Ready to Adopt a Dog - Petfinder Addiction, Questions

I had a yorkie for 15 years that I bought from a responsible breeder, but this time around, being older and wiser, I'm determined to get a rescue dog. I'd been waffling for the past year or more on whether I was ready for the expense and responsibility again, not to mention kissing my nice floors and furniture goodbye, but seeing a particular dog on Petfinder turned me around and I realized I'm craving that companionship. We don't have human kids, so that might be part of it.

So, we met this dog, the foster actually brought her to our house, and we spent about a half hour with the foster, and then a half hour alone with her while her foster mom ran some errands. I was so sure she was "The One," but neither of us had any instant chemistry with her, even though she was a really wonderful dog in many ways. I think I was put off by the fact that she had kind of a greasy, wiry coat and a major doggie smell, since I was used to little puffball dogs (this one is a Bichon/Jack Russel mix), so me and my sensitive nose kinda kept her at arm's length. I'd really like to spend some time with her again after she's had a good bath, but expressing doubt pretty much put her very protective foster mom off and she's already got another family that she likes who are interested, so I may have blown any chances we had with her. What an emotional roller coaster! I know there's an endless stream of great dogs out there, so why I get so hung up on this one or that one, I don't know.

Here's my question....Am I supposed to "click" with a dog right off the bat, or is that unrealistic? I'm away on vacation for a week starting in 2 days, but I've already got an application in on another dog that I'd have to drive quite a distance to see if she's even still available, and I'm wondering if we would warm up to and get attached to almost any good dog, even if we weren't bowled over at first contact or it didn't fit all the characteristics we thought we wanted.

I just keep thinking I might have made a mistake with this one that got away, and I don't want to make the same mistake again. Seems like the type of dog I want goes fast, and I'm wondering whether if I find one that seems to fit the bill, whether I should just jump on it, take her home, and 90% chance we'll work out any kinks? Tweet