My first five years were on a farm in western new jersey that had pigs, cows, horses, pheasants, dogs,... and barn cats. My first experience caring for animals was play- feeding the large farm animals buckets of pure molasses and feeding the barn cats tuna fish over flower petals. My dog experience is with high energy, medium-sized work or hunting breeds that require alot of physical and mental stimulation, "or else".... there's a price to pay. I grew up with a male Springer Spaniel named Ichabod who had an aggression issue with food and kids who teased him. After Ichabod, a layed-back Gordon Setter named Zero who liked to "bolt" out the door spending hours wandering the woods ignoring commands to return home. Shaking a bag of dog treats usually got her back. Two female Curly Coated Retrievers who were dolls. They liked to jump into the water but were not good swimmers, sinking to the bottom like lead and often had to be rescued. Most recently two female Portuguese Water Dogs. Their favorite trick was to tag team food swipe off the counter. If their day was without enough excercise they ran laps around the dining room table at 10pm. Sieria was terrified of thunder storms and lawn mowers. She needed hand holding until it was over. With regards to health and medical, the Gordon Setter liked to eat sponges and as a result had them removed surgically, requiring special diet and observation afterward. She also developed hip displaisia in her last years and I have experience accomodating a senior dog with limited capacity and in chronic pain. Portuguese Water dogs are prone to ear infections. I have long term experience applying anti fungal medication to the inner ears. I have experience supervising food competition among a group of dogs in one home where the dominant dog eats everyone else's share. I now have a rescue Red Lory named Lola who is 30 years old.