First of all I love dogs. But it depends on the type of dog you plan to get.I had a britney,golden and rottie. They all shed but the golden was the worse. Some dogs shed every minute of the day.My neighbor has a dog and when he shakes and you can see the hair fly off.I found that bare floors are much easier to clean with the hair,urine,stool,dog drool. One more thing the dogs nails are hard on bare floors also.Think small. :thumbup: