Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry. No contest. German Shepherd Dog. Smart as hell. They are almost creepily intelligent. Great with kids. Very easy to train. Very loyal. Calm indoors but active outside. Protective but not aggressive. We've been raising and training GSDs for years. I am in love with the breed. The only downside is that they are heavy shedders. If I could train them not to leave hair everywhere, they would be the perfect breed.

We have a GSD puppy and she is quite the goof. She's in the wiggly I Love Everyone And Everyone Loves ME stage (and they do!). So cute. Hard to imagine that this dog will ever be intimidating to anyone, lol. But no question she is very intelligent/trainable.

Expose that puppy to as many experiences, other dogs, and people as you can during those first few months. This is really key with a GSD. Your dog will naturally become protective. That's a good thing. You do not want her to become fearful or aggressive. Take her everywhere you can.

Training is really important, but socialization is critical. There is no other breed like a German Shepherd.

We love our tibetan terrier. Medium size (20-30 lbs), hypoallergenic/non-shedding fur, playful and loving. Only downside is that it is not a common breed, but there are breeders in PA and VA.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry. No contest. German Shepherd Dog. Smart as hell. They are almost creepily intelligent. Great with kids. Very easy to train. Very loyal. Calm indoors but active outside. Protective but not aggressive. We've been raising and training GSDs for years. I am in love with the breed. The only downside is that they are heavy shedders. If I could train them not to leave hair everywhere, they would be the perfect breed.

We have a GSD puppy and she is quite the goof. She's in the wiggly I Love Everyone And Everyone Loves ME stage (and they do!). So cute. Hard to imagine that this dog will ever be intimidating to anyone, lol. But no question she is very intelligent/trainable.

^And I can absolutely see where she'll be protective not aggressive. Great dog.

Goldens are very energetic into everything puppies. They **need** exercise especially when they are young. But they are extremely sweet and just easy dogs to take anywhere. They are generally great with other people and other dogs. But probably won't like cats unless they are introduced to cats at a young age.

Just start leash training early because they can be a handful with pulling and it can be very difficult if they are not acclimated to the sights/sounds that they see on their walks.

Anonymous wrote:Sorry. No contest. German Shepherd Dog. Smart as hell. They are almost creepily intelligent. Great with kids. Very easy to train. Very loyal. Calm indoors but active outside. Protective but not aggressive. We've been raising and training GSDs for years. I am in love with the breed. The only downside is that they are heavy shedders. If I could train them not to leave hair everywhere, they would be the perfect breed.

We have a GSD puppy and she is quite the goof. She's in the wiggly I Love Everyone And Everyone Loves ME stage (and they do!). So cute. Hard to imagine that this dog will ever be intimidating to anyone, lol. But no question she is very intelligent/trainable.

Our greyhound is the sweetest, most gentle, friendly dog we have ever had. She is amazing with kids, all other dogs both big and small, low key, low maintenece, and literally does not bark. We love her to death!

Anonymous wrote:Sorry. No contest. German Shepherd Dog. Smart as hell. They are almost creepily intelligent. Great with kids. Very easy to train. Very loyal. Calm indoors but active outside. Protective but not aggressive. We've been raising and training GSDs for years. I am in love with the breed. The only downside is that they are heavy shedders. If I could train them not to leave hair everywhere, they would be the perfect breed.

I'm the PP that said golden retrievers, hands down. I actually love Germans too, but I think they are not as easy as goldens. One, you need to be really sure you're getting from a good breeder. There was a period in time where Germans were bred for aggression -- the good breeders seem to have avoided this but I'd be wary of a random one. They are powerful dogs. Two, like any Shepard dog, they love to work and will be bored sitting around all day. I think they are better for a family with a runner or one who wants to do serious dog training rather than your average lazy family. Three, because they are so smart, you really do need to train them. Four, even the wonderful ones are pretty territorial. For instance, my brother had a fabulous, incredibly sweet German shepard who was fabulous with kids and anyone he'd been introduced to by his master, but he still had to lock him up when the yard guys came, as the German was not thrilled with random guys he didn't know traipsing around his family's property. On the other hand, he did chase away a burglar by jumping over a 6 foot fence.

German lab mixes can be really great dogs. My sister always gets some variant on that type of mutt.

I grew up with a Maltese just adored her. She was the sweetest, friendliest little dog ever. When my husband and I bought a house we wanted a bigger dog for our boys to play with, so I bought an Irish Setter. As long as you have lots of space to play and an active family, Irish Setters are the best dogs ever! She was so easy to house break. She's an easy traveler, once she's In the car she passes out until we stop. Our dog loves everyone she meets, kids, adults and other dogs. On a trip last weekend, someone had their Iittle dog on a retractable leash and wasn't paying attention. I didn't realize their dog had so much leash until it ran up to my dog and jumped right on her face, trying to play. Suprised the crap out of me, but Molly thought it was the best idea ever. Im glad their little 10lb dog was friendly, and I hope they are glad my 55lb dog is not dog aggressive. She's good with our cat, and pretty much ignores our chinchilla.

I'm sure Irish Setters can be destructive if they aren't kept busy, she is very smart and very active. I run 3 miles in the morning and 3 miles at night with her, and she is still always ready to play with her toys or the kids. I'm not sure of I've ever actually seen her completely tired out. As long as you keep them busy, they are awesome family dogs

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If allergies and size are not an issue, golden retriever. I don't think there's even room for debate on this. Very trainable and very gentle and loving, less hyper and chewy than labs and spaniels. (I'm sure someone will post about the one crazy inbred golden they knew .... Of course every breed has its problem children, but if you are generalizing by breed and want good temperament and trainability, it is goldens hands down.).

English labs are generally more calm than american field labs. The great thing about labs and goldens is the soft mouths. Ours can carry bananas [unpeeled] or crackers, put them down, no marks. One test for dogs that I like is a toy test. Do they "kill" it or play with it? We've had people question where we got toys or wonder if their dog's toy was defective.

Ugh I hate it when my dog bruises my banana when delivering my morning breakfast in his mouth

Anonymous wrote:LOVE my Maltese. Low energy, but playful, smart enough that she was easily potty trained, but dumb enough to be content with hanging out with us (smart dogs get bored and chew), 100% devoted to us. No shedding, hypoallergenic

I love the breed and I'm on my 5th Maltese.

Where did you get your maltese? any breeder recommendations?
We would like to get one.

Sorry. No contest. German Shepherd Dog. Smart as hell. They are almost creepily intelligent. Great with kids. Very easy to train. Very loyal. Calm indoors but active outside. Protective but not aggressive. We've been raising and training GSDs for years. I am in love with the breed. The only downside is that they are heavy shedders. If I could train them not to leave hair everywhere, they would be the perfect breed.

My golden was literally the sweetest most gentle dog that I or anyone who met him had ever met. But what he liked to do with a stuffed toy was this:
Nose it around; chew on it to activate the squeaker; shake it around a little bit; find a loose seam; work his canine under the loose thread and then rip the seam open; carefully dig out all the stuffing and leave it in a pile; trot around proudly shaking the disemboweled carcass of the stuffed animal.
And this dog was sooop gentle he let other dogs attack him without fighting back; let multiple babies crawl over him and poke him in the eye without doing more than turning his head away; instinctively helped any disabled individuals; and always left a very respectful distance between himself and any rabbits he chased.
So I wouldn't put too much stock into how the dog handles a stuffed toy.

And if it passes a griping test I would not want the puppy. This is a link to a gripping test
http://www.workingpitbull.com/TemperamentTesting.html

If the puppy destroys a toy or doesn't play with you interactively with a toy-I don't want it. If it doesn't play with you and a toy-just bites-I don't want it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If allergies and size are not an issue, golden retriever. I don't think there's even room for debate on this. Very trainable and very gentle and loving, less hyper and chewy than labs and spaniels. (I'm sure someone will post about the one crazy inbred golden they knew .... Of course every breed has its problem children, but if you are generalizing by breed and want good temperament and trainability, it is goldens hands down.).

English labs are generally more calm than american field labs. The great thing about labs and goldens is the soft mouths. Ours can carry bananas [unpeeled] or crackers, put them down, no marks. One test for dogs that I like is a toy test. Do they "kill" it or play with it? We've had people question where we got toys or wonder if their dog's toy was defective.

Isn't that only a test you can do on older dogs, not puppies? I never really thought about the kill test. My little dog is so sweet with her toys. We just kind of thought she didn't know she should chew them up.

Anonymous wrote:If allergies and size are not an issue, golden retriever. I don't think there's even room for debate on this. Very trainable and very gentle and loving, less hyper and chewy than labs and spaniels. (I'm sure someone will post about the one crazy inbred golden they knew .... Of course every breed has its problem children, but if you are generalizing by breed and want good temperament and trainability, it is goldens hands down.).

English labs are generally more calm than american field labs. The great thing about labs and goldens is the soft mouths. Ours can carry bananas [unpeeled] or crackers, put them down, no marks. One test for dogs that I like is a toy test. Do they "kill" it or play with it? We've had people question where we got toys or wonder if their dog's toy was defective.