What is your preferred choice in dog breed as a pet and why?

I prefer a larger dog to a smaller dog, but have never chosen by breed. All my dogs have been rescue dogs, who were abused and needed a loving home.

I don’t have a dog right now, but if I did, it’d be a black lab. We’ve had two, & they’re the best with kids & they’re a calm dog.

When I used to have a dog (he’s now living hopefully happily with ex-boyfriend) I had a mutt (or North American Brown Dog, as we used to tell people) and that’s what I’m going to get again when new guy and I get a dog soon. I like knowing I gave a second-hand dog a chance at a good life. I don’t care about a breed’s heritage or how it looks. All I would need is to feel the emotional connection with a dog. Who cares about coat and stuff? I’ve never seen a non-adorable dog.

I would never consider a pure bred dog, unless it was from a rescue organization. If I ever got a pure bred, I would get a boxer. I like their spunk, that they tend to not bark much, their energy, and how funny they usually are.

I’ve never had a dog, but I like both pugs and greyhounds. (How’s that for a dichotomy?)

However, when I eventually have my own place and a stable job, I’d probably end up going to the shelter and picking out a mutt. Any size. (Or greyhound rescue, I’m not picky.)

The only thing I would try to avoid would be yip-yip or anti-social dogs. (My dad had a pomeranian when I was younger who was both.)

Love the Boston Terriers ( we also have 2 mutts and 2 pugs) The BT’s are so sweet ,
a little crazy. Our Roxy will play with the tennis ball any time day or night… she is obsessed… When we take her to the beach she will chase the ball all day, never stopping…and even go out into the water to chase her ball… she thinks she’s a golden retriever…. she is quite a scene at the beach…. and I agree with the above responses… rescues only.. .there are sooo m any purebreds in the shelters

I like big dogs and I like bulldogs of various sorts. I also like Shar-Peis – their personalities tend to make them what I consider “Chinese bulldogs.” Currently we happen to have a very large American Bulldog, but we have four other dogs who are various blends. All five of the dogs are rescues.

I am not a fan of tiny dogs, although I don’t blame them. I just prefer dogs that are at least knee-high.

I had a dog that was my own, a pug, I choose that breed because well, I always thought they were cute and lazy. I like them.
As for the family dogs, we have 3, a Chihuaha (neighbor gave her to us), a Cockapoo (aunt gave her to us), and a Mut (I don’t know why we have him…) but I still like them.

I’ve had two types of dogs in my life…beagles, and a min pin.

We got our family beagle when I was 4, and he was such an amazing dog. I would get another in a heartbeat (we got him at a farm..not a puppy mill, it was a small farm with two dogs for sale) My husband had a beagle when we began dating, and he was a great dog as well, but we just did not have the time to care for him :( :(
I chose my min pin very carefully, which still turned out to bite me in the ass. He was the runt, and cheaper than normal..turns out he had a million health problems, so he was one damn expensive pure bred. I didn’t get him because he was akc or anything, I just wanted a min pin, and I fell in love with him. He is now my parents little baby.

I’m in love with autralian sheep dogs, but only the black and white ones…something like a border collie as well. But, I know with where we’ll be living and our time constraints, both those breeds are not a good match for my family. We could not give them the time and exercise they deserve.

My husband would die for an English Bulldog. I don’t know enough about them to go out and get one. I think people need to do a lot of research before getting specific breeds.

I’m not sure what we’ll do when it comes time to get our first family dog….I want all the children to be older, at least 5 for the youngest, so they will not harm the dog. I also think children should play a part in the care for pets. So, when the time comes we’ll either get a rescue dog or a puppy from somewhere. Not sure.

The one that loves you.

We have a Jack Russell Terrier. Great small dog, lots of energy, extremely intelligent, and can be trained to respond if you have the patience. Sometimes it’s like being around a hummingbird with a caffeine addiction, but I’ve gotten used to that. =)

The next dog we will get will be a Beagle. We had them when I was a kid, and I just love them. Smart, sweet tempered, friendly, and that funny howling bark, (aka baying hound sound) is one of my favorite sounds in the world. I can’t afford one now, but I want one soon. Hound dogs are the best kind.

If I had the room, I’d get a Catahoula Leopard Cur, but not in this house.

I dunno why this was under questions for me thinger. I’m still a noob. I don’t even have a dog or any pet for that matter. I’m not real sure what kind of animal (not singled to a dog) I’d like to get. I was watching Dirty Jobs the other day and Mike was at this reptile farm and It kind of made me want to get a snake. If I was to limit to what type of dog, I’d probably have to go with a english bulldog, just so I can teach it to ride a skateboard, lol. I like big dogs, Pitbulls are like big kids. I dunno.

Anything but a tiny little dog. I hate tiny dogs. If I wanted a rat I would have gotten a rat.

A MUTT!!! I have two dogs a Mutt (only by common definition), Diamond who we got from the pound, she is a mix of Chow or Shiba Inu and Lab. She is the best pet one could hope for, rarely barks, good with kids, great protector and simply beautiful. I found a Maltipoo, Bo Peep who is cute as can be be but needs bathed and groomed weekly, yelps constantly, and walking him is a chore.

You’re going to think this is crazy but I adopted a purebred pit bull from a high kill shelter in L.A. about 2 years ago and he has been by far the best dog I have ever had. Everybody who knows him always tells me how lucky I am to have him. He’s extremely friendly! Loves to play with other dogs. Loves people big and small. He’s super gentle with kids and small animals. He has great manners and is very obedient. I honestly don’t know why anybody would give him up the way they did but I’m glad they did because otherwise he would’ve never ended up with me. I know this breed has a bad reputation but I can assure you, my dog doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. He’ll change anybody’s mind about pit bulls. My dog is so loved that I have a list of people who would be more than happy to take him if I ever needed to re-home him. Not that I would ever want to do that but it’s nice to know that he will never end up at a shelter again.

@Darwin I have Shar pei/ American Bulldog mix. He’s kind of crazy and very high energy but I love him even with all his little flaws.

Pit bulls generally aren’t mean unless taught to be so. Bully breeds in general love their people and will do anything to please them, even fight to the death if that is what their owner seems to want them to do. They do tend to be strong-willed dogs and so often need to be trained to be gentle, but some are naturally gentle to people.

One of our dogs is a rescued pit bull from Katrina and he really wants to do what I want him to do; I just have to figure out how to tell him what I want.

And interestingly enough both our Shar-Pei and our American Bulldog are major couch potatoes. Our pit bull is high-energy – we call him the ADD dog – but not the other two. We also have a Shar-Pei/Golden Retriever cross who is very sweet, submissive, and calm.

In my life time, my family has had a Golden Lab, a Walker, and a Mountain Fiest (or Terrier).

The Fiest was the smallest (about the size of a spaniel) but was the most hyper-active. For overall behavior, the Lab was the best. The Walker was a great dog, but she would attack any small animal she saw, including cats, rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, ect…

If I had to choose one of those dogs to have back, I’d be the Fiest.

I always choose my dogs based on intelligence, certain breeds are without a doubt more intelligent than others. And I usually adopt but I will go to a breed specific adoption place. I love akitas and bouviers, both stubborn as mules and smart as can be and both usually pretty difficult to train because they think too much. At the moment I have a 12 year old akita and a 12 year little brown dog. They are both starting to show their age and can no longer run or bike with me so I adopted a part dingo part heeler from an aboriginal man in town. She is the smartest, most cunning and devilish dog I have had in a long time. Very high prey drive though, I have to watch her around small creatures, but I absolutely love her, she is someone reincarnated, you look into her eyes and see that there is definitely someone home!

I love mutts, before I left my ex, I had a pitbull, cocker spaniel, miniture poodle mix. I know that you are thinking wow that is a blend. but she was the cutest most fun loving dog I have ever had. Well, she was my first. But she was excellent with children, and she had a soft spot for the little boy with down Syndrom. I was putting through classes so she could be a GCD ( Good Citizen Dog). This is Katanna

Argh! My last post got eaten! Here’s another shot…

I had a Mi-Ki a few years ago. It’s a cross between Japanese Chin, Shih Tzu, Papillon, Bichon Frise and a couple other breeds (it’s only been recognized as a unique breed for a short number of years).

I bought it for my mother while she was undergoing chemotherapy, after learning that dogs aid in recovery and general human well-being. She wanted a dog with the lowest possible maintenance because of her weakness. The Mi-Ki breed was perfect: tiny, beautiful coat, no shedding, little exercise required, comfortable in apartments and possible to train to “go” on little paper mats. I had read that Mi-Ki’s were very catlike and they weren’t kidding: the little fella would just lounge around the house and take naps all day!

I spent a LOT of money getting the puppy sent to me from Texas, but the breeder had lied about his health issues and refused to cover my vet bills, so I ended up sending the dog back. I only had the little guy for a week, but I miss him more than I’ve ever missed a human being.

It may be irrational, but as soon as I have the cash, I’m going to get myself another Mi-Ki.

@brinibear – your photos are set to private hun :D

I have a mutt for the dog shelter and we love him to bits, my mum has a yorkshire terrier and he is cute too! I like any dog that has a bit of personality about it, gives plenty of loving and wags his tail!!

I have a Jack Russell terrier and a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. My favourite dog breeds are not necessarily breeds that would be top of my list to live with though.

Before I got my Jack Russell, Bella I could never imagine living with one but I fell in love with her straight away. She has certain traits that are typical in a JRT that I can’t say I love but I love her and so find it easy to put up with these traits. Since having Bella I could have another JRT but I would probably go for a male next time.

I have always loved Staffy’s and they are near the top of my all time favourite breeds. Like Bella, I fell in love with Zara (my Staffy) on first sight. She’s such a pretty thing with a gorgeous character. However, as much as I love Staffy’s I waited a long time before owning one and I decided that, because of the reputation this breed has and the amount that are in shelters I decided that I would only have a rescue Staffy rather than get one from a breeder. On the whole I don’t have a problem with people going to breeders rather than getting rescue dogs and there are certain breeds that I would probably only get from breeders myself but with the current situation with Staffy’s in this country I don’t think it’s a wise thing to be breeding anymore that’s only my opinion and I don’t want to cause offense to anyone that has ever had a staffy or any other breed from a breeder.

Other breeds that I would love to have are Field Spaniels (we used to have a couple but they since passed away), German Shepherds (one of the breeds I mentioned that I would probably get from a breeder rather than a shelter so that I could be aware of the line history for health reasons more than anything else), Rottweilers and any of the Bull Terrier breeds.

Breeds I love but wouldn’t necessarily choose to own are Retrievers, Collies (although we have Flatcoated Retrievers and Border Collies in the family all of whom I adore), Bloodhounds, Chinese Crested’s etc

@kheredia and @Darwin I can honestly say that I have NEVER met a Bully breed that was naturally agressive and if I was prime minister of the UK, the first thing I would do is drop the ban on Pit Bulls.

I have a bull Mastiff and a German Shepard/wolf mix right now… both great dogs, they’re huge though. Kind of want to buy a great Dane too once I get a bigger place. lol I like big dogs.

We have had four breeds and each ones personality was perfect for our family: lab, shi tszu, great dane, and golden.

Italian greyhound! They are the most UNDER rated dogs ever! I have one and he is the best dog I have ever had. Very loyal, loving, athletic, low- maintenance, and cute. Most people have never even heard of the breed and assume he is a Whippet. Some dogs of this breed can be very whiney, but mine is not. Seriously, he is the best (not that I’m biased…)

@Rachienz sorry let me see what I can do

Ok, I have it fixed. You can see the pics of Katanna

I have a golden retriever. She is the best dog. She is very smart. Very well mannered. Loving, rarely barks and is great with kids. She is a terrible guard dog though since she thinks everyone is a potential fetch partner. My blue heeler/black lab and shepherd/black lab are good dogs too. Im partial to retrievers, heelers, and border collie because of they are smart and have lots of energy.

A red Cheq Roller Pigeon gave me more joy then any pet I ever had-why it flied with amazing tumbling acrobats; it avoided every cat attack thrust on it. It was to this day the most intelligent pet I ever had.

I have a Jack Russell, she is a bundle of energy, but very smart. growing up we raised Great Danes. They are what i call large gentle giants. But i am not able to have one in this house, not enough room.

i have 2 adult golden retrievers who I have had since they were puppies. They are so intelligent, loyal, and gentle. They are constantly surrounded my small kids. They don’t mind when a child tugs on them or lays on them. They are also very tolerant of our cats and my new puppy.
I recently got a maltese. I love that he is extremely intelligent and easy to train. He does not shed and he is hypoallergenic!! He is also really good with kids and other pets! Not to mention he is sooo tiny and adorable! (I am going to keep his hair short though, i think maltese with long hair are ugly lol)

Any type of bulldog. They are loyal and strong, but really gentle. and they are really cute! Also I really like pitbulls. they me seem like they’re scary but it all depends on how you train them.