I believe this question was asked in the Malinois thread but never answered.

What breeds are good for novice handlers? What makes a breed good for a novice handler?

And, on the other hand, what breeds should be kept far, far away from the newbies? Why?

Obviously I'm not asking for a label with every breed out there, just the ones you're familiar with. =)

My worry with most people wanting a dog is they do not know or do not want to put the time and energy into raiseing one correctly. Before looikng for a breed a person should do some soul searching to see if they are truely ready to comit to the life of the dog.

I think that is a good question, and I think it depends greatly on what you mean by green. IMO, if you scouting a dog the best place to start is at a rescue. You can spend time with many dogs and decide based on a mature personality.
There may be easier to name the breeds a new dog owner should stay away from. I think most people when scouting a breed should stick to breed generalization. Decide what they want in dog then learn about different breeds. See what general dog personality suits them. Key word general. Then maybe speak with some local trainers about the breed. Once the breed has been choice has been selected the real work begins. Selecting a breeder.
As I said above, Rescue homes are great places to start. Less work and get the joy making a life much happier and gaining experience at the same time.

To sum up I think generally breed type is more personality dependent than anything else.
For example I have a young female AB. I give her an about 1~1.5 hours of exercise a day and she sleeps the rest of day. She is one of the easiest dog to train I have ever been around. She may not be good for someone that wants to go jogging all day.

 Quote: Ashley Hiebing

What breeds are good for novice handlers? What makes a breed good for a novice handler?

For competition? Companion animal?

 Quote: ashley hiebing

What breeds are good for novice handlers?

Goldfish then maybe graduate to a hamster or mouse ...

I say this tongue and cheek but there is a lot of people that really that is what they should start with. Especially if a person has not taken care of an animal in some form or another especially as a kid.

They really need to do a lot of research into what they are getting into. To many people don't think things through when they purchase a dog. Then once that 4-5 month old pup turns into a young adult the other issues pop up. Then the handler gets overwhelmed by all the time needed for the dog, let alone the food, picking up for, grooming etc etc.

 Quote: "Michelle Berdusco"

My worry with most people wanting a dog is they do not know or do not want to put the time and energy into raiseing one correctly. Before looikng for a breed a person should do some soul searching to see if they are truely ready to comit to the life of the dog.

Exactly!! In this day and age to many people are not even committed to humans i.e. divorce. The life of a average dog 12-15 years is a heck of a lot longer than a lot of marriages.

I guess what I meant is that are there some breeds that require more than theoretical knowledge? Breeds that TYPICALLY require actual hand-on experience with, i.e., dominant dogs or dog-aggressive dogs.

I wonder what people mean when they say "This is not a breed for inexperienced owners." Do they mean your "typical" first-time owners who have not researched the breed or even how to care for a dog? The kind that think that walking Fido for one day a week is good enough. Is that what inexperienced means?

I ask this because I have a lot of theoretical knowledge but not a lot of hands-on experience. And the breeds I love usually come with the "not for inexperienced owners" tag and I wonder if I fit that label.

The answers about breed choices are going to be different depending on what the plans are for the dog.

Do you mean a first-time pet owner choosing his first dog? Or do you mean the first-time working-dog handler choosing his first working dog?

Let's go with the pet dog, first.

I think it's as much dependent on the personality of the owner as it is the dog and on the owner really knowing what they want and expect out of a dog. For example my first choice of breed would be a Doberman. Other favorites are Chows, Akitas, GSD's. Love a lot of Terriers too but there is no way that I could live with a retriever. Not that they are bad dogs but I just don't mesh with them.


Lisa

I think I'm the same. The breeds that seem to be tossed to first time owners are labs and goldens. (I'm not sure I agree with that because the exercise requirements of these dogs are usually more than "Average Joe First Time Dog Owner" is willing to give)

They're great dogs (I know, I own one!), but I really prefer the more "serious"-minded dogs, who have their moments of goofiness but are aloof. Which is very similar to my own personality.