This is such a GREAT forum! I thought I would pose this question to all of you so we can get some third party impartial opinions on what kind of dog we should get. Please forgive me if this is reaally long!

We had a wonderful Lab for 13 years and she passed away 6 months ago and we miss her dearly. We really miss having a dog and we are now ready to get one. The dog we choose will be a big part of our family and included in most of what we do.

We have 3 high school age kids who are very good with animals and we have 2 older cats. Here is what we are looking for in a dog:

We want a dog who is smart, easy to train, and loves people. We don't want a dog that is too dependant or needs us too much because we do work during the day. We want a dog who is very responsive, highly trainable, and can be trained to focus on us when we are working with him or her.

What we don't want:
mindless barking or yapping
unfriendly or leery around other people
loud
quick to bark
can't chase cats (or trainable so as to not chase them)
not stubborn
Not expensive to own ie: (Pugs have major potential health problems so they can me very expensive to own)

That is pretty much it in a nutshell. I should add that we really want a small breed but will consider a med size or even larger breed if we can't find a small breed to meet all of those needs.

My perfect dog would be if they made Labrador Retrievers that only weighed 15-20 pounds! Not going to happen.

We have looked into Boston Terriers, Rat Terriers, Toy Poodles, Chi's, etc. Any comments or suggestions on these breeds or any others would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Jim,
Have you considered a Corgi? A good one is a lot of dog in a small package, they're very trainable, friendly, and just plain fun and they're high on my list for small dogs.

Plus with the size of their ears, you can get great TV reception with one..... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Well as far as small dogs go I really like Papillons. I have two of them. One is 10.3# and the other is 5.3#. My older, bigger one is really the perfect little dog. His temperament is outstanding and will tolerate all kinds of people and enviorments. He was a breeze to train, learned very quickly and bonded really well. He is very good with strangers, but not like a Golden. He prefers to be with us and not other people. He is on the large size for the breed so he's very sturdy and loves to do agility, though I've never competed with him. He is ideal for a small dog, in my opinion.

My other Pap is another story. Too small and fragile in mind and body. A real sweetie to us but he cannot be handled by others.

Both my Paps took longer to house break than my previous dogs, but I was ok with that. Toy breeds are often harder to housebreak.

I also like Corgies for a little bigger dog. Standard Schauzers are nice, easy to train. The German Pischer is a breed that I've always liked, smaller than a Dobe, but same look, easy to groom and smart (though I've only ever been around one.)

~Jamie

I've known some really cool Cairn Terriers. Very trainable and excellent with people and children. They are very small too (13-15lbs).

 Quote:

What we don't want:
mindless barking or yapping
unfriendly or leery around other people
loud
quick to bark
can't chase cats (or trainable so as to not chase them)
not stubborn
Not expensive to own ie: (Pugs have major potential health problems so they can me very expensive to own)

Just remember, any breed can have these problems, it really depends on each individual dog's temperment and health and how much attention/training YOU give them. But if you don't want mindless yapping I don't reccommend a Chihuahua <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Actually, Cairn Terriers are a bit bark-y as a rule. Still great little dogs though.

Sounds like listing your needs with several rescues might net you the perfect dog.

Hi Jim,

I've never had one of these dogs but I hear good things about them. I only learned about them recently though so knowledge is very limited.

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/shiba.htm

I'm considering getting one of these myself at some stage!

HTH

John

I have to second Will's suggestion...CORGI!!! We have 2 of them, they can 'run with the big dogs' all day, love agility and being active but are also super house dogs.

they are sturdy enough to take just about anything but small enough to pick up and carry if you need to.

I don't think we will ever be without at least one Corgi!

Personally, when I read your list I thought of a good old fashioned black lab. Although there are plenty of stupid labs out there, there are also great breaders of smart, trainable, loving dogs.

If I were you, I would look at the labs again.

I know that you are primarily interested in a smaller breed, but your post said you would consider a medium to large dog. My personal favorite for pet is the Golden Ret. My guy is named Noley and he is a wonderful dog. Comforts the kids when they are upset and loves being with his family. Shedding can be a problem, but he is not as bad as my plush coated GSD.......that is alot of hair to clean up.
Good Luck with your search
Terry