What type of dog to get?

[Anonymous]

Lagotto Romagnolo (Italian water dog). Great with families, loves outdoors and water but will chill and hang inside with you. Hyper allergenic, no shedding, female about 30 pounds males 35 pounds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've posted about this before, but please do your due diligence finding a breeder. There are many lovely websites out there that mask non-ethical breeding operations, which are in effect, just puppy mills.

Responsible breeders specialize in just one breed. They want to preserve the health of their breed of choice and therefore run genetic testing on all their breeding stock and avoid breeding from dogs with known inheritable diseases. By stock, I mean very few dogs, since they have them in their own home, so each dog can have proper human socialization. No kennels. They want to meet potential owners because they don't want their puppies going to just any weirdo. If a dog breeder refuses to meet you and show you the litter, they're not ethical. They would never ship puppies - shipping a puppy by itself is traumatic for them. Unless you're willing to fly, this limits the distance to the breeder.

Finally, responsible breeders are few and far between and therefore usually have a waiting list. Getting the right dog takes patience, it's not an off-the-shelf purchase.

The only thing worse than the “pit bulls are great family pets” people are the “it’s not a reputable breeder unless you waited 3 years and found them on a Quest” people. There are far fewer of these “reputable” breeders than people who want dogs. It’s ridiculous to suggest that the only options should be a rescue puppy bred in the woods with zero planning, a puppy mill torture victim with health problems, or a magic golden dog with perfect bloodlines from the specialist home breeder ever.

Ah the ignorance. "pit bulls" which is five different breeds can be good dogs and mutts are the best! My has a about 33 percent American pit bull terrier as well as other breeds and we love him.

Most pit owners say this and are shocked when their dog turns around and bites someone’s face off.

So if that is true why arent there more 18 million attacks? Humm. We hear about mailings because it is rare

You need to step off it. I don't know you or your history, but you are a horrible example already of dog ownership. Part of responsible ownership is accepting breed characteristics and knowing their breeding history and bloodline. For some reason Pit owners don't want to recognize breed history. It's ludicrous. We, humans, have bred dogs for certain purposes. The Jack Russel? The are rat chasers, they will do that till the end of their days. They are pros. The Goldens and Labs? They have soft mouths to retrieve waterfowl and were also bred to be pleasant companions while hunting. Pointers? They're bred to point towards prey and they do a damn good job at it.

Pits are bred for gameness and ability to fight. Gameness is the most volatile part. They're also not particularly intelligent. If you believe this ignorance I can already tell you are not a responsible dog owner. People with Akitas, GSD, Dobermans, Malamutes, Huskies, Rottweilers, etc.? They know they own dangerous dogs and they take ownership very, very seriously in general. If you want to be a sportsman with this kind of gun ready to fire...ok I guess? But this is not a family dog.

Someone can recognize breed characteristics and be a "good" dog owner and still not agree with someone characterizing a breed as "biting someone's face off."

I'm not here to defend pits, but this is over the top. Pits were not bred to bite a human's face off.

NP. No, that’s a side effect of the breeding for fighting that did happen.

Honestly the lack of knowledge of pit bull owners is frightening at times.

+1. They didn't breed for human aggression, but they also didn't cull for it, so that's where we are.

[Anonymous]

We love our Cavanese (Cavalier King Charles and Havanese mix) and in fact are getting our second next month. Breeder in Canada bringing two puppies to DC area, and four in the litter are still available. If you are in the DC area and would like a Cavanese, post your email and I’ll send you the breeder’s contact info. Our Cavanese is a terrific family dog-we can’t wait for our second!

[Anonymous]

Dachshund or beagle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Standard poodle! Absolutely best personality.

Poodles have a lot of personality and can be great dogs, but a lot of them do nip. Although they weren't bred for herding, they do seem to me like herding dogs in that, if a kid or anothe dog is being too wild, they will give a little warning snap or nip. That's my issue with doodles too -- about half of the doodles I know are a bit snappy. The other half are totally great.

My standard is very gentle and goofy. No nipping…

[Anonymous]

Dog + two year old is really really hard, and your older kids aren't old enough to be helpful in a meaningful way. I'd honestly wait a year or two.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dog + two year old is really really hard, and your older kids aren't old enough to be helpful in a meaningful way. I'd honestly wait a year or two.

+1

[Anonymous]

My lab is the best-looking dog in my neighborhood in my eyes. I can't brag enough about her gorgeous, shining red fur, long legs, svelte body, unguarded eyes, floppy ears, affectionate personality, and calm temperament. But it was a heck lot of work when she was a puppy. Don't get a puppy!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lagotto Romagnolo (Italian water dog). Great with families, loves outdoors and water but will chill and hang inside with you. Hyper allergenic, no shedding, female about 30 pounds males 35 pounds.

Expensive and I still think op won't have the time to properly care for a dog with higher energy than an English bulldog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would look into a Bernese Mountain Dog or a Bernedoodle. I have a mini goldendoodle and he is great in many ways and he likes kids, but because he’s a little guy, he gets a bit anxious when kids are wild. My kids love him more than anything but he’s much more affectionate toward adults than kids, and I wish he were as snuggly with them as he is with me.

Bernese mountain dog don't live that long

[Anonymous]

We have an Australian Labradoodle. She's a standard, so around 60 lbs. She doesn't shed, is so incredibly sweet with our kids, and is very smart. She is pretty high energy though, and we definitely struggle to exercise her on rainy/super busy days. I would think about whether you are able or willing to throw money at a puppy with paid walks or daycare.

[Anonymous]

Poodle! Happy. Very family oriented. Easy to train. Only downside is grooming cost unless you groom the dog yourself

[Anonymous]

My rescue mutts are wonderful. We got them as young puppies so they didn't have too much of a 'history' that we weren't aware of. My Yorkshire terrier mix is the biggest snugglebug and my GSD mix is a gentle soul.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Standard poodle! Absolutely best personality.

Poodles have a lot of personality and can be great dogs, but a lot of them do nip. Although they weren't bred for herding, they do seem to me like herding dogs in that, if a kid or anothe dog is being too wild, they will give a little warning snap or nip. That's my issue with doodles too -- about half of the doodles I know are a bit snappy. The other half are totally great.

My standard is very gentle and goofy. No nipping…

I just posted that poodles are the best dogs. And that I read backwards and saw this post. I've had several poodles over the years, and none of them were nippy. I've had both standard poodles and miniature poodles. Right now I have a miniature poodle and he is the most easy-going dog. Everybody is his friend. And he loves kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My lab is the best-looking dog in my neighborhood in my eyes. I can't brag enough about her gorgeous, shining red fur, long legs, svelte body, unguarded eyes, floppy ears, affectionate personality, and calm temperament. But it was a heck lot of work when she was a puppy. Don't get a puppy!

You are a lost pp