The following article has some great tips on making sure your dog is a well adjusted member of your family.

But when it comes to breed selection, I beg to differ on Sandy Bonifield's recommendations. We got our dog from the SPCA and he was an unwanted chow; nobody wanted to adopt him because they were fearful of his breed. But we knew from the SPCA's recommendation and from his pleasant demeanor that he would make an excellent pet, which he did. So, go ahead, get a dog from a shelter and find out what evaluations the shelter did... many dogs are abandoned for many reasons, and many times, these reasons reflect badly on the owner, not the dog...
Training dogs makes all the difference

Everyone knows of a dog who performs incredible tricks... like "Max and the marble"

"My dog, Max, sticks a marble in this mouth and carries it to the top of the stairs. Then he lies down and lets the marble roll out so it bounces down the stairs so he can chase after it. Then he does it all over again.

My mom used to worry he would eat it, but he never has." - Patrick, 9

or even my little sheltie, Scooter, who trained himself to throw a ball, catch it and find it when it was lost. (a childhood dog). What about harnessing that creative play for work...
Dog helps harvest fruit of the vine: grapes
Dogs can learn just about anything and the grape pickin' dog from New Zealand is helping her owner harvest only ripe grapes. (the dog's gettin' fat, however)...