This is a pure poll and has ground rules. There is no practical purpose to this and isn’t the place for advice to anyone. Mutts are not allowed to be mentioned even though I know that many of them are superior to pure breeds.
Name five breeds and only five breeds breeds that you prefer. You can name characteristics that you like about them.
Mine are:
German Shepherds - they tend to be over-bred but ones with a good pedigree are smart, loyal, beautiful and protective.
Border Collies - probably the smartest of all dogs. They are easily trainable and will do hilarious tricks. However, they are very hyper and need a lot of animals to heard or they start to go crazy and miserable.
Alaskan Malamutes - these are gorgeous sled-dogs that resemble wolves but they are very gentle even with kids.
Samoyed - Our Samoyed, Bear died two months ago at the age of 15 and was way bigger than the average Samoyed at 105 pounds. He was the most beautiful dog I have ever seen. You literally could not walk him on roads with busy traffic weather it was by car or pedestrian. Cars routinely locked up their brakes and backed up fast to ask about him or pet him. He was great with my two small daughters and they literally jumped on him and he just smiled.
Cairn Terrier - My MIL got one of these recently. Burt is super-smart and personable. He is also good with kids, funny, and trainable.
Standard Poodle–but only one that is well-bred for temperament. They’re intelligent and bond with their family, showing great humor and affection. If you invite someone into your home, they can be counted on to be gentle and respectful. However, you don’t want to mess with one if you’re an intruder, and standards are good at telling the difference between a guest and an intruder.
Unfortunately, they’re way too inbred in the US, and a lot of breeders have favored looks over temperament. As a result, they’re now prone to anxiety problems. I’d rather have no dog than a dog with anxiety. The other big drawback is all the grooming required (which some folks see as a plus).
Jack Russel Terriers. Too much energy for me, personally, but I think they’re cool dogs.
West Highland Terriers. I’ve thought about getting a Westie for my next dog, because they seem like a bigger dog in a smaller body.
Pugs. Quite adorable, although I don’t want a dog that snores, because I’m a light sleeper.
Borzoi (Russian Wolfhound). Gorgeous dogs, graceful, run like the wind, marvelous temperament. I have had many dogs, but our Natasha was by far the sweetest dog ever had, or knew.
English Springer Spaniels. We are on our second and third springers. Cute, smart, loyal, loving, athletic, and chock full of personality. Casa Scarlett will always have at least one springer in it.
Samoyed / American Eskimo dogs. They look so similar, I’ll lump them together. Just beautiful animals with such pleasing proportions. The faces and upright ears. They’re so pretty.
Pomeranian. The teddy bear that barks.
Chinese Crested dogs. So ugly, they’re not.
Puli. It’s a mop. It’s a dog. It’s a mopdog.
Komondor. The mop grew.
Siberian Husky. Beautiful and strong–and those blue eyes!
West Highland White Terrier. Love the way their ears are triangular and point up.
Yorkshire Terrier. The cuteness. The ears. The little pointy muzzle.
We had Alaskan Malamutes and Norwegian Elk Hounds growing up on the farm. They were the smartest dogs I have ever had, and FULL of personality. My brothers would be throwing hay bales down the chute from the hay mow to the barn and the Elk Hounds (we had three) would climb up the piles of bales straight up the mow. And they are so gorgeous.
I don’t know if I could name five favorites though (though if my living situation were different, I’d probably consider adopting one of the aforementioned again). In addition to those I have had border collies, schnauzers, and as an adult a black lab that may not have been purebred, shih tzu, and now a teddy bear, which is actually a hybrid (shih tzu and bichon, but he looks and acts like he has some terrier in him, Jack Russell specifically).
My late Buddy was awsome! Smart, gentle, and fun to be with-Buddy was always happy to join me whereever I went-winter hikes, summers at the beach, river rafting-he was my canine brother!
Border collie–I have a mostly border mix right now and was raised with a purebred. Intensely intelligent, fiercely loyal and nowhere near as hyper as people think. It’s just a boredom thing, not an exercise thing. You can keep a border as an apartment dog as long as you teach them lots of tricks and how to understand English. That and don’t leave them alone all the time. This is the dog to have if you can bring a dog to work.
Malemutes–I have one now and it’s like having a teddy bear that barks. They are definitely smart but not the way people think of dogs being smart. You can teach a Malemute to do anything–once. After the first couple times they “forget” unless there’s something in it for them. Super big downside of the breed is the amazing amount of fur they shed TWICE a year. Gah. That picture was taken several weeks ago and I’ve repeated that scene several times since then, including yesterday afternoon.
Corgis–just an unfair amount of cute to them. I wanna grab 'em and hug 'em and the puppies are the most squeeeable of all! Best of all they come in two flavors, with and without tails.
Jack Russell’s–yeah, they’re kinda hyper but then again so are all the terrier breeds to one extent or another but these guys are just so tough and in yer face.
Tough call, but probably English Mastiff–so huge, so gentle, so gorgeous. Downside of owning large dogs in general is that they live such a short time and they’re so difficult to care for when they get feeble. We need to take the Malemute to the vet tomorrow for an ouched paw and getting her into the van is going to be horrible–she’s a hundred pounds, give or take ten and if she can’t jump we have to pick her up. Must be really horrible when the dog is twice her size!
I’ve always wanted an Irish Wolfhound because they’re so awesome but have never had the opportunity. I prefer large dogs in general but I’m starting to see the merit of the forty pound dog–big enough to take care of themselves but small enough to be out of the way, perfect house dog size.
Pug. Because they’re pugs… the finest example of dogdem alive. So much personality that they’re almost human. It’s gonna be hard for me to fill up this list, because I like pugs about a gazillion million times more than my second favorite breed.
French Bulldog. Like a pug but a little bigger and cool variation on the ears.
German Shepherd. I’ve always wanted one because I know if you get one from a good breeder they’re really smart, and that appeals to me. I’m not crazy about their looks, but I’m a personality > looks person for all breeds.
Boxer. I’m drawn to their athleticism and they seem like big teddy bears.
Shiba Inu. Ours gave us tons of trouble, but they’re so beautiful, and if you can get through the first few years their personality settles down and they become really nice dogs.
Pembroke Welsh Corgis (the one without the tail). We had one when we were growing up. Wonderful dog. As someone mentioned, a big dog in a small dogs body.
The only Borzoi I ever knew once treed my mother, attacked its owner on a regular basis and broke its owner’s daughter’s arm. The owner could only walk him late at night - and all the kids in the neighborhood were warned to get the hell away if we ever ever saw it on the street, leash or not.
He was pretty, though.
My family always had Golden Retrievers - they’re absolutely beautiful and friendly in spite of everything. No matter what. You never hear about a golden retriever attack.
Well raised rottweilers and shepherds are lovely dogs.
I’m looking for a dog now, and while I’m open to dogs from the pound, I’m also open to reasonably priced bred dogs or rescue dogs. ($900 for a non-papered, fixed, rescue? Not reasonable. Not that I’ll ever need papers or will ever breed, but those things increase the value - if you don’t have them, what am I paying for here?)
So, I’m looking at American Eskimos and the smaller Spitzes like dogs(Keeshonds, Schipperkes, Japanese spitz, Klee Kais).
I’ve lumped these three together because I pretty much like the same thing about them. I love their looks, they have very gentle, affectionate personalities, they’re clean, they don’t require copious amounts of exercise, and they love to sleep. We took a friend’s whippet to the beach in the off-season and when he sprinted, everyone on the beach would look and smile because he was so breathtaking. And then after running around with us to make us happy he decided he was tired, trotted to our beach blanket and napped for the rest of the afternoon.
Chow Chow
Could never have one because of all the grooming and shedding, but I think they’re gorgeous dogs and from all accounts, fiercely loyal.
Basset Hound
Once again could never own one because I couldn’t deal with the shedding and drooling. They look hilarious though.
That’s not a dog. That’s a sheep, or an alpaca, or some kind of goat that’s bred for its wool. Dear Og, you could knit a dozen more dogs out of that fur!
Let’s see…I love well-bred German shepherds. Brains, personality, AND looks. What’s not to like? German shepherds just want to be a valuable member of their pack.
My grandmother and parents had some Maltese. Liz Taylor carries one of these around, not for an affectation, but for affection. They have been bred to be companions, and that’s what they live for. They don’t know that they’re tiny, and, in fact, this is one of the things people have to watch out for. A Maltese will take on a German shepherd with every expectation of winning. Of the four I’ve known, only one was yappy, and that’s because my father encouraged it to yap and bark. Some people consider them to be ratdogs, but I think they’re adorable. They have more personality per ounce than any other dog.
My brother adopted some retired Greyhounds, and I’ve fallen in love with them. I always thought they were ugly, until I saw them in person. They are beautiful in person. These dogs are the gentlest dogs I know of. The retired ones have to learn how to be pets, as they’ve been used as organic machines in the business. Once they learn that people will sometimes pet them for no other reason than that the people LIKE the hounds, they’re in heaven. People who adopt retired Greyhounds often get together, apparently.
I’ve never had a border collie, or known anyone who has, but if I had the time and energy I think that I’d like to have one.
I can’t really think of a fifth breed offhand that’s my favorite.
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel: Love, affection, and companionship in a small, furry, beautiful body. Hard to find, expensive, and very prone to heart conditions.
Standard Poodle: Extremely smart, loyal, funny, and fun. Just keep it in a normal haircut, OK?
Siberian Husky: Loyal, stubborn, strong. You’ve got to be the boss, and if you are, they’ll be the best dog you ever had.
French Bulldog: Ridiculously cute ears. playful and fun without being crazy, affectionate. Same problems as all smush-face dogs - breathing and stinky face.
