How can I be sure my puppy will grow into a friendly adult?

An estimated 90% of adult dog aggression is associated with early socialization. Much like sheltered children who develop into adults with poor social skills, puppies need to experience the world. If you diligently take your puppy to the dog park, to the petstore, to the vet just to say hi, to family picnics and church barbeques then chances are he'll develop into a well adjusted, social puppy.

But there's one easy way around all the puppy issues like early socialization and potty training and that is an emotionally healthy rescue dog. You may have heard awful stories about rescue dogs, but in truth, many rescue dogs are fabulous, happy, well adjusted dogs whose owners' died, moved overseas, divorced, or had a child who developed an allergy. When you go through a rescue you have the opportunity to see a dog for who he is instead of what he MIGHT be. You can see immediately how he is around children, immediately how well he responds to voice commands (although, that typically improves as the dog learns to recognize you as his "master"), and how he reacts to other dogs.

Here is an article on some of the reasons why breed rescue is a great way to find a family pet, this article is about Airedale rescue but it really applies to all responsible rescue groups: http://www.airedalebreeder.com/rescue.html