They’re outdoor dogs although Max sleeps in the laundry of a night as he is still so little. The kids are great with them, I think I got both dogs at good ages which was a bonus. As for advice, I really do think getting Mahli and Max as pups was a big plus as it meant fresh starts for the kids and the dogs and they got to bond etc whereas I can imagine it may have been harder with an older dog. I guess it just depends on the pet!