn't sure about getting another dog so I fostered a 2 yo black lab mix late this spring. I adopted her a month later...she's wonderfully laid back, does well with people, other dogs, and especially important with my cats.
I second the opinion to check out dogs that have been fostered, or fostering one yourself.
Adopting her from a rescue society was a little more expensive then getting one from the SPCA, but then again I was able to spend time with her before adopting. 100% worth it in my opinion!