Need advise on choosing a dog breed

[sshaw10060]

The real question is what is your families lifestyle. Different dogs will fit in with different lifestyles. Both purebred and shelter dogs have their advantages and disadvantages. Whatever you do, do not get a dog over the internet, from a pet store, or for anyone that has more than one breed of puppy. These are all places you are likely to find an unhealthy puppy mill puppy.

I make a good portion of my living treating puppies that people bought with unknown medical problems.

I would start with a trip to a local dog show. You can find a list of local shows on the AKC website http://akc.org. Walk around and talk to the breeders about their breeds and how they might fit into your life.

 

[Princess.Neve]

I know it is not the most popular breed, but I cannot say enough good things about Shelties. I've had my darling Sophie since I was a child at five years of age. Never once has she tried to bite me or be aggressive around food. Very easy dogs to train, fairly small, and make great family dogs.

If you have any questions about the breed, feel free to ask me!

 

[Momvic5]

We have two female mini schnauzers, and they have been the best little dogs. Both are so smart, so obedient, so loving, and so easy to train. They love everyone who comes into our home, and everyone who visits always comments on how well-behaved they are. They are just great little dogs,and they have been wonderful with the children in our lives. I have 3 children (along with a crew of neighborhood kids) who are constantly playing with and handling the dogs, and the dogs just love them. We have not had any incidents with nipping or biting. They do not shed, but they have to be groomed every 3mos or so.

I will add that I thought our older schnauzer was a freak of nature to the breed because she is so good, but then we got our second one, and she is just as passive and sweet as our older one. I am not sure about the males, but we love our females.

 

[ktlm]

The three breeds we tried for a friend for our lab:

Havanese: it was a nightmare. Very difficult to train, and got sick a lot. Could have been the breeder though..she truly was a nutcase. I should have known the minute I met her but I couldn't leave the little bugger behind. )

WOW- you're the 1st person I've ever heard of that had trouble with a Havanese. Must have been a bad breeder or just some completely wacked out renegade dog! We put a deposit on ours early and the breeder told us if we had a name for her, she would call her by it so she would know it. By the time we got her at 8 weeks old, she already knew her name and was paper trained. I've had a lot of dogs in my life and she was the easiest one to train I've ever seen. This is our breeder's new family page--- "Maggie" on the page is ours.

http://www.cornerstonekennels.com/havanese/photo1.html

The only thing about Havanese is that if you want to keep their hair the natural long length, you have to brush them out about every day to keep them from matting, or else you will be de-tangling and cutting out mats constantly. We kept her hair long until DD was born, and after that we cut her hair fairly short, about like you see in the picture where she is sitting. We cut it 2-3 times a year, and we do it ourselves (with human hair clippers). She loves the short hair- it makes her run around like a puppy every time DH cuts it. (By the way- the kid's coughing has calmed down, so the dog let us sleep last night!) (Can you tell I'm bias towards Havanese?)

 

[disprincessatheart]

I've got to jump in with a big for a Lhasa Apso. We've got a 7 1/2 year old Lhasa who is the most people friendly dog you will ever meet. Quite possibly a little too friendly - our 2 attempts at taking her to dog parks ended up with her jumping in the laps of other dog parents who were sitting down while their dogs enjoyed the park! She's our mini welcoming committee too - if we have overnight guests she sleeps with them, even though she sleeps with us the other 350 nights of the year

She's very smart (too smart for us sometimes!) and doesn't bark much at all. We took her on vacation this summer with my 5 yr old niece and 4 yr old nephew and she did great! We're expecting our 1st around Christmas and we're only worried about her stealing his toys - she's a stuffed animal freak Lately she seems to be all about licking my feet, but we think that's got to have something to do with my insanely swollen pregnancy feet!

 

[CarpeDisney]

We have a Bichon Frise / Toy Poodle mix (Bichon Poo). She is an amazing dog. Well-mannered, was very easy to train, and is great with people and children of all ages. We have two daughters, oldest is 3 yrs, and youngest is 4 months old....We have NEVER had a concern with their safety around the dog. The dog is 4 years old now, and weighs in at an earth-shattering 13 pounds.

I am allergic to dogs, and have never had issue with this breed. I would agree with an earlier post that, as the breed has a coat of hair that doesn't shed, grooming bills add up with a visit every 4 weeks or so. However, I'll take this any day over having to constantly vacuum furniture, floors, car seats, etc.

If you want to go with a breed a bit larger, my brother owns a Havanese. Also good for those with allergies, and grows to about 18-20 pounds.

 

[katyjeka]

We were NEVER going to own a dog. I felt we had enough to take care of with our 3 dd's. Well our girls finally broke us down and we got a sheltie. Well, I've fallen in love with the little guy and wonder why we waited so long. We have a cat, and our vet recommended the sheltie breed. We are so glad we listened. He is a little over a year old, trained easy, and is GREAT with our kids. He has never "nipped" at anyones heels. I take him to the groomers every 5 weeks and we keep his hair short, so we don't have shedding problems. We just recently returned from 10 days at disney and the place we boarded him hated to see him go. They called him their lapdog, as he loves to lay in anyones lap. He only weighs 13 1/2 pounds at this point. In our opinion shelties are wonderful. Good luck

 

[ktlm]

If you want to go with a breed a bit larger, my brother owns a Havanese. Also good for those with allergies, and grows to about 18-20 pounds.

Here I go with the Havanese again- Sorry guys, I just can't help myself! Actually, Havanese are supposed to only grow to between 7-13 pounds. I thought ours was a chunk at 14 pounds (her Mom was 6 pds and her Dad was 9 pds)- but I think your brother's takes the cake! Havanese are cousins to the Bichon, Maltese and Coton and Bolognese- they are all considered part of the "Bichon family" of dogs.

 

[SarahKate]

We have a Shih Tzu who is going on 9 months. He's a GREAT addition to our family.

Pros:

NO shedding, great for allergy sufferers
Great personality
VERY smart, pick up on things very quickly
Very loyal, they just want to be with you
Very little barking


Cons:

I said VERY smart, but the reason someone might not think they're smart is that they can be a little stubborn - but for the most part they want to please you

Grooming - they should be brushed once a week (I trim him on my own, so we don't have that expense anymore)

Nipping - it is VERY important to work with your child on boundaries with dogs. Our DD 7 has been nipped a few times, but it is usually in response to her picking him up in ways that make him uncomfortable, or her trying to pick him up while he's eating, asleep or taking a treat away from him.....NO dog appreciates that.......but she loves our little guy and he loves DD. But we have to continually work with her.

Our little guy is a GREAT dog and we've loved having him around. He's very flexible and adjusts to many types of situations. He also does great when we need to leave. We have a child's playpen for him, so that he's got a little room to move around if we have to be away from home for several hours.

 

[badblackpug]

<----------- Pug!

They are super friendly and always happy. They are little, fat clowns. They are great with kids. They are a small dog without being delicate or yippy. The only thing my boy barks at is the doorbell. He is 12 now and I have NEVER even heard him growl. They get along well with other dogs.

On the question of shelties. My mother has shelties. They are very smart and very easy to train, but they are high strung and hyper. They are also barkers. They also require quite a bit of grooming.

 

[locolala]

They do require a fair amount of grooming, maybe 2-3 times a week but it's good time to spend with your pooch. Some shelties can be barkers, but that's normally if you get neurotic ones. If you get one from a good breeder, it's not likely they'll be barkers. My sheltie very, very rarely barks and is a total couch potato.

 

[tbandemommy]

After 16 wonderful years with a beagle named Molly, we have welcomed a Shih Tzu named Heidi into our family. Heidi has a GREAT personality. She is such a happy girl! We got her when she was 12 wks. old. We sought her out due to allergies of DH and DS10. We couldn't have asked for a better fit. All 3 children love her!

Molly, our beagle, was a wonderful dog whom I adopted when she was 6 wks. old from the Humane Society. I could not have asked for a better dog. She was very child ( and husband )friendly. I never had any worries with her. She was my best friend and I miss her dearly.

I hope this helps a little. Good luck with your search!

 

[badblackpug]

They do require a fair amount of grooming, maybe 2-3 times a week but it's good time to spend with your pooch. Some shelties can be barkers, but that's normally if you get neurotic ones. If you get one from a good breeder, it's not likely they'll be barkers. My sheltie very, very rarely barks and is a total couch potato.

My mom's shelties are very well bred. They are from different breeders. One has an exceptional amount of hair. In looks he is show quality. I am just throwing the grooming thing out there because some people do not like to groom, and don't want the added expense of professional grooming. Which is a requirement with really long haired shelties. She has had shelties for a number of years. They have all been barkers. Actually AKC describes the breed as being "vocal." They are sweet dogs, but do have a tendency to be high strung. Her brown one way more than her black one, but both have some of the same tendencies. Fear of loud noises being one (thunderstorms are a nightmare!) Barking being the other. She is not bothered by it, but is annoyed to no end with my pugs grunting and snorting, to each his own. By the way, she lives with us and the dogs are the best of buddies, but the pug is definitely the boss!

 

[smcdaniel4688]

i understand that you are looking for a small breed, but to anyone out there that may be interested, boxers are WONDERFUL family dogs. ours was a snap to housetrain and loves the attention from the kids..he does shed so boxers would be a big NO for allergy sufferers, but it is totally manageable otherwise. he is protective of us all and is a loving, albeit large (86 pounds!!), member of the family. if anyone finds themselves interested in a boxer, but would like to adopt a homeless dog, remember that with a little research, you can find a boxer rescue that has dogs that have been surrenedered by their owners...and this is true for any breed...but i also agree that you can often find a loyal and faithful companion at a shelter!! if you do choose to buy from a breeder, be sure that they are in it for the love of the animal, and not for the $$$$$!!!

 

[sunnyday123]

I currently have a Newfie who at 4 mo's and 35 lbs is probably the size of the dog you want full grown, but I have to second the beagle. They are great family dogs, love kids, easy to train. However, they are noisy! They also follow their nose if they pick up a scent so you have to keep them leashed in public.

What not to get: Scottish Terriers. While you can find a few that are good family pets, for the most part they don't do well with kids. They have the biggest freakin teeth you've ever seen, and a serious Napoleon complex!

I had a lab for 13 years, and the only reason we decided on a Newf is because they are similar in temperment with Newf's being way more laid back, and DD (still ) gets upset when she sees another lab.
If I were you, I'd just get another lab, they are wonderful dogs.

 

[katyjeka]

We have an odd sheltie I guess, as he is not a barker! I wouldnt call him high strung either. He's a people lover.

 

[livie1205]

I would not suggest a doxie with young childern. I second the shelter dog suggestion and the beagle.

Beagle are great dogs, they can be trained but that requires food motivation to override the other "smells". I grew up with and now have a beagle, they are great family dogs. They can handle other pets and small childern with no issue if worked with.

Another option is breed rescues, they often have a list of dogs in foster home that need perminent homes.

Other breed suggestions depend on the dynamics of your house hold. Age of other pets, childern, work schedule ect.

If you have small childern I would not suggest a terrior breed, I would go with a hunting breed or working dog breed, or even some non working dog breeds.

If you PM me I'll answer more questions

we have a westie and he is great with my dd3....I think it has a lot to do with training.We also have a wheaton and she wouldnt bite if you had a steak tied to you lol

 

[JUJU814]

WOW- you're the 1st person I've ever heard of that had trouble with a Havanese. Must have been a bad breeder or just some completely wacked out renegade dog! We put a deposit on ours early and the breeder told us if we had a name for her, she would call her by it so she would know it. By the time we got her at 8 weeks old, she already knew her name and was paper trained. I've had a lot of dogs in my life and she was the easiest one to train I've ever seen. This is our breeder's new family page--- "Maggie" on the page is ours.

http://www.cornerstonekennels.com/havanese/photo1.html

The only thing about Havanese is that if you want to keep their hair the natural long length, you have to brush them out about every day to keep them from matting, or else you will be de-tangling and cutting out mats constantly. We kept her hair long until DD was born, and after that we cut her hair fairly short, about like you see in the picture where she is sitting. We cut it 2-3 times a year, and we do it ourselves (with human hair clippers). She loves the short hair- it makes her run around like a puppy every time DH cuts it. (By the way- the kid's coughing has calmed down, so the dog let us sleep last night!) (Can you tell I'm bias towards Havanese?)

I don't even think "bad breeder" could adequately describe that FREAKING NUTCASE!!!!! LOL I *never* should have brought that dog home after sitting face to face with that so called "breeder" but the puppy was so adorable and I couldn't bare to leave it in that hell hole! I paid $1500 cash, never got papers or a receipt. One of the dumbest things I've ever done in my life. I went on Havanese forums and talked to people and everything I was reading, I was shocked that my dog was not wonderful like theirs. He was a nightmare. I could not train him. Could not. I finally found a nice home for him and my understanding is that he's very happy now with a happy family in the next town. I loved the Havanese at the yarn store...sigh.

 

[tinkerfan1]

Small dogs are cute but Golden Retrievers are sooooo easy to train, so affectionate, loyal, loving, and protective. One of our dogs is named Kali, after Kali River Rapids. He's a sweetie pie! You can often get these dogs from rescue foundations as well. I love St. Bernards, too, but I think that is probably MUCH larger than you are wanting to go!!!!

 

[rascooby]

Great Danes can curl up into a "tiny" ball. They can fit onto the couch in that 6 inch spot beside you. Nevermind that they'll eventually squish you off the couch.

We have a Sheltie and he's pretty nuts. My biggest complaint is the barking. He's very smart, very obedient (a little less now that he's an old man) and very good with the kids. But the yappy barking drives me crazy. My parents had 2 Shelties and one of them was yappy and one was not (he was unusually annoying, but didn't yap).

Good luck deciding.