How Did You Choose Your Breed?

[Dxenion]

I loved watching GSD police dog displays as a kid so I didn't even consider anything else when it came to getting my first dog.

For my latest, I wanted a white GSD but they can't be registered with the ANKC so we went with a White Swiss Shepherd (a cousin of the GSD). Now that I have both breeds in the house, our next will be a WSSD as well.

[Rosaline]

There are actually loads of breeds I love and would have considered, however my husband also has input and his criteria included Medium size (no large breeds and no little dogs); no Terrier breeds and nothing "fluffy".

We wanted a breed that was also great with kids, and would enjoy playing and possibly something like agility. I've had a GR in the past and wanted a dog with a similar soppy temperament.

I narrowed it down to a Cocker Spaniel or a Welsh Springer Spaniel, then we ruled out the Cocker and considered a Brittany.

In the end, after meeting both, we all fell in love with Welshies and now we're waiting for a puppy!

[mumof4girls]

To clarify, I was just wondering how you guys came to your decisions, our decision's pretty much been made. English Setter due to size.

@mumof4girls: An Airedale was another option but my fiance dismissed them out of hand (every time) because she's insane and thinks they're ugly.

@persephone: Yeah, I went through that forum. It helped make the decision.

I'm with you, insane :-) .. They are extremely intelligent and so family oriented he loves us and loves being around us :-) And sooooo cute!! :-)

[capanash]

Wanted something good temperament, smart, non-shedding and medium size. At our local dog park we had a met a lovely Standard Poodle who was very friendly. Never had any regrets, Standard poodles have been the perfect choice, only problem is we keep getting more!

We had also seen a Sci-fi movie "Attack of the Killer Tongue" where the lead character had 4 Std Poodles, daughter said jokingly thats what she wanted, we now have 7.

Edited January 23, 2012 by capanash

[SparkyTansy]

I picked the English Setter breed out of a book when I was 8. I did research and tried to meet as many as I could, and finally when I could have my own (19) I was ready for an ES. In saying that now I have two Weims and two ES, I have found the Weim to be more suitable at the moment, and my OH prefers them, so it's quite possible I'll end up with more Weims in the future, but the ES will always be my fave. I have had weims since I was 8 as they are my mum's favourite breed.

[RubyStar]

To clarify, I was just wondering how you guys came to your decisions, our decision's pretty much been made. English Setter due to size.

@mumof4girls: An Airedale was another option but my fiance dismissed them out of hand (every time) because she's insane and thinks they're ugly.

@persephone: Yeah, I went through that forum. It helped make the decision.

Grew up loving the look of Labradors. Was never allowed one as we were a "small dog" family. I was one eyed towards the Lab ever since and even reading up on how boisterous they are I still wanted one. Got one as an adult as soon as I was able to and now will never be without one!!!

I usually pick based on looks, temperament and what I want to do with them. Several breeds I love the look of, but won't suit the dog sports I am interested in. Gundog temperaments and their ability to partake in gundog related sports sell gundogs to me! It's an added bonus they are awesome looking :D

[rusty&biscuit]

As a dig to fill the hole in my heart after having my previous dog pts, I had my heart set on an ACD. But mum and dad said no, mum doesn't like 'em (goodness knows why! ), so I was just researching australian shepherd cos they ar very pretty dogs...similar temperament to ACD's, loyal, one person dog, active, suitable for agility and obedience, and (supposedly!) biddable. So I ended up with my boy Rusty! Who can't decide wether he wants to be mine or dads dog, p*sses all over the agility course, and not one bit 'willing to please'. More like, 'willing for the food, if there's no food, forget it'. Nonetheless I still love him :laugh:

For my third dog, finally given permission by my parents, I STILL had my heart set on an ACD. However since it took so much convincing (6 years to convince them for 3 dogs!!), there were strict conditions. One, it had to be male, they don't want to deal with a female in heat (I wanted a show dog, so desexing not an option), and it had to be a SMALL dog. Well, that rules out ACD. So yet again I wanted something loyal, very much a 1 person dog, able to compete in agility, active and 'biddable'. So, I came up with a Japanese Spitz. BUT, they never told me it had to have a shorter coat than Rusty the Aussie shepherd!! But after much debate, I decided a schipperke, found the most wonderful breeder, and so I have my boy Biscuit. Everything I have ever wanted in a dog and more, he is definately my 'heart dog'.

BUT, I still have my heart set on an ACD, and one day when I move out and have enough room, I WILL have one

[TheCheekyMonster]

Well, I have had Dalmatians growing up and I like a challenge, I didnt want a small dog, but not a large one either, I wanted one with long fur but then the thought of grooming turned me off :D hahah

Every time i looked at other dogs there was a love but not to the same degree as the love I have for Dalmatians, not only do they carry a lot of childhood memories for me but I admire their stature and the way they carry themselves.....

So what did I end up with.... an absolute goof ball that malts every day of the year.

:D

In saying this when I can financially support another dog I will be getting an AMstaff or some kind of mastiff, I think they are absolutely adorable.

Edited January 23, 2012 by GussysMum

[Jetshroom]

Some great stories there. A lot of people growing up with a certain breed. It's odd, I grew up with Kelpies and I'd only ever get one if I wanted a cattle dog.

That said, also had a Shitsu and a lot of contact with a Jack X Corgi so I'm dead set against small and toy dogs. OH has grown up with a Rottweiler (who was freaking huge btw, one of the largest dogs I've seen), the Jack x Corgi and had something that had bloodhound and Rodesian Ridgeback in it (I think.) and for some reason, she's against any dog that's higher than her knee.

About 12 months ago I was seriously just considering going out and buying a Berner pup so that she'd fall in love with it and thus eliminate all conditions on size.

As for choosing the breed, the key factor for us was a dog that wasn't going to play favorites. We have a cat and she's a daddy's girl and it bugs OH no end.

Other factor was it needed to be somewhat child durable.

Still researching but it's looking like an English Setter for us.

[Dogsfevr]

Do you like slobber up your wall,on your furniture & every where in between .

[ironbutterfly]

I couldn't own a small breed, whatever we got had to be either medium to large. Having owned a long haired mutt before I knew I wanted a short coat as we go to the beach a lot. I didn't want to have to worry about clipping either so the only maintenance had to be brushing.

I've always loved bully breeds but OH wasn't so sure. He wanted a typical dog (Lab, Beagle, BC the ones the media generally portray) I finally talked DH around to the bull breeds by saying it was going to be my dog so it had to be something I was happy handling. I gave him a choice between a SBT or BT (I wanted a BT but he didn't like the head shape) so I got a SBT. I think our next will be a BT, we would love a brachy bully but as we are going to move to a hotter climate we decided to hold off until we move cooler again.

[dancinbcs]

With my main breed I wrote up a list of what I did and didn't want in a dog.

I wanted - very smart and east to train, biddable, medium size, basic "dog shape", long coat but not dragging on the ground.

I didn't want - smooth coat, excessive shedding like a Lab or GSD, drool, squashed face, short legs, Gundog "doggy odour" from the oily coats, Terrier tenacity, Hound or large Spitz aloofness or a really strong guard instinct. So that ruled out Toys, Terriers, Gundogs, Hounds and left just a few breeds from Working, Non-Sporting and Utility groups to choose from.

My first choice was a Standard Poodle, then I decided I wanted to show as well as trial the dog and I was not up for that much grooming. I wasn't comfortable with the docked tail on the poodle either at the time. So my next choice was a Border Collie and I have shown, bred, and trialled them for nearly 30 years.

I knew some of the first breeders of Japanese Spitz in Aust and always admired their dogs and thought they might be my next breed when I wanted to downsize a bit. then 10 years ago started to occasionally help a friend showing her JS and got to know the breed very well. Now I have my first JS. Quite a few things about him are easier than a Border but other things are more difficult and rather frustrating after having Borders.

[WeimMe]

I fell in love with the Weim next door and that was that! I did do some research, and the breed ticked all the boxes for temperament and exercise, but at the time I don't think I fully understood the implications of some of their more negative attributes until I had one of my own. I think that if you have a dog in mind, talking to actual owners about some of the down sides to the temperament of the breed is a good idea.

[mumtoshelley]

Here my mum grew up with labradors when she was a kid, my dad he had whippets when he was younger. I grew up with a cattle dog which was the biggest sook but in saying that everyone was scared of her. When I was 14 years old my parents brought me my own dog buddy my male golden retriever. I had a list of 3 breeds the lab,dalmatian and golden retriever, My parents said no to the dalmatian so it was either the lab or golden. So I went to library and researched both breeds. I decided on the golden retriever as it said they mature earlier then labs and they weren't as active as a lab well how wrong that book was, Altho Buddy wasn't active even when a puppy he was and still is very laid back. Buddy was a breeze to train basicly he knew what to do before I even said it.

When Buddy turned 7 I got Rascal my chihuahua which was impluse buy as he was real cute, I read up on chihuahuas once he was home. His a good little dog but a yapper, I tryed everything to socialize him with other people and dogs but he just wouldn't accept it. He will sometimes go up to a stranger for a pat but most of the time he barks at them same with dogs some dogs he will go up to and sniff others he will bark at. Rascal knows the commands sit/stay and come.

When Buddy turned 10 I got Shelley my female golden retriever, Shelley was alot more active and destructive then Buddy ever was. She was fairly easy to train but was more stubborn then Buddy. Shelley also always had sloopy sits and drops her heel was horrible. Shelley would also try and control our walks eg would want to go a different way then me, Shelley would also zig zag in front me and almost rip me over. It took about 2 years for her to actually learn what to do and what not to do.

When Shelley was 3 years old I got Missy my whippet from what my dad told me about whippets they sounded like the dog for me. Well I thought Shelley was stubborn Missy is even more stubborn lol. I've had Missy for 3 months 3 weeks. I enrolled her into obedience within 2 weeks of getting her. The obedience trainer said she is a very confident and brave puppy showed no fear. Obedience trainer said after 3 training seasons that Missy is coming along great with training, well on the fourth training season the trainer pulled me aside as Missy would not sit on command not even for food, If I gently pushed her bum she would stiffen up like a rock. The trainer then said to give a firm tap on the bottom while telling her sit which worked great. Now at 6 months old she is sitting real good her heel is good,her stays are alright,her recall is getting there. At the moment she is learning drop which she is being real stubborn about. But in saying that Missy is turning out to be the better obedience dog. I also find Missy is easier when it comes to grooming,exercise. Missy is also easier in the weight management then my other dogs.

[Bjelkier]

We wanted a friend for our Lab when our APBT passed away.

We narrowed it down to a few breeds that we liked the look off and then went out and met the breeds in person.

It helped that we showed my MIL's Newf's so we had the chance to see the breeds we liked a lot.

Recently we have been looking into adding a new breed to the house and have decided on the OES.

[Esky the husky]

I got a husky because .. uh I'd always wanted one.

Since getting a husky our next breed has been chosen for it's ability to work in harness without being too husky like. Sadly the boyfriend doesn't share my love of huskies.

[Pretty Miss Emma]

Fell into them because I fell in love and adopted a dog at a shelter!!! Mind you it was also the breed that I had always researched and thought that I would one day have. But I didn't adopt the dog with that in mind, it really was just about love!

But now that I have my 2nd there was much more thought in getting her. I like the activities that I can do with them, lurve their looks, love any creature that learns quickly and loves to learn. Plus to some extent I think they match my personality in terms of the traits they have (I was talking about it with a friend who has a GR, and she was saying how her dog likes to "read the paper from front to back" just like she does; whereas Kenz is like me "skim through for the interesting stories"!!!).

Am still debating if there are other breeds I'd like to own, so far there is only one and they have similar qualities to the one I already have (but aren't by any means the same!).

BC's are ace - if you're the right person for them!!!

[Remarkabull]

I grew up with Dobermans and they have always been my heart breed. There is no other breed that can compare with a stunning looking Dobe .

Now, however I have come to the conclusion that ATM another Dobe is not the best option for our family as both OH and myself work full time and he is away for months at a time throughout the year (Army) and Acheron requires alot of exercise so our next puppy will be a Australian Bulldog. Much more laid back and not needing anywhere near as much exercise. I also had to let OH get his choice this time round as he allowed me to get Acheron even though he would have preferred a British Bulldog (not ideal for Darwin, hence the reason we are getting an Aussie from a local breeder).

[percyk]

i dont like rough coats so i doubt id ever own one simply cause i LOVE the feeling of soft and silky fur

spaniels figured largely in our family for a while

but now as im ageing id consider size...i wouldnt go for a heavy breed..just the training would be difficult for me i think

soft or smooth coats that are still silky to the touch are still important

and im big on having as little doggy odour as possible

probably have only one or two dogs in retirement

so hmmm

maybe a nice sooky velcro viszla ..hope ive spelled it correctly

maybe a greyhound ....but only the right one

or a whippet or iggie

nice to have a sight hound cos they dont bark too much

[espinay2]

It was pre computer for me when I chose my breed, so not so much of the information available at the fingertips as there is today. I was looking into a range of breeds and was buying the TFH general breed books for the breeds I was interested in. I was looking at gundog breeds mostly originally and was in fact seriously considering a springer spaniel. Then I bought a copy of Dogs USA Puppies Annual (I still have that copy!) It had pictures and information on most of the breeds. It also had articles and one was about a 'Great Pyrenees' called Alaska Snow. I saw the pictures, read the article, and was entranced. It was a breed I had never heard of or considered. It sounded to be just what I wanted and no matter what other breeds I considered (I tried to be objective) I could NOT take my eyes off that dog! :laugh: So I bought the TFH book and called the canine control to find out about breeders etc (where I learnt they were called Pyrenean Mountain Dogs here) and they put me onto the PMD club in Victoria. I talked to them, they put me onto a breeder who talked some more (and where I found out that not all Pyrs are pure white), I decided that yes, I could deal with the 'issues' the breed presented (they made sure I knew what they were though at the time I don't think I really understood fully what I was in for ;) ) and I decided to buy a puppy (which was luckily available - it was a case of right place at right time). The first time I met a Pyr was when I went to the airport to pick up 9 week old Halley. It was 100% the right decision for me