good advice atomicca, I brush my dogs teeth myself, they seem very clean and I think the fact I give them dry food and denta bones help

to keep thier teeth clean

My current Sheppard/chow/black lab mix is about 55 lbs, and I have spent over $1300 on the dog in the last 8 yrs I have had him. (he was 2 when I rescued him from an abusive home) He has been to all the bases I have been to, and even went to Japan with me, He grew up with my daughters and I know they will be devistated when he passes, but most of my costs were fkying him overseas and back with us (close to $500) He is one of the family, I figure him as another child, he eats just about as much as they do, doc visits are about the same, and the only thing I don;t have to spend is on school clothes and tennis shoes for him for the next school year. Adopting the puppy from the shelter is a good thing, have fun with the pet, once you get used to them, you will wonder why you never had one before. Be patient, if they are not potty trained, be easy the sheppard is ussually pretty fast to learn.