Your experience with dog breeds

[Ringer]

Starting to research some dog breeds for the possibility of owning a dog in the near future. I've grown up around dogs my whole life. For the most part, my immediate family has owned Golden Retrievers and Labs since I was a child as well as other relatives who have owned dogs from Cockapoos and Italian Greyhounds to Great Danes. I'd like to think I'm not stranger to caring for dogs and realize the great responsibilities they entail.

I consider myself to have an active lifestyle. I enjoy the outdoors and live right next to a forest preserve trail that I frequently run/walk in addition to daily weight workouts. The back yard is a decent size that is fenced in with some sides reaching 8' in height and others maybe 4'.

The dog breeds that I'm currently interested in and looking for opinions on:

1.) Siberian Husky --> Very active, strong sense of wandering and pack oriented. Needs alpha male for owner if you want it to be obedient. Typically they are not dependent on owner for happiness so don't expect them to be very "lovey" when you get home from work.

2.) American Pitbull Terrier --> Under the right conditions can make a good family dog. Athletic, loyal, affectionate, outgoing, and pretty silly.

3.) Boxer

4.) Golden Retriever

5.) Vizsla

6.) Weimaraner

I didn't feel like listing the descriptions of the other breeds :sorry1:.
With exception of the Golden Retriever, any of you have experience with any of these other breeds? It's one thing to read about them and another to hear from people that actually own them. If not, please feel free to list the breed(s) you are familiar with. Who knows, maybe what you say about your dog will put their breed on the top of my list for future consideration.

 

[doppelganger]

We have two dogs, a golden lab and a weimaraner.

Weimaraners tend to be a little neurotic. Beautiful, but a little crazy and unpredictable at times and they can become hyperactive and destructive.

As you know, labs are awesome and are great with families.

 

[Wandered Off]

We have had a boxer. The reasons we picked this breed mainly were:

1. Great with kids.
2. Short fur easy to clean up (mainly an inside dog)
3. Distinctive looking
4. Very good-natured

Ours also got along pretty well with the cats. More than one female not recommended.

The disadvantages we found were:
1. Not a watchdog. If this is your need, get an alarm.
2. Easily bored (often leads to chewing stuff) so requires lots of attention
3. Didn't seem quite as smart as the literature led us to believe
4. Much more hyperactive than we expected

Overall a great choice, IMO. Turns out, though, that we're cat people, but your past experience with dogs should prevent any issues like that.

 

[angellous_evangellous]

Golden Retriever owner here. He is an angel.

 

[sandandfoam]

We've a boxer. She's beautiful. VERY active, she was quite hard to house train but seems to be getting the hang of it now (she's one and a half). When she was getting teeth she ate her way through more stuff than I could have imagined, kind of a canine whirlwind.
Put against her nature all the damage she could do is nothing, she has the most wonderful nature imaginable. She is clever, loyal, loving, amazing with kids and great company.

 

[Don Penguinoini]

ive always wanted a golden retriever puppy...like the andrex puppy.

 

[kadzbiz]

1.) Siberian Husky --> Very active, strong sense of wandering and pack oriented. Needs alpha male for owner if you want it to be obedient. Typically they are not dependent on owner for happiness so don't expect them to be very "lovey" when you get home from work.

2.) American Pitbull Terrier --> Under the right conditions can make a good family dog. Athletic, loyal, affectionate, outgoing, and pretty silly.

3.) Boxer

4.) Golden Retriever

5.) Vizsla

6.) Weimaraner

I didn't feel like listing the descriptions of the other breeds :sorry1:.
With exception of the Golden Retriever, any of you have experience with any of these other breeds? It's one thing to read about them and another to hear from people that actually own them. If not, please feel free to list the breed(s) you are familiar with. Who knows, maybe what you say about your dog will put their breed on the top of my list for future consideration.

We had our German Shorthaired Pointer/English Foxhound for ten years. She accepted the coming of our three children remarkably well. A great family dog. Loved being with family all the time. Loves water. When I was a child, we had two Collies, y'know like Lassie, and they were fantastic, but prone to joint problems as they age.

I guess when choosing a dog, one must consider many things. One important thing would be, will there be children around the dog?

I may have not owned a lot of dogs, but I have been involved in many dogs incidents throughout my police career. You want my advice, DON'T get a pitbull, please! Boxers are cute, but I'd not trust them around kids myself. Husky's I've known are very temperamental and Weimeraner's are good at knocking over kids by accident.

From your list, I'd have to go for the Golden Retreiver. Another great dog is the Border Collie; very intelligent and very loyal.

 

[Katzpur]

When I was a child, we had two Collies, y'know like Lassie, and they were fantastic, but prone to joint problems as they age...

From your list, I'd have to go for the Golden Retreiver.

I have a female Collie and a male Golden Retriever now. Both exceptionally great dogs.

 

[Azakel]

I have had 7 dogs so far in this life.

My first is when I was a little kid. She was a Border collie/Australian Shepherd mix. Best dog ever, loving caring, and protecting when it comes to it. And darn smart. I plain to get one again.

I have also had 2 Malamutes, these are great family dogs. Just like being in pack. But one thing though, if you have little kids(like babies) don't leave them alone on the floor. There have been story of the baby crying and the dog picking it up to take it to it's mother and killing the baby. It sad though because it does not mean to do so.

A Chow Chow, I love these dog, there good guard dogs, but they don't like every one they met. They pick you to like or not, they're weird like that.

2 Muts, one was a boxer, pit, chow, and who knows what else. He was a great dog. The other is the off sprig of him and are Chow. She a good dog too.

My moms new little dog is a Chihuahua/Doxie. She's a cute little thing but annoying as all hell. Barks at every noise at night when her and mom go to bed.

 

[McBell]

1.) Siberian Husky
2.) American Pitbull Terrier
3.) Boxer
4.) Golden Retriever
5.) Vizsla
6.) Weimaraner

1) My experience with this breed has been 100% good.

2) The only problem I have had with this breed is that they can possibly turn on you.
I have known several dogs of this breed that have not turned. But it seems to me that most of them do.

3) My experience with Boxers is that like dalmatians and dobermans you really should have two (or more) of them.

4) I have never owned one myself, but the members of my family who have said they would never willingly own another breed.

5) no experience with this breed

6) no experience with this breed

Please keep in mind that I am presenting MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES with these breeds.
and that others may well have 'conflicting' experiences.

I do have experience with several other breeds and will be happy to share my opinions on them if you like.

 

[methylatedghosts]

Alsatian (German shepherd): Beautiful dogs! Very very loyal and very very good guard dogs. Can be a danger to others in public spaces - if you go for a walk make sure people don't extend their hands to pat them, they could well lose some of it because these dogs are VERY territorial about the space around the master as being "theirs".

But they are very faithful dogs and are a joy to have around. Very active. Great with children and playing fetch. We've always had German shepherds and would never get anything else.

As for the breeds you've listed - Huskys can be alot of work according to a co-worker of mine who owns 5. There is a battle for the Alpha Male spot and a little slack in discipline regarding this can mean a fair amount of work to catch up again. Great pack dogs, and again, very loyal.

Golden retrievers have had wonderful reviews from other people (No real personal experience other than from visiting people) that I know. Very playful.

Hope that helps!

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I love rotties. They make GREAT family dogs, try to pretend they are lap dogs, are very playfull, and will pin down any would be intruders. I find it a great shame they have such an aggressive reputation, since these breed is a very lovable breed.

I had a Chow/Malamute mix. He as a good dog, very big, and an avid hunter.

I've had two golden retrievers. They are very loyal dogs, and make good family pets.

I've had two black labs, both of which I utterly despised. The first one because she tried to run my dog at the time (a border collie/wolf mix) away, and the other because she never learned to quit chewing on everything.

The border collie/wolf mix was a great dog. Very energetic and hyper. The only real loyalty problems came about from battling over the alpha spot. She was abit defensive towards kids. She never bit or clawed, but made it clear if you was causing her discomfort. She would also howl at cars passing by. This would normally not be an issue, but these cars would be on a highway about 1/4 a mile away.

The two dogs I have now are black lab/chow(maybe St. Bernard, where not quite sure) mixes. Both are wonderful dogs, but extremely attention hungry, and are very jealous of eachother. They are so starved for attention, me and my girlfriend can be laying on the floor, and one of the dogs will wedge themselves between us.

 

[methylatedghosts]

I've had two black labs, both of which I utterly despised. The first one because she tried to run my dog at the time (a border collie/wolf mix) away, and the other because she never learned to quit chewing on everything.

I know someone with 4 golden labs (one almost dead - very old and sick) and they are wonderful. Full of life and full of playness! Although they are very attention hungry, they are really neat. We take them down to the river to go kayaking every now and then - lotsa fun! One of them, while being 2.5 years old, still thinks she's a puppy and tries to sit on your lap whenever you sit on the ground - SO CUTE!

 

[Ringer]

It seems like many of you have had great experiences with Golden Retrievers. As I said before, my family has owned a couple since I've been a kid and they have been a pleasure to own. My extended family have all had retrievers which is why I kinda wanted to break out of owning one because I'd like to experience a different breed.

I am surprised about the cautious warning for the Pitbull Terriers though. I was always under the assumption that if you go through a certified breeder, the aggressiveness is, for a lack of a better phrase, bred out of them. From what I've read, they are very friendly dogs with a bad reputation due to them being abused for dog fights. Thanks for the warnings though and it's something I'll seriously consider.

This is all great information you guys are sharing.

 

[Autodidact]

The greatest dog every, my pal who died last Spring, was a mutt: Australian Shepherd/Border Collie type guy. Mutts are the best, and these are two great, smart breeds. This would be my top recommendation--get a mutt from the humane society. Eager to please, would learn anything, practically perfect. (I could tell you stories.)

Boxer: smart, nice, not obnoxious, not much of a shedding problem but I agree with previous poster, not a watch dog. Had a boxer/pit bull mutt once, world's second greatest dog, perfect behavior and did scare people, but our house was broken into and he never barked.

Golden retriever: smart, pretty, affectionate, but eternal puppy. Wouldn't stay in the yard and could find a stinking muddy pond in the Gobi desert. A little too affectionate.

Husky: only if you plan to run several miles a day, preferably with a weight for the dog to pull. They live to drag a sled over miles of snow, and get hyper if they don't get a chance. Otherwise smart, pretty and good.

I would not take a chance on a purebred pit bull.

Don't know the other two.

 

[Autodidact]

Oh, one more. One of the smartest dogs I ever knew was a Newfoundland. Brilliant, great dog, but they're huge and they drool.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I am surprised about the cautious warning for the Pitbull Terriers though. I was always under the assumption that if you go through a certified breeder, the aggressiveness is, for a lack of a better phrase, bred out of them. From what I've read, they are very friendly dogs with a bad reputation due to them being abused for dog fights. Thanks for the warnings though and it's something I'll seriously consider.

Most pitbulls are not very aggressive unless trained to be so. But, the fighting and aggression is what they were originally bred for. I guess saying they can have aggressive tendacies is the best way to put it.
Dalmatians though are one breed of dog that are very aggressive. No matter how they are brought up, they will probably be aggressive. And unlike a chihuahua's all bark no bite aggression, dalmatians have both.

 

[Comet]

I could go on and on about dogs and why you should get cats... but I'll refrain

As for the breeds you listed, I only have expirience with two of them.

Golden Retrievers, you asked not to comment on as you already like them. I'd second that, GOOD DOGS.

My dad also had a Siberian Husky. Good dog, very loyal.... not good with other animals 100% of the time, has a tendancey to wonder off or be a "loner" at times, and isn't a good dog if you have a baby. Good with kids, but not with babies.

By the way: STOP DOG EUGENICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Buy a mutt and make the world a better place! :yes:

 

[Dr. Nosophoros]

I prefer German Shepherds, loyal, strong and great running companions if you exercise, if you don't, don't get one or you will be shortchanging them. They are very protective of family and children
I taught mine all it's commands in German just to screw with people, but overall great dogs, I prefer females, they are easier to train and seem to be better focused.
just my take from what I have seen.

 

[Katzpur]

By the way: STOP DOG EUGENICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Buy a mutt and make the world a better place! :yes:

Another alternative is to get a purebred from one of the many, many rescue organizations around that focus on rescuing certain breeds. I have a Golden Retriver now that I got from such an organization. I'm pretty sure that his great, great, great grandpa was not a purebred, but he's 99% golden. By going the route I did, I was able to get a dog with the qualities I was looking for (specific to a certain breed) without causing another dog to have to be put down due to over-population problems.