What's a good dog to have as a pet?

[Ehrys]

Wow... thanks folks! It's a house (not a bungalow though) with a good size backyard. I think it's about 2,950 square feet ... anyways, been discussing your suggestions with the wife... and now it's a toss-up between:
Golden Retriever (me)
Mini-Pin (wife)
The Mini-Pin is cute (never saw such a small dobermann before), but I like a "real" dog. However, she thinks it's a lot of work for a "real" dog, so... hmmm... guess we're gonna have to figure out a way to decide. Anyone know what some of the pros/cons of these two dogs may be?

[Illumina Drathiran'ar]

Not familiar with Mini-Pins, but as for Goldens...
Pros:
Their hearts are as golden as their fur... They're great with kids and family members and guests and pretty much everyone else.
They're relatively easy to train and eager to please.
Despite friendly personalities, they make good watchdogs... These dogs *know* who's a threat and who isn't.
They're so cute!

Cons: They shed in the summer and have to be brushed.
They need to get outdoor exercise.
The breed as a whole is prone to epileptic seizures
As puppies, they're incredibly cute but astoundingly obnoxious. If you go with this breed, I recommend that you adopt. Get in touch with Golden Rescue, an organization that can help you adopt one in need of a home.

[Attalus]

We rescued our Golden, who is about 2. He is very sweet, a good watchdog, takes incredible abuse from my 5 year old son, who gets punished when I catch him, as I am not near as sweet and forgiving as a dog, let alone a Golden. His downside is that he digs if he doesn't get enough exercise, so I take him on daily walks, which help me as much as him.

[Spelca]

If this is your first dog you should be careful which breed you choose because some can be quite difficult if you don't have experience with dogs. I suggest you ask the breeder or call a dog association about which breed would be suitable as a first dog. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Sir Degrader]

I would get a golden, they're the quintessentsial family dog.

[Bahamut]

Nobody likes a German Sheperd? [img]smile.gif[/img]

Do all large dogs emit that particular doggie odor?

Husky Dogs are with out a doubt the cutest of them all: They're big and scruffy but they're a little slow: Don't expect them to bite a burglar's nuts off too quickly.

[Sir Taliesin]

Basset Hound or a Lab is what I'd get.

[johnny]

Originally posted by Bahamut: Nobody likes a German Sheperd? [img]smile.gif[/img] Do all large dogs emit that particular doggie odor?

I've had some very bad experiences with German sheperds, they have a tendency of biting you when you're off guard, and they do it out of fear. They aren't exactly the bravest among dogs, that's why they're hard to trust. Personally, i'd never buy a German sheperd. There are exceptions, i know, but i'm not taking any chances.

[Thoran]

Well I tend to disagree (strongly in a few cases) with a few of the previous posters... you're a first time dog owner with a (relatively) small yard:

IMO Breeds you should avoid (these are all breeds I or my wife have personal experience with):

NO NO NO NO NO Pit Bulls, in fact no bull breeds at all, Bull Mastiff, English Bull Terrier, English Bulldog, American and (English) Staffordshire Terrier, etc... --- require an experienced and skillful owner as well as LOTS of time and training. I LOVE these breeds but without training and skill they can be a nightmare.

Rottweilers --- Wonderful and devoted family dog but large and can exhibit aggression towards other people and very often WILL show agression towards other dogs.

Boxers --- Beautiful dog but can show Dog and People Aggression. These dogs are typically thought of as protection dogs... and I would never recommend a first time owner get ANY protection breed.

Doberman Pincer - See Boxer.

Australian Shephards (aussie's)
Cattle Dogs
Border Collies
--- all of these breeds are SUPER active and need hours of attention every day, Aussies and Cattle Dogs often have aggression issues, All three will be VERY destructive if they aren't kept busy. All these breeds are highly intelligent and require obedience training and some sort of outside sport that will give them a job and daily exercise (Agility, Freestyle, Frisbee, Herding, etc...). These dogs typically don't make good family dogs unless your family is into dog sports (I've got two of 'em that I love dearly... but I know how much work they are)

Dalmations - Lots of genetic problems and they are often not good with kids. They also tend to be aloof, Luckily our Whippet/Dal mix didn't get their personality.

Possible but you'd want to be VERY careful:

German Shephards --- Could have dominance issues, obediance training a MUST, but otherwise I've heard lots of good things about G.S.'s in a family environment.

Jack Russell and if you have a LOT of time to spend with the dog (several hours a day) and are very active (and willing to include the dog in your activities, a Jack Russell could be a good choice, but they're subject to the same rules as the above herding breeds (although the don't require quite as much real estate).

Now don't get me wrong, all the above breeds can be wonderful dogs, but I'd recommend you get some experience dealing with dogs before you take on what could be a substantial challenge.

FYI - In our home we have an English Bull Terrier, a Cattle Dog, a Border Collie and a Dalmation/Whippet mix. My wife is a dog trainer and performer (she teaches on both coasts and is a member of the Superdogs... a Canadian Dog performance troupe... you can see her at the CNE this summer!) I'm a relative amature but enjoy Frizbee, with Jen's help I'm training our Cattle Dog to start competing (hopefully towards the end of summer).

Personally I'd recommend going to the SPCA and picking out a quiet and affectionate mixed breed... don't go for the flashy breeds to start, pick a nice friendly dog. Roll him/her on their back and make sure they don't mind, touch his/her feet, muzzle, tail, stomach... they should not have any problem being manhandled. Bring a toy and food, give it to the dog then take it away, they shouldn't growl or complain AT ALL. Take them out to a fenced yard and have you or your kids race around screaming their fool heads off... the dog should remain placid (or maybe a bit playful). Stand with the dog on leash in a place where there's lot's of people and other dogs, you dog should not show any agression AT ALL, no growling, no lunging, preferrably no barking.


If you're set on a pedigree...

Lab's are great family dogs but can get quite large and need a fair amount of exercise (not aussie/border collie/cattle dog level but a lot relative to other breeds)

Golden's also get pretty large and are great family dogs, they need exercise and the small yard could be a problem... however it could be managed with a good walk morning and night.

Both Golden's and Labs are good choices based on temperment if you really want a larger breed but don't have the experience to handle some of the more aggressive breeds. I'd tend toward Goldens for noob's becuse in my experience Labs tend to need more activity and many people just don't have the time these days.

Some of the Mini breeds can have genetic problems as well as agression issues, do your research on Minpins before you buy (I'm not too familiar with that variant) If you buy from a breeder be sure to research that breeder and ask for references... ask other breeders and breed proponents in your area about the quality of the breeder. Good breeders cost more but that extra cost is virtually always worth it in reduced medical problems.

Other mentioned dogs that could fit your situation would be Cocker Spaniels (make sure you get a reputable breeder... they can be nasty little buggers), Basset Hound (great dog IMO, especially with limited real estate, tho they tend to smell houndy)

Beagles are neat dogs but can be aloof (actually it's more that they tend to be more interested in following their nose than anything else)

Some breeds that were not mentioned but that have potential to be good family dogs (breeder dependant).
Small
I'm not a small dog person, but I'm sure there are some GREAT options for people with limited space.

Medium
Collie
Standard Poodle

Large
Newfoundland - Without a doubt my FAVORITE family dog... bar none. They do tend to have large breed genetic problems (hips, weak bones). I've yet to meet one that had a nasty bone it it's body. Our newfie (died about 6 years ago) once chased away our cat from a squirrel it had caught, then it stood over the squirrel protecting it from the cat... the squirrel eventually recovered enough to get up a tree. However, if you're interested in large/giant breeds you'd best enjoy the smell of dog and cleaning up slobber marks on everything. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 04-19-2004, 03:28 PM: Message edited by: Thoran ]