Hundreds of breeds researched, and nothing to show for it.

[Guest Anonymous]

This is an indepth "what's the right breed for me?" quesiton posted in a couple of branches as I was uncertain where to post. It's going to take your time. Just warning you. If you are uncertain about anything and care to double check; marlboroh@hotmail.com is where you'll find me.

Hi there,
After reading several books on dog breeds and doing some intensive research on the internet, I feel lost and confused because of conflicting doggie traits. :-?
Let me tell you a little about myself so you can tell me what breed and I will be like peas and carrots.

I am a single-animated-happy go lucky-funny-young-restless-sensitive-easygoing- adjective loving fella who works from home in a small Boca Raton apartment in humid Florida. I am a patient and nurturing person overall who wants to spend many happy

[Guest Anonymous]

So far besides not being fond of small breeds it sounds like a poodle would be a good dog for you. It is a smaller breed and you live in a smaller apartment, their hair is hypoallergenic meaning it wont upset allergies and they do little to no shedding.
A larger to medium size dog may not enjoy living in a smaller apartment and would have to be excersized in a larger area than a small dog would need. If your biggest concern is the sound of their bark, enroll your new best friend into an obedience class, they cover most if not all behavioral issues you might have, but remember all dogs bark.
The best thing I can suggest to you is to take your list of demands and what you are looking in a dog to a local rescue in your area.
They work as hard as they can to match the right dog with the right human. They know alot about their dogs in rescue and would be able to give you upfront advice about the dog that you would chose to adopt.
Ive never heard of training a dog to use a toliet before, just cats, I do know that small breeds are easily trained in a litter box.

Good luck with your search and I hope you find your perfect match. Just remember who ever you chose is a long term commitment

[alpha sheltie]

From the obedience aspect, shelties are for you. They're very easy to train because they're very intelligent, loyal and very willing to please. I'm a first time dog owner, and now own two shelties. As for everything else, they're not for you. They're an active breed (mentally and physically). They shed like crazy (less if regular combing happens...I comb everyday to minimize shedding). They're barkers unless taught not to...therefore making GREAT watch dogs. They're horrible guard dogs though...they like to warn intruders but if anyone came into my house, they'd greet them with licks. They aren't huge but they aren't small. Alot of pet quality shelties are over the breed standard (13-16 inches). Mine stand at 17 inches and 15.5 inches. They're compact enough to go around with you but big enough to consider a medium sized dog. So overall, they're probably not the best breed for you unless you consider the obedience part the most important. I don't know half as much on other breeds so...sorry I couldn't really help.

[Annushka]

Ok, let me see...You can choose any breed you like - it doesn't matter. The dog adapts to your lifestyle very good. My dalmatian had to stay alone for 10 hours and then could run trough the forest for 2 days without a rest...And Asting feels pleased when lying in the train or a car for a week and when competing in Agility trials which are held usually for about 3 days :o . One more thing: I live in a flat in a big house and we don't have any yard to walk with the dog, but all my dogs are really good and happy :D

[Guest Anonymous]

.... what do YOU see YOURSELF doing with your dog? Dog curled up at your feet while you read/watch TV at night? Going for long walks on the beach? Taking long rides in the car? Do you go camping? Do you want to participate in 'doggy things' -- agility, flyball, obedience?

You say you're 24, & I assume, single? Do you go out at night? Would the dog be left alone 8-10 hours/day while you work & then for another 4-5 hours at night while you go out?

If you get a puppy, you need to realize that the MOST IMPORTANT weeks for training a puppy in the way you want him/her to grow up is from whenever you bring it home (hopefully at 7-8 weeks, but could be later) to week 16 of it's young life. So if you've got your heart set on a puppy, plan on spending your nearly every waking moment of those weeks tending to the puppy. Are you willing/able to dedicate that time to raising the puppy? It's a very stressful but extremely rewarding time.

If you don't have that kind of time, look for a rescue group which has a young adult they are adopting out. Or an SPCA - although they won't know as much about the dog as the rescue group will. Rescued older dogs bond perfectly well with their owners (I kind of have one), & they've got that 'young puppy chewing/teething/biting/pottying-every-30-mintes' thing out of their system. I'm not saying you won't have to housebreak a rescue -- just if they're older their bladders/intestines are bigger & they can wait longer between outings. Hence 'easier' to housebreak.

I got my Papillon when he was 3.5 years old from a breeder that decided he wasn't cut out for the show ring (too timid). I've had him almost 4 years now. I even changed his name! If you came to my house you would never even suspect that (a) I hadn't raised him from a puppy -- he's an absolute 'velcro-dog' to me, & (b) that his name hadn't ALWAYS been 'Dandy'. So while he wasn't a 'rescue' in the strictest sense of the word, I did get him as an adult -- not a puppy.

About the breed of dog. There are several 'tests' on the Internet that ask you a series of questions about your lifestyle, house, yard, etc. & then give you one to several choices of dogs that would be suited to you. Have you tried any of those? And you might try going to a dog show & looking at some/all the different breeds to get a clearer picture in mind of what you do/don't like.

That's my $0.02 worth -- hope it helps a little bit.

[Guest Anonymous]

A Bulldog would be good, except, they are trainable, just usually don't like to listen. I think an APBT would be best, but if you are not home 8-10 hours a day, no. My lab/golden mix is fine all day from about 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM with my Australian Shepherd. When I get home they just go outside and play for a while, they are both itelligent. Shedding wise, they are pretty low maintance. The lab/golden was my first dog and she's great, so maybe a lab? And when in doubt, go to the shelter and pick one out first hand! :D