Just pretend that you are giving someone advice about your favorite breed of dog. Tell us what’s good about the breed AND what’s not so good. Pictures are appreciated!
My favorite breed is the Gordon Setter. They are a large breed, usually about 70-80 lbs but the field type can be as small as 40-45 lbs. They were originally bred in Scotland by the Duke of Gordon as upland bird hunters, finding birds and alerting the hunter by pointing or setting.
Good points: They are very sweet tempered and tend to get along with everyone, human an dogs. Mine are great with cats, too. They are relatively quiet and rarely bark. They are totally devoted to their people and MUST be with you. I always say they could go longer without food & water than love. They are truly goofy dogs and WILL make you laugh. While they are not barkers, they love to ‘talk’-all Gordon owners know the variety of roos and woos they make.
Bad points: They are stubborn. You MUST be more stubborn than they are. They require grooming to look good, and yes, they shed. If not fed good quality food, they are gassy. They can be clingy… especially the boys.
Right now I have a cross-breed that is my favorite by far! He’s half miniature pinscher and half miniature american eskimo. (I also have a full breed min pin - which is why its not my favorite!)
His name is Samson and we call him a Min Pinskimo. He’s about the same size as a min pin but fuzzier and cuddlier. He’s more affectionate towards other people than the min pin. He does have an annoying high pitched bark that he likes to share with the world. He’s got the high energy of a min pin, but not the high level of possessiveness and aggression.
but I love all the doggies! They’re my favorite people!
I had a collie/shepherd mix and he was great. I love any big old floppy dog you can wrestle around with. Labs are great.
My friend had a great dane and he was so sweet. They are big old loveable lugs. So nice but they can hurt easily if you’re not careful, just by wagging their tail if you get a happy great dane’s tail too close to your face.
Well, right now I have a standard poodle, doberman, giant schnauzer, English setter and two German shepherds. Maggie, my standard poodle, is my favorite dog. But, by and large, I’d chose dobies as my favorite breed. They’re loving, protect but not usually aggressive, live-for-their-people kind of dogs. Not a lot of coat care, which is good. The poodle is as much work as all the others put together as far as coat care is concerned.
Shih Tzu’s are some of the most lovable, well-adjusted, and playful of breeds. They make good watch dogs too (tho not guard dogs of course), and are great with both kids and old folks. Both my mom and my sister have them-my mom would bring hers to her mom’s nursing home, and she was an absolute angel there, and everybody looked forward to her visits. My mom named her “Lucee Loo”, not knowing at the time about the actress with the homophonic name (Lucy Liu). She mobs me to death with kisses whenever I visit, and my sister’s love to have me chase them all over her house.
We have 2 American Hairless Terriers (AHTs), which have been very delightful dogs. (They’re bred from rat terriers; some organizations consider them a new breed, other a variant of rat terriers.)
They’re not too small, nor too large. The hairless part freaks some people out, but it’s actually quite nice to cuddle up to them. They need sunscreen if they’re out in the sun for an extended period, but they also need no brushing out. And when they need a bath, we just use hand soap, then towel dry them, and they’re all clean.
They’re very smart and affectionate. With proper socialization, they good to other people. Being terriers, they do get excited quite a bit, but with training, you can keep that to a minimum.
I like terriers in general. We had a little terrier mix and he was just the best dog. My daughter has a pug and I have to say he’s a hoot, but doggone, what a lot of energy in a little package. We’ve always adopted older dogs, so having a new pup around is an experience.
But if I have to pick a favorite breed, it has to be poodle. Smart, no shedding, just a nice dog.
Mutts. Find a weird mix of breeds that shouldn’t go together, and you’ll have a fabulous dog. I have a shepard-border collie-chow mix that is just amazingly fabulous.
There are dogs and then there are beagles. They demand to be spoiled. They are great watch dogs and lap dogs. Everyone knows they are the cutest dogs possible. Case closed.
Large Italian Sheepdog. Loves to protect it’s flock, in our case our flock is me, my wife, the other dogs, all the farm animals, even the cats. Sophie puts her huge self between anything that looks like a threat. Playful, friendly, intelligent.
Labrador. I have three dogs, the Lab, a Bichon, and some kind of long-haired chihuahua/dachsund mix.
I love them all, but Lucy is just so well behaved and friendly and cuddly and playful, and boy does she talk! I like to pretend she’s saying a-ROOO-ga-la. I keep trying to get her to say mama. She loves to swim. She loves to chase a ball. She’s very gentle with kids.
Cons: She sheds. I have tan carpets, except where she likes to lay down, and they’re black in between vacuuming. That’s the only negative thing I can say about her! She will bark, but not excessively. Not like my Bichon. He is Barky McBarksalot.
I’ve had a Doberman or Rottweilers for 30 years. Currently I have a mostly Rottweiler from the pound and a medium size black and tan Nottweiler. She thinks she’s a Rottweiler.
I grew us with little dogs. I’ve often wondered why I was so attracted to the large breeds. Maybe that pony I never got?
Mine have been big goofy spoiled dogs. None of them well bred, mostly rescues. One was smart as a whip.
The cons–the bad hips, shorter life span than a smaller dog and the difficulty getting home insurance. Some companies won’t insure you at all, some won’t if you have more than one.
This will probably be my last large dog but I’ll always have a black and tan.
We have Basset Hounds! Bess is the upside down dog, the other is Ellie. Both were rescues, as was our first Basset, Shilo, who was “The Best Old Dawg Ever”! We love them for their loving nature, intelligence, and humor (as you can see from the picture)! Many people think Bassets are small dogs, but they are about the same size as a Labrador Retriever with half of the leg length. They are great with kids and usually with cats, too. They are very smart, but stubborn! If a Basset is not doing something you want it to do, or won’t stop doing something you don’t want it to, they may just be telling you “No, I won’t”! I can’t keep mine off the living room furniture, and I have tried! They are crated at night. Bassets are not for everyone, but they are a great family pet.
I grew up with Schipperkes, and my mother did before me, so they are our “family” breed. They are ridiculous dogs that are very mischievous, but very loving. They look like little bears when they are puppies, and poofy black foxes when older. One time a burglar broke into the house while my mom was home and the dog chewed a hole in the thief’s thigh, even though the dog only weighed about 15 lbs.
The one bad thing about them is that they have a thick undercoat that comes out all at once a few times a year. It gets everywhere and kills vacuums. They are also extremely high energy and very smart, so if you don’t have time to exercise them, they’ll let you know in some creative ways.
English Bulldogs. Especially mine. Warning: massive amounts of adorable bulldog pictures to follow.
The Husband and I have been very active with our local Bulldog rescue for about 12 years now. We got our first bully rescuea month after we got married. Pia was only 3, full of energy but came with a bundle of behavior issues due to being abused and neglected. We spent years and much money working her issues out so she could be a good social dog and our hard work paid off. She was the love of our lives, and when The Boy was born in 2004 she dutifully took her place at the bottom of the totem pole without issue, as long as she occasionally got a Goldfish cracker thrown her way. She died of bone cancer in November 2007.
A few weeks after she passed, we got a call from the rescue group that there were 2 sister bulldogsthat had been kept in a basement as breeder dogs that needed fostering - they were 6 and 8. We agreed to foster them, and just days after they arrivedwe were signing their adoption papers. Sissy (the big one) was with us for only 2 years, she passed of abdominal cancer last January. Punk (the little one) is alive and well and snoring next to the fireplace as I write this.
I can’t explain why I love them so much. They’re beyond high maintenance and the vet bills are astronomical. Every few nights we have to play “pick a body part”, and we either clean out Punk’s constantly yeasty ears, her mucky goo-covered eyes, her crud-filled jowls and flaps, her “cinnabon” tail that’s pushed so tightly into her backside it can get infected if not tended to, her funky teeth that were completely neglected due to her poor care before she came to us, or some other random malady that has taken over. They’re also insanely flatulent which can be disgusting or endearing, depending on what kind of person you are. I’ve talked more people OUT of getting English bulldogs than I have into getting one. People think they’re funny, cute, and nice and lazy, which is true, except their care and maintenance is beyond what most people consider when getting a dog. Irresponsible backyard breeding of these wonderful dogs has led to insane health issues that lead to very short life spans.
But I know one thing and that’s that I will have an English Bulldog until the day I die. Their faces, their loyalty, their complete ease in any situation, their desire to please and just be near you is bar none.
Mutts. If I had the space and all I may consider a Newfie but that’s about the only pure breed I’ve been around and really liked. A friend has had several and they are affection and love times 10 ----- plus they are just so damn big and fluffy. Yeah - I know ---- the drool factor. But well trained ones “manage” that trait on their own and its no big deal to me.
(One day I was over his place when someone tried to break in. I swear before God I never would have thought that dog could have moved like that - that fast. And looking in the crack of the door to see 200 pounds of barking teeth coming at him royally changed the bad guys original plans.)
Ain’t it the truth. We have a Bichon, and she’s adorable really. But:
There’s someone at the door!
There’s someone at the door!
There’s someone at the door!
There’s someone at the door!
There’s someone at the door!
There’s someone at the door!
There’s someone walking down the street!
There’s someone walking down the street!
There’s someone walking down the street!
There’s someone walking down the street!
There’s someone walking down the street!
There’s someone walking down the street!
You’re home from work!
You’re home from work!
You’re home from work!
You’re home from work!
You’re home from work!
You’re home from work!
There’s deer in the yard!
There’s deer in the yard!
There’s deer in the yard!
There’s deer in the yard!
There’s deer in the yard!
There’s deer in the yard!
Bassets are not for everyone, but they are a great family pet.
