Best Dog?

Can I suggest that you go to the nearest pound or shelter & take a look at the dogs that are available. They NEED to be adopted, & in exchange for some love & care they will reward you with a lifetime of loyalty & affection. ALL of my best dogs have come from the pound or the animal shelters.You can have your pick of breeds & sizes. I think that many people are reluctant to adopt dogs & cats because they see them as rejects. Animals that were Failures. The Real Truth is that their Owners were the FAILURES. They couldn't raise these animals, & they left them for someone else to take care of, one way or another! Please consider adoption Before you think about Paying for a certain breed,just because you like the way it looks Or you think that it MIGHT do what you want it to do. Every dog is an individual,& it is up to you to TRAIN it. JMHO.

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Freedom isn't Free

Now that's an understatement. I have a german Shepherd girl and, I swear, she sheds enough fur to make two new dogs every day. NEVER seens anything like it!

But she's a sweet, well mannered girl so it all works out in the end.

Shelties! The four different ones I've had where all great with kids, and we did foster care and some of them where severely tried. They tend to prefer to sit outside and "gaurd" than at your feet, at least thats my experience.
My doberman was great, a 100lb teddy bear.
Two Australian cattle dogs (blue heelers), one the disposition of a golden retriever and the other a clown, these where our Animal Shelter finds.
The mutt I grew up with was overall my favorite next to two sweet shelties and I also want to suggest th animal shelter and a mutt may turn out to be your best dog.

bgak47 wrote: "Can I suggest that you go to the nearest pound or shelter & take a look at the dogs that are available. They NEED to be adopted, & in exchange for some love & care they will reward you with a lifetime of loyalty & affection."

I wholeheartedly agree! Remember that Dobe I posted about? Well, guess where I got him? Everyone told me NOT to take him. They said adopting an older Dobe was a mistake. HA! The best darn dog I ever had!

The doggies at the pounds are stariving for affection. PLease check the pounds first.

get a cocker(Am. or Eng.), one of the top biting dogs in the U.S. highly protective and aggressive towards strangers, or a mastiff(any breed of mastiff), bigger dogs, bred to guard, they are stalk guard dogs meaning they dont make a noise.. at all-they jump the person or thing that poses a threat, often go unseen untill their right ontop of the invader, springers are also very territorial dogs will not hessitate to sound the alarm and have a good bite like the cockers, and of course there are the usuals, GSDs, rotties, dobies, schnauzers(Giant and Standard), malinois, tervurens, greater swiss' can be good guard dogs, aswell, Am.staffs, Bull staffs, pitts, Am. bulls, kerry blue.. and the list goes on!

I read once on the net that cocker spaniels were No. 1 in terms of biting people but didn't get the press that a pit or rottie did. I adopted an aging rottie female from the pound. Everyone swore she wasn't going to work out, but she turned out to be a very nice, well mannered, housetrained, dog that would sound the alarm before I even knew anyone was on the place. She also was dumped by her owner, a breeder that bred K-9 dogs who thought she was past production stage. Turns out she had two puppies a couple of weeks after I got her and they both died :waa: . I didn't know she was pregnant and as soon as possible had her spayed.

Pound dogs can be very nice, but it is good to go and observe them and take them out and lead them around and see what their temperment is before taking them home. Some pounds will exchange a dog that doesn't work out and others won't.
Check with your local humane society too - sometimes they will know of a good dog that has to be given up due to owner's moving, etc.

Sidepasser

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Be yourself - no one can tell you that you're doing it wrong!

Just wanted to butt in...

Ask a dog groomer what their least favorite breed is and it's almost always either a poodle or a cocker. Sorry, but I refuse to help a customer fit a harness on a cocker.

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I'm back...for now.

You have a dog, her name is Gwen. She is housebroken and loves you. If you decide to add another dog, first decide on a breed or breed type, then visit the pound. You may have to get a young one, like four months old, if Gwen has problems with adult dogs.

Shelties aren't just good gaurd dogs they are even better alarms.

I have to agree with the dobie fans.
I had a dobie for 12 1/2 years... she practically raised my kids!
When strangers would come to the door after dark, all they would hear is that low growl. She hardly ever barked. I was told by the folks on the other side of the door that it was plenty scary hearing that low growl because they didn't know WHAT was on the other side of the door. That worked for me!

Drove up to my house one night, saw a guy starting to go over my back fence. He saw me pull in and decided against continuing. My first thought was "where the heck's the dog"... worthless mutt, I'm thinking! Quickly realized that she was standing, watching from dark shadow beside the gazebo. There was no doubt in my mind that she was waiting for the guy to hit the ground on the inside of her yard. I had Beware of Dog signs posted just in case, so he was clearly warned.

Same dog growled at my friend when he came to pick his daughter up. He entered the house, grabbed his daughter and threw her into the air. Immediately, the dog was in front of him growling. I told him to put the kid down. He says "It's MY kid!". I said "She doesn't know that, and doesn't much care!" He put her down and the dog licked the child.... like she had "saved the day!" She didn't know the child or the man, but she knew the kid was just a kid. Just warned the guy, that's all.

Big baby, my dobie. Very lady-like, very mannerly, and I trusted her implicitly. We never questioned each others' judgement.

Currently have a 130-lb Belgian Tervuran... she, too, is mannerly and lady-like, but literally PUSHES my DH in front of her when they are investigating a noise. :haha: She walks with her shoulder behind his leg, forcing him to "go first". Big chicken.... but she looks tough! Would I trust her to protect my life? Nope! I certainly hope she'll surprise me if the need arises!

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Before you marry someone, ask yourself, "Will they be a good killing partner during the zombie apocalypse?"
-someecards.com

Thank you for starting this thread. I for one find it interesting reading. We will also need the early warning system.. ie dog, geese,, what ever... and love hearing all the opinions folks have.

Now if I could just teach my shot gun to point and shoot if needed on its own.


Also want to add,, the Cairn Terrier we had in the past was good with her family,, but could get quite aggressive with strangers,, and was funny watching folks back away from such a small dog... I mean they are allteeth when they growl.
Only draw back with Cairns,, some of them like to dig in your garden. Sigh ~ ~

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Shari

I was going to say we sure like our Border Collie cross -- she is half BC and half Lab. But you are talking about an inside dog.

I'd get whatever you're comfortable and happy with.

That said, our BC is the smartest dog I have ever worked with. But because of the lab influence she doesn't seem real "intense." My FIL used to let her help get the milk cows in. She would trot out into the pasture with her tail waving gaily like a flag and seems to think, "oh, look, a cow. Oh ... wait ... why am I here? Oh, yes ... cows ... brain cramp ..." There have been times when her BC background suddenly kicked in and she went into protect/rescue mode, though!

I think she is a little unpredictable and tell people that right up front. The meter reader commented that she is very protective when the kids are around.

Anyway ... if it were me I think I'd get whatever kind made me happy.

ann

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"In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, charity."

Hi Y'all,

I've had all kinds of dogs, from growing up on the farm, up to today.
I've daily been around English Shepherd, Collie, German Shepherd,and
Border Collie, on the farm, at home.
Later, a couple of "Sooners"(mongrels), a Scottish Terrier, and retired Grey-
hounds.
For the last 5 years we've had reg. Dobermanns, 2 males, both fixed, a red
& a black. They are a little bit oversized. They are my constant companions.
They are the smartest, most intelligent, most alert, most obedient,
most predictable, most playful, "thinking dogs", we've ever had.
They require very little maintenance, or grooming.
We keep them in the house, with us. They know everything that moves,
around our house& barns. And they let us know it, with their body language.
Constant & Reliable, very well socialized. I would not ever have any other
Breed of dogs.

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Be Intense, always. But always take the time to
Smell the Roses, give a Hug, Really Listen, or
Jump to Defend your Friends & What you Believe in.
'Til later, Have Fun,
Old John

Great thread!

Yall have me thinking of a dobie! But you really need to look at your lifestyle and choose a good fit. We have a variety. DH likes little dogs, has a chi and poodle mix. Yeppie little dogs aways under foot. I like big dogs, have 2 adopted greyhounds and a lab. Would not have another lab. She's sweet but can't be still if her life depended on it. I lovvvvve my greys, always laying around in what ever room I'm in but ready at a moments notice to jump up and go for a walk or run outside. Very calm and social. My black greyhound has been mistaken for a dobie when she puts her ears up.