A lot of shelter dogs are someone else's screw ups. Like not training them to potty outside, etc. Makes training them harder. Ask me how I know. My avatar dog came from a shelter. Get the breed you want and get a puppy and you both will be much happier. After having pure bred dogs, I can sure tell a difference. Spaying and neutering would keep the shelters unneeded. I spay/neuter all my pets as soon as they are old enough.