Favorite breed of dog?

[Gooberlx2]

Overall, I think German Shepherds are my favorite. Loyal, smart, easily trained, regal, I love how they look, etc, etc.

I wish I had one, but we have too many pets right now as it is. I do care for my friend's GSD quite often though. It may be the best trained dog I have ever handled. Absolutely amazing.

I also think GSD mixes make the best mutts.

 

[SunnyD]

Golden.

It's funny how many self-proclaimed "dog experts" there are in this thread that clearly don't know shit about dogs.

 

[chitwood]

no votes for the pug I see

 

[Canun]

Malinois, best dog ever!

 

[Drako]

Elkhound or Black Labrador, I can't decide .

 

[coolroyboy2]

Jack Russell

X2

 

[Capt Caveman]

That's really hard to narrow down...I'll give you my top 5:

- Beagle
- Golden Retriever
- Corgi
- German Shepherd
- Weimaraner

I've heard really good things about Rhodesian Ridgebacks...and will likely get that as our next dog to give it a try. My wife loves Golden Retrievers and I do have a soft spot for them. Currently we have a Beagle and a Beagle/Golden Retriever mix that we found at a shelter.

Since, you're a runner, Ridgebacks make great running partners.

 

[alkemyst]

mine:

Australian Cattle Dog / Lab mix.

 

[soulcougher73]

Puggles

 

[UnklSnappy]

The spitz breeds are my favorites, especially the Shiba Inu and Akita Inu.

 

[AreaCode707]

Great Danes! They're great friendly dogs, not real bright but that makes them easy to handle, naturally good-natured, pretty lazy and don't require a lot of attention or energy, easy keepers and just wonderful pals with unique personalities.

I need at some point in the future to get a guard dog for goats and our Danes will not be well-suited to that at all; they are not aggressive or particularly protective and in fact are pretty wussy if confronted with most threats.

Normally an Anatolian Shepherd or a Great Pyrenees would be recommended for this but we'll be living in a very hot area (summers can hit 115 degrees) and putting a long-haired dog in those conditions would just be cruel. I still need to research what the best dog would be for our purposes there. We don't need a shepherd, just a guard dog to protect against predators.

 

[Gooberlx2]

The spitz breeds are my favorites, especially the Shiba Inu and Akita Inu.

I watched "Hachiko: A Dog's Story" the other day. It doesn't murder your emotions in a short decisive strike, like the end of "Marley and Me". It keeps you on that shaky-breathing verge for a lot longer.

Anyway, I think Akitas are gorgeous dogs. My only experience with them, however, was my friend's two. They were ferociously mean.

 

[Ns1]

I think I want my first 6 dogs to be corgis, and by then I'll get my fix and want to diversify.

 

[Drako]

I watched "Hachiko: A Dog's Story" the other day. It doesn't murder your emotions in a short decisive strike, like the end of "Marley and Me". It keeps you on that shaky-breathing verge for a lot longer.

Anyway, I think Akitas are gorgeous dogs. My only experience with them, however, was my friend's two. They were ferociously mean.

Yeah, not a good dog if you have kids around. Our neighbors have a two Shibas and they are just nasty - pretty to look at though. Better to go with a friendlier Spitz, like an Elkhound.

 

[insect9]

Boxer

 

[Pepsei]

golden

 

[eits]

Great Danes! They're great friendly dogs, not real bright but that makes them easy to handle, naturally good-natured, pretty lazy and don't require a lot of attention or energy, easy keepers and just wonderful pals with unique personalities.

I need at some point in the future to get a guard dog for goats and our Danes will not be well-suited to that at all; they are not aggressive or particularly protective and in fact are pretty wussy if confronted with most threats.

Normally an Anatolian Shepherd or a Great Pyrenees would be recommended for this but we'll be living in a very hot area (summers can hit 115 degrees) and putting a long-haired dog in those conditions would just be cruel. I still need to research what the best dog would be for our purposes there. We don't need a shepherd, just a guard dog to protect against predators.

untrue. they were bred to be guard dogs and to hunt wild boar. aggression was bred out of them, but fierce loyalty and protection was kept. they will attack if they sense danger from a stranger or if their owner is being attacked.

 

[RKS]

Great Danes! They're great friendly dogs, not real bright but that makes them easy to handle, naturally good-natured, pretty lazy and don't require a lot of attention or energy, easy keepers and just wonderful pals with unique personalities.

I need at some point in the future to get a guard dog for goats and our Danes will not be well-suited to that at all; they are not aggressive or particularly protective and in fact are pretty wussy if confronted with most threats.

Normally an Anatolian Shepherd or a Great Pyrenees would be recommended for this but we'll be living in a very hot area (summers can hit 115 degrees) and putting a long-haired dog in those conditions would just be cruel. I still need to research what the best dog would be for our purposes there. We don't need a shepherd, just a guard dog to protect against predators.

Get a Dogo Argentino. They are tiny and family friendly.

 

[AreaCode707]

untrue. they were bred to be guard dogs and to hunt wild boar. aggression was bred out of them, but fierce loyalty and protection was kept. they will attack if they sense danger from a stranger or if their owner is being attacked.

They'd still be lousy livestock guard dogs; they don't have the interest for it and would be unlikely to stick with and protect a herd.

They're people-protective only in situations where they perceive a direct attack. If you're not home and someone breaks into your house they will likely greet the stranger happily. Yes, they'll attack an attacker (my female Dane used to get between me and my little sisters when I was tickling them and growl at me while wagging her tail to tell me she wasn't cool with this) but they're definitely nowhere near on the level of alertness or guarding of a lab. I consider it one of the breed attributes.

 

[alkemyst]

Yeah, not a good dog if you have kids around. Our neighbors have a two Shibas and they are just nasty - pretty to look at though. Better to go with a friendlier Spitz, like an Elkhound.

spitz are terrier breeds, not so friendly overall.

 

[Born2bwire]

Elkhound or Black Labrador, I can't decide .

We had a Norwegian Elkhound growing up. A VERY good dog but he was always a bit aloof with us kids. Our labs loved kids, the Elkhound tolerated us.

 

[Kelemvor]

Definitely Golden Retrievers

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Ridgeback

Followed closely by the border collie (RIP, Houdini)

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Yeah what of it? I've killed over 40,000 animals in my lifetime between hunting and fishing. I will not have a liability who is killing my other animals. Nor will I give a liability to someone else. Like a man I deal with it no matter how gut wrenching it was.

40,000? Are you trying to compete with Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand?

From Wikipedia:

"Franz Ferdinand had a fondness for trophy hunting that was excessive even by the standards of European nobility of this time. In his diaries he kept track of an estimated 300,000 game kills, 5,000 of which were deer. A small fraction of the trophies were on exhibit at his Bohemian castle at Konopiště which he also stuffed with various antiquities, his other great collection passion.[citation needed]"

I know it says citation needed, but I've been to Franz Ferdinands hunting lodge (Konopiste) and saw an absolutely enormous number of hunting trophies. Many thousands, at the least. So 300k for Franz is probably not BS.

 

[Locut0s]

1st Tier

Labs and various Lab mixes - except the Labradoodle
Ridgebacks
Golden Retrievers

2nd Tier

Beagles
Jack Russells

And I'll add to this that a mixed breed of any of these and others is usually preferred to a pure breed.