Quote Originally Posted by Crazy-Cat-Lover
The only time I have seen a dog knock a child down is if they aren't trained or exercised enough.

Sorry but I had to chuckle at this comment Have you ever seen my boy Bon (Mastiff)? He's around 140 (give or take) and my little 2 yr old niece is maybe all of 20 lbs. He just licks her and knocks her down
At my bday party she had hold of his collar and he just turned to look at someone else and *boom* down to the floor she went!http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...2/f0a79a7b.jpg
Not trying to be offensive to you at all...just gave me a chuckle

Now as to you getting a shelter dog, I think that's awesome if you can find the right one for your family. But I also understand you getting from a breeder, that's where we got Bon. We didn't want to wait to find the "right one" at a shelter...we wanted a dog NOW. We had just lost our big guy Angus and needed to fill that void. I drove over 3 hours each way to pick him up (sorry...just a little plug on my special guy...Bon)

So, I say do what you want. It's your life, your family, your money. As long as you take good care of it I feel it's your decision.
If you find the right shelter dog I say *YAHOO!* but if you get a dog, no matter what kind I'm still going to be just as happy for you
Ohhh and as for the eating and shedding...our big guy eats around 4 cups of food/day and others he'll only eat 2 (we free feed) so it's not that much more food But the shedding...he's short haired and my girls both have long hair, he sheds just as much as they do