Help Me Choose A Dog Breed

I dont think you should consider a breed, I think you should go to a pound and ask yourself and the dogs, whos coming home with me, who here do I love, and who here loves me.

Otherwise get a puppy thats a mix between 2 "working Breeds"

You can't go wrong with a mix of working breed, they have been chosen for a reason over 4000 years of human interactions. Lab, Hound, Retreiver, Sheppard, Collie.

A true connection is what you are ultimately looking for, it can be made by raising the pup yourself, or earned from a pound hound, sometimes instantly.

-GM

I personally like boxers. They are intelligent, act like puppies for pretty much their entire lives, they kidney bean, and they can also be trained for all different types of service events because they were breed to bite/hold down bulls. They are prone to ear cancer and a lot of other health problems.


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long haired chihuahua

Originally posted by kimish
Without a doubt the dog you should get is a Presa Canario. They are loyal, obedient and highly athletic.
They are very protective over their family, they are better guard dogs than Rotts and GS and they are more athletic and much stronger than the other 2.


www.dogbreedinfo.com...

American Bulldog , he has served me well he is the best dog bar none


An American would suit all your needs
en.wikipedia.org...


Ripper

Domo1, I like your choices. Out of all of them it would be a tie between Doberman and Rotty. Rottweilers and Dobermans have health issues though so do pick a reputable breeder and always inquire about the line from which they come. If intimidation is what you are looking for a Rottweiler would be the cheaper choice. Cheaper meaning Dobermans and Rottweiler get tails cropped when they are born BUT a Doberman should get his ears cropped before it is 1 year old. A surgery like that runs 1400.00. Just remember pick a dog that is right for you and your family. Take in consideration, breed health, shedding, family/stranger aggression, breed skittishness, associates well with other animals and so forth. Never get a dog because it is bad-ass. Good luck Domo and post pictures when you get one.

reply to post by Unknown Soldier
That is a dog. Looks like a bed hog though.

reply to post by Domo1


Love our Dobies, on our 3rd one. They are wonderful. A couple of things to think about. Two of them were female and they both had incontinence problems after they were about 6 yrs old. The male seems fine. Also the male is submissive to the females for what that is worth. All three are quality bred. Also, getting one from a Dobie rescue group is a great idea but you need to worry about 2 things, if they are over a year old and have had abuse or neglect you need to check carefully for personality issues. Second issue potentially is health, if you don't know the breeder you may be very saddened to find hip problems latter in their life.

Good luck on your choice.

I think that the Anatolian Kangal may suit your needs .

That is my favorite big - working - protective - child friendly dog.

I currently have a Jack Russell and that is a fine breed too .

Toyfox Terriers are too good to be true , almost .

personally, i'd say a Claxor Edisonhound. they do whatever you tell them to in a timely fashion. i.e. filling out forms, taxes or any other kind of official documents. Woof purr meow wag bark purr.

reply to post by Domo1


We have two Australian Shepherds, I was never really a dog person before, but they've turned me into one. They're so damned smart, way smarter than anybody else's dog(s) in this thread...

reply to post by Domo1


I have had three Akitas in my life, and think they are one of the top breeds.

In your O.P. you mentioned agility and flyball, and the Akita may not fair well in these two areas, however in the area of loyalty, protection, and intelligence, an Akita is hard to beat.

And the are hairy, and they shed, no matter what some may say.

In the next few months I'll be looking for my next companion, and their is a reputable German Shepard shelter in the area, so I suspect I'll have a Shepard soon.

Others have mentioned the Rhodesian Ridgeback, and I am quite familiar with this breed as well.
I can't say enough good about the Ridgeback, however finding them at a shelter/ rescue is difficult.

Good luck,
and enjoy your pal.

Originally posted by isitjustme
A Lab is the best dog I ever had. They love doing everything and are the best friends a person could have. They really fit in with a family or even a single person. They love to chew when they are pups so they need thier own toys. I had to put mine down about 4 yrs ago and there isn't a day that I don't miss her

too true!! labs are great dogs, however, imo a Belgian Malinois is a fine choice, VERY clever, Very protective, and if looked after well ( this is a working dog so needs to be kept busy) extremely loyal. this is a dog that understands family "pack" so your kids are pretty damn safe.

Hey OP, I am glad you think Pits aren't super mean, they really aren't. That Belgian breed I've read about before. That is what I'll be looking into in the future.

for survival you need a dog that can hunt and protect.

This one is a bulll mastiff x great dane. I have two dogs, one is a bull mastiff cross/great dane: Zues is a silver harlequin so is white with blotches. They can pull down a wild boar. Very strong dogs.

This is what the breed looks like:

reply to post by Domo1


The way you talk about some of these dogs negatively, and the fact that you had to come on a message board to get others opinions on what dog YOU should get shows me you're not ready to properly care for ANY dog.

I feel sorry for any dog you purchase.

Maybe you should start with a goldfish.

Originally posted by AnimositisominA
Boxer
Extremely intelligent, tough, territorial, fearless, loyal, dependable, low maintenance, easy to train, great with kids, and full of personality and energy. Best dog I ever had.

+1 on the Boxer. I grew up with them, they are great family dogs and also good guard dogs.

I have a Akita/Wolf mix. She's absolutely amazing. Smartest dog I've owned next to my Chocolate labs. She's good with my son and all his little cousins. Akitas are extremely protective but very loving. She's thinks she's part of the family due to the wolf in her since they are pack animals. She is a huge part of my life and is my first born great great great dog. Believe me when I say you do not want to show up in yard or my house uninvited. In fact she once bit a friend for giving a previous roommate birfday spankings. She's thought he was in danger and went for the attack. Look into akita/wolf mixes they truely are amazing. Other than that I suggest a chow or lab very good loyal dogs.

reply to post by Domo1


Ummm........Belgian Tervuren.......
2nd

reply to post by Domo1


I had two Chows (Chow Chow), a black female about 75 pounds and a sable male around 80 pounds. Best dogs I ever had for hunting, protecting the house and the kids, extremely loyal and protective and they don't normally bark, kind of sneak up on you. An unknown person may get into your house, but it's unlikely they will ever leave. They are generally one person dogs but can be trained to a multiple alpha order. I've seen this kind of dog put down a pit bull in under two minutes and they used to use them to hunt bears and tigers in China (in packs of 3 to 4). Only problem is they shed, you could almost make another dog out of the hair that came out every month.

Cheers - Dave