I am not a dog person. I’m a cat person. I’ve never owned a dog. (I’ve never owned a cat either – because a cat will not be owned – but that’s neither here nor there.)
I like smiley dogs. I like over-the-back fluffy tails. So here are my picks:
Samoyed – smiley dogs with gorgeous coats and perky ears and over-the-back fluffy tails
Collie – smiley dogs with gorgeous coats and fluffy tails and ears that can be perky or not
Corgi – smiley dogs that are cute and compact
Pomeranian – smiley dogs with over-the-back fluffy tails, but they are stubborn little things
Borzoi --smiley GIGANTIC dogs, but with fluffy tails, unlike a Great Dane.
Golden Retriever. That’s what I had growing up and that’s what I have now. My Dolly gets more “she is beautiful” comments than I will ever get in my life, but at the same time she loves being rough and dirty. She’s absolutely spoiled rotten, too, because she’s so cute and she knows it. Wonderful dogs!!!
Border Collie. So fucking smart. I’ve never had one, but there’s two in our neighborhood and they’re so well-behaved. They’re also soft and cute and personable. I’d never own one, tho, because I’m a lazy slob.
Samoyed. My dog’s obedience trainer raised and showed these dogs, so Dolly “grew up” around a lot of beautiful, smart Samoyeds. I was very close to getting one of the puppies (talk about a teddy bear that barks!) but they were expensive. Plus, I can hardly keep up with Dolly’s hair…I could never imagine how bad my house would be with the white fluff.
Labrador Retriever. I’m not a huge fan of their coats but they are extremely friendly dogs. I’ve known incredibly smart ones and incredibly dumb ones (of all colors). They’re almost as cute as goldens. They seem a little more mischievous and more barky, too. But that’s the size and temperament I want in a dog.
Newfoundland. Such beautiful and sweet dogs! But I agree with the other posters who talk about the pitfalls of having such a laaaarge dog. Dolly and I are hampered sometimes by her size - I can only imagine having a dog who’s heavier and twice the size in fur. But I still think they’re swell.
Newfoundland. The giant gentleman of the dog world. Fiercely loyal, absolutely loving, smart as a whip and the gentlest dog you will ever meet. Our Angus celebrated his 11th birthday on Wednesday. Well, okay, “celebrated” might not be the right word. He had one hell of a great nap, though.
I will put two other giant breeds in for consideration as well- Great Dane and Irish Wolfhound.
One of my favorite English professors called pugs “The Crown of Creation”. The rest of the class thought he was nuts.
For me:
Doberman Pinscher. I had the good fortune to meet my husband’s red Dobe (I just misspelled it “dope” - very appropriate!) Saber in his last days. About 90 pounds of lap dog…and a nice, deep, mean bark around strangers - although Sabbo would probably have licked intruders to death, but they didn’t know that!
Black labrador. My favorite dog as a kid, Woof, was a black lab. She was such a sweetheart. And a bonehead.
German Shepherd. I think the most beautiful dog out there, and surprisingly gentle.
Yes, I like big dogs. That’s why I don’t have one anymore.
Like a good Doper, Avarie537 has given probably the definitive URL on English springer spaniels. But you know, the look of the show-bred dog that so often accompanies descriptions of springers just doesn’t do it for me. It’s the field-bred springers who win my heart every time:
This is not to say that I don’t cheer myself hoarse for the ESS at Westminster every damned year. But I’m petting my field-bred troublemakers while I do it.
I’d quibble a bit about the order here, and the preference for red over black and tan, and I prefer dapple to piebald, but this is pretty much what I came in here to post.
Basset Hound - I wanted a Basset since I was a kid, and finally got one in my 30’s… She can still make me laugh every time we say the word “walk” and she howls in excitement - and we’re talking howls…
Golden Retriever - I’ve had two in my life, and they are just the sweetest, most loving dogs I’ve ever come across…
I’m still trying to figure out number 3… Eventually when our Basset goes (she’s 11), we’ll replace her with a smaller dog… or probably get another Basset - who am I kidding?
Brussels Griffon-THE absolute best apartment/small house dog. Not terriers so they aren’t generally high energy dogs. Also they are highly intelligent(if they aren’t inbred all to shit) and are known as “Velcro” dogs because they tend to follow their owners around watching them do even the most mundane tasks. Not great with small children imo, simply because children tend to underestimate their own strength when handling small pets.
Basenji-incredible hunting abilities, and though they chase cars as much as possums, they still make a pretty good city dog because of their size and inability to truly bark.
German Shepherds-even the stupidest of German Shepherds is intelligent and protective.
Akita-Loyal, very watchful, and depending on temperament, very protective.
English Bulldog-like the Brussels Griffon this breed seems to have a big heart. Though they usually come chock full of health issues thanks to thoughtless breeders, they still rank above most breeds when it comes to tolerating small children. Luckily since they’re so expensive they tend to be owned by people who can afford to deal with all of the health problems.
Border Collie. We’ve owned three Border Collies, and each one was a wonderful dog in its own way. Katie the Wonder Dog is lying at my feet right now, hoping for some popcorn.
German Shepherd. I’ve owned two of these, and they were both great dogs.
Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. I haven’t owned one of these yet, but they sound like great dogs. Kind of like a smaller, more playful Golden Retriever.
Canaan dog. Okay, so I have a type. The fact is that I like all pariah dogs,because they’re dogs.
I just think dogs should look like dogs. They should have long snouts and long legs and they should not have flat faces or stumpy legs.
Now that I’ve named my favorite breeds, I’ll say that I’m against breeding dogs for type in general, at least breeding them to look a certain way.
Golden retriever. My first and only choice. I’m currently on my 3d, would have a hard time imagining myself owning a different breed. For me, it is all about the personality (tho it doesn’t hurt that they are gorgeous.)
German Wirehair Pointer - Have had 3 of these clowns
English Springer Spaniel - Got ours out of the pound 11 years ago - Great dog!
Brittany Spaniel - Lost him way to young.
Welsh Springer Spaniel - we’ve had 3 of them. Nice dogs, reasonably smart, and quite loyal. The only downside is that if you live in an area with lots of cute furry creatures, you won’t for very long. I had to replace about a dozen of my uncles chickens (I realize chickens aren’t cute and furry).
Malamutes - have never owned one but the ones I’ve ran across were all very nice.
Golden Retrievers - I mean really, how can you not love a golden retriever.
But I’m petting my field-bred troublemakers while I do it. 