Here is a list of a few things that you may want to consider before you get a new dog.
1) Time
Whether you decide to rescue an adult dog or a puppy dogs take a lot of time. It may not seem like much but it adds up. For example you may get a low energy dog that you only need to walk for a half an hour a day. But have you actually figured out how long it takes in a day to meet these needs of a lower energy breed? If it takes you 30 minutes to walk your dog, 10 minutes to feed, 15 minutes to play inside, 10 minutes to train, you are already at over an hour a day and you haven’t even considered the time it takes to take your dog outside to use the bathroom.
2) Money
Dogs can be relatively inexpensive but if your dog gets sick or injured it can get very expensive quickly. Food and toys also add up and if your dog likes to rip up toys it may be better to get more durable toys. For example my old dog didn’t like it when I left and decided to rip a hole in her chain link fence. Well to make a long story short it cost over 500 dollars to get her canine tooth that she broke in the process of escaping pulled.
3) Space/Location
If you live in a tiny apartment you may not want to get a large breed dog unless you have a place where you can take them to stretch their legs. Another thing to consider is that if you have a small space dogs toys and particularly crates can take up a large amount of space. In addition to this some dogs insist on being under your feet so if you have a large dog take into consideration that they may want to be right next to you at all times which can get frustrating when it is more difficult for you to walk around your space.
4) Breed Laws
As much as I believe that breed laws should not exist since it is the owner that determines how the dog behaves, unfortunately these laws do exist in some places. Make sure that the breed you want to get is one you can legally have in your city. This is most commonly an issue with pitbulls and similar breeds, however it can be an issue with other breeds as well.