I am not a professional at this by any means but I am thirty years old and have never been without a dog. I grew up with four dogs in my home, taking them for walking, giving baths, feeding them. My moms dog had 9 puppies and I stayed home and took care of all of them and their needs until they were 8 weeks old. I absolutely loved that experience! I am a preschool teacher but I feel deeper in love with dogs after raising a litter a puppies for those three months!!! Dogs are incredible. :)