DOGS.... Would LOVE opinions!

I am (well, "we" as a family) are so overwhelmed right now. We have spent the weekend looking at local and private shelters looking for a pair of dogs to rescue. We lost our Golden this past spring to heatstroke and are ready to adopt. NOT going to buy a purebred... We want a pair so they will have a playmate.

Out of the 3 shelters we visited I really only felt comfortable with one. The other 2---- one was a no kill shelter and the dogs were 3-4 a kennel and most had been there 3-5 yrs... These dogs were really unsociable and I wasn't sure how they would adapt to a home environment. Their shelter was horrible and I felt bad for these poor dogs. The people running it didn't seem that anxious to adopt out their dogs.

The other private shelter was OK, but I didn't really care for the lady who ran it. She asked us what dogs we liked at the other shelters and she proceeded to talk smack about the dogs we liked and some of the people who ran the shelters.... (i.e. "they'll lie to you"). When she asked us if we had our Golden on heartworm prevention I was honest and told her no- we started on it, but just kind of tapered off with it not really thinking about it, the vets never asked us about it.... that I realized that was a mistake and we def. planned on having our new dogs on heartworm prevention. She then proceeds to sternly lecture us on the importance of heartworm prevention and says we basicly gave our golden her death sentence! That she probably DID have heartworms and THAT is what killed her. And we needed to find another place to adopt a dog if we didn't plan on putting HER dogs on HW prevention. Very upsetting!!!! Esp. when I JUST told her I realized we made a mistake and would most def. put our new dogs on HW prevention. I do not want to do "business" with her.

But the one shelter I did like we found a few options. Well, the problem is... we as a family can't seem to agree on what dogs to get. The boys want large, high energy dogs, but my hubby and I know that our boys will not always have the time or motivation to give these dogs the CONSISTANT interaction they need. Plus, we feel our house is big enough for 1 larger dog or 2 smaller dogs and we really want to get a pair.

There was a purebred Jack Russell that hubby and I just adored. He loved to play but could also sit with us and just eat up the attention of being petted. We had him out in the yard playing with other dogs and he did GREAT! He seemed to love having a playmate. The lady at the private shelter that I did not like told us that JR's do NOT do well with other dogs and if we wanted to get a JR then that is the only dog we should get. When we told her we saw this JR playing with other dogs she just shook her head and I could tell she didn't believe us. She also told us that JR's were barkers so we needed to be prepared for that. We told we didn't hear this JR bark at all and again she didn't believe us. So now we are thinking.... "Is she right?" Are ALL JR's better in single dog homes? And they are ALL incessant barkers?Or is what we see at the shelter the type of personality we will get?

And I found a standard sized poodle that I really liked, but I am alone on this. My hubby liked the personality but "hates" the look of a poodle. The boys.... well, they don't like any dog that isn't big and super active. I know the poodle will have grooming costs, but I am OK with that. I just adored this dog and his playful, but calm personality. And he was so soft I just could not stop petting him. Which is the type of dog I want. One that will play, but also one that will sit on my lap and just let me pet it. I don't know a lot about poodles, but I sure liked this one's personality.

The other dog---- we all 4 seemed to agree on, but is last on all of our lists. He was still a puppy (4 mos) and was incredibly playful. Which I loved, but he is bigger than what I am wanting. Not crazy about the puppy stage either... But then again we could train him.... Maybe some of these older dogs are past the point of being trained?

How do we choose? Hubby and I are thinking that the boys are going to be up and out of the house in 4-6 yrs (hopefully, lol) so WE are the ones who need to be happy with the dog. I think ultimately they will just be happy to have a dog. But I feel somewhat "bad" getting dogs they don't seem to "like" at the moment. I kinda hate that they feel like they don't have a say in this.... But I am trying to rationalize it with the fact that they are not able to view the "bigger picture" like their dad and I can.

Any advice for getting a dog from a shelter or how to choose? Or on poodles or jack russells????