Breed of dog...

Cockatoo.

No. Not really.

After my wife and I lost our Lhasa Apsos, we swore off of dogs for good. Not that we don't care for dogs anymore, just that we were so attached to those two we feel that we'd always be comparing any future dogs to them. Like I've told her "Honey, if you die, I may date strippers, but they'll never fill the hole in my heart that you leave, no matter how hard they try. And try. And try."

Anyway, I'll certainly throw a vote in for Lhasas, although I realize that they're definitely not for everyone.

Another thing we've considered, when the hypothetical talk happens from time to time, is a retired Greyhound. We've had the good fortune to dogsit a few greyhounds over the years, and have found out that all the positive stereotypes are absolutely true. Wonderful, loving dogs, And, as a bonus, pretty much every greyhound you rehome from a racing kennel will be going into a better (well, more relaxing, anyway) life. Hips can be a problem in later years—nothing that fast can put that much strain on its hips forever—but with proper care any issues should not appear out of nowhere.

I've also often wondered if they have a vintage racing organization for retired greyhounds, Where they just sort of get together and race for fun and trophies and swap old racing stories. Actually, that would be an awesome idea for an animated movie. If anyone steals it I will come after you.

jg

"shut up, crime!"

Whatever you do don't believe the movies that basset hounds are lazy, low energy dogs. These are sporting hounds, bred to hunt and as such are suprisingly energetic.

They are awesome companions though. Keep em exercised and they are great. Another benefit of being bred as hunting dogs is that loud noises don't phase them at all. Thunder and fireworks sends every dog in my neighborhood crazy and my hounds don't seem to notice.

Folks, I have walked dogs at my local shelter in the past, one reason why I said I will most likely get this dog from there. And I am trying to get into walking dogs at the shelter in the city I recently moved to. Unfortunately, being approved to walk a dog is more difficult than being approved to become a HUMAN parent. And I agree, very often, the dog picks the owner and not the other way around.

As far as the "no pit bulls", well there are a few reasons for that: in some areas they have such a bad rep that getting a reasonable homeowner's insurance premium is not possible, and while I have run across many pits that seemed to be real sweethearts, the few that were not trained/socialized have ruined it for the breed. Not to mention that it seems like 90% of the dogs in shelters are pits that wound up there due to irresponsible owners.

My past experience is "limited" to a Cocker Spaniel when I was a small child, and when I was older a regular sized Dachshund.

The fact that several folks here are "de-bunking" breed stereotypes is helping.

I'll offer my 2 cents since I have been a breeder and my wife used to run a doggie day care before she became a vet nurse.

I used to raise beagles and bassets. Sporting hounds can be great dogs, but there are some apples that spoil the bunch. I've known some beagles that were biters. Bassets can be great, but medically iffy; back problems, hip and knee problems, and all hunting hounds just LOVE to roll in road kill to mask their scent. Fine if you live on a farm, but not so great squished into a couch.

Pure breed dogs will always have drawbacks, some fewer than others. Pit breeds tend to be robust, have very little health problems, and (if you get the right one) are ridiculously wonderful animals. Any of the pug-faced (brachicephalic) dogs will have breathing and digestive issues but they make wonderful pets.

We have all rescue dogs that happen to be purebred: a Staffie (pit), a French Bulldog, and a Chihuahua. We got incredibly lucky on all three - they are wonderful dogs.

Some tips...
- Definitely get a rescue/pound dog. The world has plenty of dogs and the pounds are overflowing. No use commissioning a puppy mill or pet store to bring new, unhealthy dogs into the market.
- choose a neutered/spayed dog that is nearly adult but still has some puppy in it. Don't get puppies. First of all, you never know what their adult personality is going to be. Secondly, you still have time to fundamentally correct any behavior issues since they're still young. Thirdly, once a dog is fully adult, its VERY difficult to put an accurate age on them. You won't know if you're getting a dog that is 3 or 18. The other BIG factor here is that you want to neuter/spay early in life, not later. This pays off big time in personality and health. A dog that grew up never being sexually competitive is much less possessive, territorial, and less likely to develop cancers and gland/liver issues.
- In general, mutts tend to be healthier/less glitchy than pure breeds.
- When you are at the pound, choose a dog that is highly interested in you but mildly submissive. A dog that you have to be "introduced" to may be a little more dominant than you'd like, i.e. harder to train, more likely to bite or be territorial. A dog that rolls over on its back and evacuates its bladder might not be an enjoyable dog. A dog that is aloof and doesn't really care about you might not ever be a "man's best friend" kinda critter. The best dogs tend to be the ones that aren't barking. Dogs that bark in the pound are either A) dominant and trying to assert their position, B) just yappy dogs in general, or C) dogs who use their voice to get attention. The best dog is the one who lowers its head slightly, wags incessantly, and is excited to see you. Laying down is a fairly submissive move, but its OK. if they roll over on their back, its way too submissive for me. If they jump up on you, that may be a behavior you want to train out, but it sure is a sign that they're not shy and not violent. A good test of submission is to change your levels. If you drop down to their level and they try to stay lower than you, its a generally submissive posture. If you drop down and they jump on top of you, its a fine line between dominance and playfulness. If they just bounce on you, its playfulness. If they try to lick or put their mouth near your neck or face it can be dominance. You can assert your dominance down the road, but some dogs don't really learn it. My Chihuahua has to get a lesson in dominance about once a month. She'll growl at me when I get close to her food, so I put her on her back and wrap my mouth around her neck. She gets the message. Unfortunately for her, she wants to be dominant, so my asserting my dominance tends to strain my relationship with her. For that reason, choosing a slightly submissive dog who already knows you're in charge can make life a lot easier.
- short-hair dogs not only shed less, but are less likely to have skin/allergy issues
- smaller dogs tend to live longer. Great Danes tend to live about 8 years, Chihuahuas more like 16.
- The rest of their behavior in a pound/shelter is pointless. They are so stressed and unhappy in those places that its hard to judge energy level or demeanor. The tips above are universally instinctive to the dog and are better indicators.

We have a never ending menagerie of snakes, cats, other random animals that we (meaning: my wife) can't resist. But pictures of my pups:

Roxicet, (Moxie for short because I refuse to call her Roxy) the Staffordshire:

Ultra Violet Radiation, (violet for short, AKA "gorilla pig") the French bulldog:

And Mollywobbles (molly for short) the long-haired blue Chihuahua

JG Pasterjak wrote: Another thing we've considered, when the hypothetical talk happens from time to time, is a retired Greyhound. We've had the good fortune to dogsit a few greyhounds over the years, and have found out that all the positive stereotypes are absolutely true. Wonderful, loving dogs, And, as a bonus, pretty much every greyhound you rehome from a racing kennel will be going into a better (well, more relaxing, anyway) life. Hips can be a problem in later years—nothing that fast can put that much strain on its hips forever—but with proper care any issues should not appear out of nowhere.

My dad has a couple greyhounds. The would put insane amounts of stress on their bodies. The female he has was retired because she broke her leg launching out of a gate. She didn't twist or catch it or anything like that. They are just so strong that they're able to launch themselves hard enough to break their own legs. Yet they're timid enough to not like to jump into the back of a van.

unless I missed it, I'm surprised nobody has said black lab. Docile, quiet, and excellent watch dogs, if needed.

We've had a lot of dogs between us, and since we've been totgether, and the black lab crosses have always been perfect family pets. We always get our dogs from the pound, and the last two were lab/border collie crosses.

Print and save Curtis73's advice, because he pretty much says everything I would (I've adopted 4 shelter dogs thus far). I do not have a stigma against pit type mixes but I would not/have not selected one so far because frankly they just aren't my kind of dog. I may change my tune some day but right now I'm more of a collie/shep/lab kind of guy so that's what I go with. I don't think it makes you a 'bad' person for not choosing a pit.

I can tell you females will be much more attentive to you and less knuckle-headed than the males. Plus, if you're a strong leader, they will usually worship you (my gal is at my feet as I type this...I'm not permitted out of her sight while I'm at home). I agree herding dogs are job-needy and will drive you insane. I always avoid breeds that enjoy 'recreational barking'. I don't do puppies. I like them around 2 years of age, as most of the nuttiness is gone and they are ready to learn. That's not too late to train by any means. Our last adoption was 10yrs old when we got him and he's still trainable, just a little stubborn (which may be his male personality more than his age). I don't dig on small, yappy dogs or independent ones like terriers as I grew up with those and have done my time, so to speak. Short hair is generally less shedding but not always; Dalmations shed hundreds of thousands of little hairs that stick in everything. My Aussie sheds large clumps of soft hair that clean up easily. There's not simple rule for shedding. Black dogs are more difficult to adopt, but we have two and they are fantastic. My purebred is the dumbest dog of all of them, and I've sworn off anything but mixes in the future. Besides, I enjoy the mystery blends. What we've had so far plus critiques of mixes my brother-in-law has picked up that I'm closely familiar with:

Shepherd/Husky--nuclear shedding, very smart, surprisingly docile. Best dog I've ever had, but OMG the hair...

Black Lab/hound thing--couch potato, extremely laid back, sheds very little, kind of the strong, silent type

Border collie mix--will drive you insane if not given a job every half hour

Rottweiler mix--calm couch potato, looks terrifying, loves everyone, not a bad shedder

Shepherd/husky/rott mix--nuclear shedder, high energy, escape artist, riddled with ADD

Pit mix--non-stop tail wagger, submissive, medium energy, never growls, snaps or scares anyone, ridiculously affectionate

Since you're shopping at the shelter and are leaning towards a mix there really aren't any hard and fast rules to abide by. Follow Curtis' advice, take it for a walk, spend as much time with it as you can before deciding. They all come with their problems and little quirks but very few can't be trained or controlled with a little effort.

We've had a few dogs over the years, first one was a female beagle. Females tend to stick around the house and be more protective. Daisy was good, didn't bark, willing to go skiing or jogging but totally cool laying on the floor whatching.

Had a Dalmation, male, deaf. What an idiot! Most dogs will try to find the scooby snack when you hide, he just romps around in circles like you performed a magic trick.

Rufus was an airdale- golden retriever mix. Cool dog, loved hanging out in the garage, riding in cars, never never barked. His only issue was nervous and antsy during summer storms. He knew they were coming an hour out and jumped out windows, ran away etc. We finally discovered doggie downers that calmed him down.

Our friends have two Shiba Inus, cool dogs. Smart, good with kids, I don't see a lot of shedding. If our next dog isn't a pound puppy, it will probably be one of those.

Dan

the most unexpected breed to be called a couch potato / lap dog is a Great Dane... huge, yes... but they think they're a lap dog and can't understand why you don't like being crushed every evening

grew up with large spaniels and setters... they all shed (though fairly easy to clean up after ) and love / need regular grooming... but since we lived in the country / side of a mountain, they would run all over the mt all day and play in the creeks and generally keep themselves clean and their "feathers" trimmed without much help from us... the poodle mixes (benji type) we had later were a PITA to keep trimmed but were absolutely wonderful pets (pound finds)

ddavidv wrote: Print and save Curtis73's advice, because he pretty much says everything I would (I've adopted 4 shelter dogs thus far).

thanks for the nod

I also agree with you on the male/female part. The one thing that I LOVE about my girls is that you open the door, they go outside, squat, and they're done. Some submissive and neutered males do this as well, but sometimes getting a male to empty his bladder can be a three hour ordeal. They have to mark everything with a few drops at a time.

for the OP: one thing to consider is how much "dog" you want. My limit is about 25 lbs... just preference. When Moxie's owner turned up with a mental disorder and Moxie turned up at the shelter (thank goodness she was chipped cuz pits don't last long in a shelter) we called right away. We knew that Moxie was one of the "good" ones. She's about 40 lbs but she doesn't drool or take half of the water bowl with her dripping off her lips. That E36 M3 bothers me.... but its just personal preference. I don't like big, drooly dogs.

In reply to cwh:

Jane CW's wifie piping in. Throughout my life our family has always had dogs-mutts, labs, bird dogs, cocker spaniels, Irish Setter, daschund, and more. My dad raised bird dogs - mostly black labs. Sadie was easier to train than my kids lab shepherd mix. My son has a Austrailian Shepherd (requires training and lots of task and exercise) my daughter has Midas the Yorkie who thinks he is a lion, not a barker, smart and affectionate. Jazzi my current baby is a long haired daschund and does shed - call him a lowrider he is uber affectionate. I recommend a pound puppy

914Driver wrote:

DAAAAWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!

Actually... isn't that one of those "smile dogs?"

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/4137445/clips_dog_smile/

Shibas look cool but just about any of those kinds of dogs are very aloof and can have temperament issues. My brother ended up with a Kai Ken (similar breed), and while it's adorable, it's also a little terror when unknown dogs are anywhere nearby, and it doesn't take well to people it doesn't know. They're kind of 1-person dogs.

My wife, a veterinarian, would tell you something to expect to fix with just about any purebred dog. Lab? Great dog, but they love to eat things they shouldn't and become $3000 foreign body surgeries. German Shephard? Nice, but have chronic back and arthritis problems. Ridgeback? The ridge is actually a form of Spina Bifida, and many of its puppies have it so severe they have to eventually be put down.

We ended up with a mutt who is a "Border Collie" according to our registration. Yeah, right - only identifiable breed I can see is Pit. She's a couch potato, and couldn't hurt a fly. We have a rabbit indoors as a pet too, and it pushes her around pretty effectively believe it or not.

My advice is socialize whatever dog you get early and often. A dog park is a great asset, and obedience classes are well worth your time as well. A socialized dog just makes life easier for everyone involved.

In reply to integraguy:

Golden Retriever. Best dogs there are, IMO. And if you brush them regularly, shedding isn't a problem. I've had two, one a mix and the other pure, and I'll never have anything else.

cwh wrote: In reply to cwh: Sadie was easier to train than my kids

there.... fixed it for ya

The Doberman we got as a rescue last year is sleeping behind me on the floor. Smart loyal goofy, adored by the grandkids (4 & 5.5). We've had nothing but poundhounds, rescues & giveaway pups & I will continue that tradition.

I agree, curtis73 pretty much nails it.

Aside from my experiences as a kid with dogs, and walking dogs at the shelter when I lived in my previous city, I have (temporarily) rescued dogs found on the side of the road. I found a Yorkie one morning while taking a walk that wasn't too bad (just not overly fond of tiny dogs). I found a "reference" online that said Yorkie's like the outdoors, so we took several walks over the course of a few days. The only problem I had with him was that he didn't like a collar/leash, and when I wanted to go back inside he would stop 15 feet from the door and not go any further....until I waited him out. I eventually found his real owners who were very grateful to have him back. Another time I found 2 very young pups on the side of the road with mange so severe you could have counted the whiskers left on each of their bodies with 1 or 2 hands...with fingers left over. They seemed to be terrier mixes (one looked like a pit, while the other looked like a rat terrier) and were as different as night and day. The pit looking one was aggressive to the point that he would not allow anything near him/her when eatting and to make matters worse he would go after the food of the rattie if I let him. Because of the severe mange and my working 9-10 hour days, I was not able to care for them or get them into a rescue. Putting them down was the hardest decision I've made concerning a pet to date. The best rescue so far has been a black dog that appeared to be a Lab/ Collie or Lab/ pitt mix. He was a decent watch dog, barking once or twice as ANYONE approached, then sort of backing down, and when I started to feed him when it looked like he was a stray, he would get excited but never jump on me....just sort of dancing around in my path, all excited. And while I don't hold it against any dog, yes, being male, we had to stop at EVERY upright object so he could leave his scent. I'll never understand how he managed to drink enough to make it through a walk with so many stops. I truely regret not making the commitment at the time and adopting him, but it would have meant moving into a different apartment complex or small house.

integraguy wrote: I've been thinking about getting a dog for quite some time, and am getting to the point that I would like a little more input from folks with different breed experiences.

Mutt. Single breed dogs tend to have health issues due to line breeding. You could look at some of the Japanese breeds (Kai Ken, Shiba Inu, basically the closest thing you could get to a Miata dog) or one of the less popular breeds, to avoid the over breeding problems.

I have a Pit/Husky mix. She is very gentle with my children, protects the house, only barks if someone new is at the house or is creepy and has saved my family twice(tell the story if anyone is really interested but I don't want to thread jack). Got her from a rescue.

Oh yeah and she is good with cats.

This is Roxy, our Pit/Husky mix

Oh yeah, if you want the skinny on where to get a Kai or Shiba, PM me. Me and my ex had one (she got the dog and I got Cagiva) There are very few good breeders in the States and a BUNCH of unreliable ones. They polluted the breed a have developed aggressive bad temper animals.

Remember these dogs were born as hunters (all Japanese dogs were.) So they can be aggressive toward their natural prey.

Shiba's, as mentioned, are incredibly intelligent. I hope you have a sense of humor because they will play tricks on you.

Shibas sound like Airedales I love mine, but definitely not for the OP by his parameters.

I would say for him, a dachshund, whippet, Italian greyhound, or greyhound sound about perfect. I wouldn't choose any of the terriers for him.

Labs are great dogs, AFTER the first two years of chewing everything in site, and the running fits that knock everything off all the tables. Plus they shed prodigiously.

I agree on the pound/rescue puppies, with one caveat. We got a Brittany from the pound, and other than being skittish around new people, he was a model dog. Until he was exposed to someone on a bicycle. He went BALLISTIC! Some of them can have hidden triggers, because you don't know their history.

JThw8 wrote: Shar Peis actually fit your bill rather well but dont show up in shelters much

My rescued Shar Pei/Boxer mix @ about 4 months or so:

She would love nothing more than to be allowed to be a couch potato. A bit over a year old, and now she's 55 pounds of wannabe lapdog.

Greyhounds are just as has been posted. Lazy, but fast couch potatoes. We're on our third. Have enough energy for a burst of play for about 5 minutes. Then must recharge for 24 hours! They are gentle pleasant animals. And since you get them from rescue they are generally well behaved. Not all are cat friendly however. They must not be let off-leash unless in a fenced in yard.

Story of Ellie hound.

Her sister Katie:

vwcorvette wrote: Have enough energy for a burst of play for about 5 minutes. Then must recharge for 24 hours!

That's the perfect description of every greyhound that I've ever met, all were retired racing dogs.

I'd rather have a bit more yard than I have before getting one myself though. I'd like to give them some space for that five minutes.

I agree with the "Heinz 57" approach, but will add that I have a German Short-hair Pointer (how pure I do not know, and she refuses to tell family secrets...) that is just incredible !

She came from the pound as that's just how I roll...

My friend Norma just goes into the pound and asks "Who's on death row ?"

Good Luck !