Right Dog, Wrong Owner

I have some clients who are mother and daughter who live together. These ladies are well past middle age, and while they seem to be physically in decent health, they are definitely past dealing with a high energy puppy. So they bring in an older lab puppy, buy the puppy care package, and also have her spayed. Now the daughter is a bit of a pain in my ass, with all of her endless microscopic detailed questions, but they are good pet parents.
They stopped in a few days ago, with their new dog, a German Shepherd puppy. They told me they rehomed the lab because they couldn't handle her behavior. I see the same future for this puppy. These are not bad people, in fact I'd give them a personal reference as owners in a heartbeat.
These ladies, like many pet owners, need to give some serious thought to what they want in a dog before they get high on puppy breath and make wrong choices. Pets are a commitment, and with a commitment comes responsibilities. Pets are supposed to be happy, why commit to several years of hell with a bad choice? The kill shelters are full of dogs that were cute puppies once. Then the behavior typical of their breed or breeds came out, and the owner was in too deep and decided to dispose of the problem.
The potential dog owner needs to make lists of what they definitely want, don't want, which things are negotiable and which are not before even researching a breed or visiting a shelter. Surf the net, and contact breed-specific rescues before narrowing down the choices. There's a lot to consider and a ton of information to absorb before bringing Fido home. Since there's so many websites dedicated to choosing a dog, I won't elaborate here.
It's hard not to want to bring home every puppy you see. That's why we need to get our heads involved before making choices.