best breed of dog

[Boris]

I'm thinkin it's got to be lab. white lab, black lab, chocolate lab. whatever. their disposition must be the best for the average person. Labs are loyal, know when to be protective and when to be social, and are easily trained. Labs also have the perfect muscle mass to kindness ratio to scare the daylights out of the bad guys and be nice to your friends (with the proper introduction). Worst breed is Rottweiler and Pit Bull for obvious reasons. I know with very careful socialization these dogs can be OK. But the fact of the matter is that they are not pre-disposed for most peoples' needs. Another "bad" dog breed in my opinion is Alaskan Malamute. These dogs are actually pretty nice to humans but they have a mind of their own. They are super high maintenance and when it comes to training will drive most people nuts. teaching a malamute to come is a herculean task and should only be attempted if you are an expert dog owner.

[stripsqueez]

i like labs but they seem a tad dull to me - rottweilers are great dogs - stories of thier dangerous nature are crap - the only dog stereotype i adhere to is that small ones are always yappy and cranky

my favourite is great dane - huge, regal, gentle and loyal - i'm still in mourning since my dane died about a year ago - for 11 years i had to leave work so the water dude could check my meter - never bothered locking the house - cant bear getting another one so after some research i'm going for an irish wolfhound

stripsqueez - chickenhawk

[Bukem_]

Rhodesian Ridgeback

[bosoxfan]

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Rhodesian Ridgeback

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Are those the lion hunters?

[BeerMoney]

I love labs too. I think one of the prettiest dogs is the English Springer Spaniel.

[beerbandit]

i believe so (http://www.akc.org/breeds/recbreeds/rhodrdge.cfm)

sounds ok for the reasons given, maybe a little more training

i really want a great dane or bulldog---i need something in the house lazier than i. do you think that the toaster counts

cheers
beer

[MrGo]

I love english bulldog's...

http://img101.exs.cx/img101/315/hottubplease.gif
http://img101.exs.cx/img101/8558/bplaying.jpg

[Pirc Defense]

German Shorthaired Pointer. Not the specked kind, but the solid chocolate brown version. Beautiful, masterful bird dogs, not to mention highly intelligent, gentle and very sociable.

[Lazymeatball]

I work in an animal hospital so I am pretty familiar with most breeds of dogs.

Labs are the blondes of the dog world, pretty to look at, and very friendly but dumb as [censored].

The OP's understanding of rottweilers and pit bulls is very misguided. These dogs get a bad reputation because many times the kind of owner who would want one is a dumb prick with a small penis who feels the need to compensate with a mean dog. Most of them have great personalities and are harmless, the only problem is when they make mistakes, they make big mistakes.

German short haired pointers are pretty friendly and full of energy. You will have to spend alot of time wearing these dogs out or they will just go crazy, at least they go crazy when they are confined to a hospital cage for a couple days. Even worse are weimereiners, the most annoying dog known to man. They are beautiful to look at, but imagine a 6 year old kid with ADD, no ridalin, and a handful of pixie sticks.

As far as big dog's go, Danes and Wolfhound are magnificent animals and are quite obedient and loyal. But who can really live with a dog that size, they need their own stable, and you need a snow shovel to clean up after them.

Ridgebacks have a lot of great attributes, they are a good size, but not too big, very friendly, not overly exciteable, and they have the cool ridge of fur going the wrong way. Hours of entertainment in that alone. If I had to pick one of the dogs mentioned so far i'd go with the Rhodesians.

[ThaSaltCracka]

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Rhodesian Ridgeback

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Are those the lion hunters?

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yes they are, we recently got a new dog that we thought/think is part rhodesian. They are beautiful dogs, but they are also not to big. Good dogs.


My vote goes for boxers.

[ThaSaltCracka]

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Worst breed is Rottweiler and Pit Bull for obvious reasons. I know with very careful socialization these dogs can be OK.

[/ QUOTE ] This is a major misconception. Rottweilers are in fact great family dogs, very protective, but also social dogs as long as they are trained. Pit Bulls are also very good dogs as long as you get them from a good breeder that doesn't abuse their dogs.

I think part of the problem with these dogs, and in fact lots of dogs, is that their breeders really don't care about them and raise them simply for the money, thus they abuse these dogs at an early age which messes them up for the rest of their lives.

I once heard that golden retrievers kill more kids than any other dog, because kids will pull on the dogs hair and the dogs will flip out on them, anyone else heard this?

[elwoodblues]

A complete aside:

I have a beagle and a small kid (another kid on the way.) My wife and I were concerned about how the dog would relate to the kid when we first introduced the two. You never really know until one day...Our six month old was leaning against the dog in one hand he was pulling on her eyelid, in the other he was pulling on her upper lip (in opposite directions.) She just sat there and took it. Now that's a family friendly dog.

[ThaSaltCracka]

me and my brother use to do the same thing with this boxer we had when we were really young.

[MMMMMM]

Boxers tend to have flatulence problems.

[MMMMMM]

Beagles are just great. They need to run though.

[Slacker13]

I have a chocolate lab and he is the coolest damn dog,he was very easy to train and he is great with my daughter. They are however chewers when young and can and will cause a lot of damage but mellow out as they get older. Ours is 138 pounds with a head like a horse.

[ThaSaltCracka]

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Boxers tend to have flatulence problems.

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They drool too, but so what, people do too!! It just makes it seem like another person is in the room.

http://www.ourdogs.co.uk/acatalog/boxers-barrons.jpg

[Ed I]

I have a chocolate lab cross now, before I had a golden retriever cross,both pound dogs. Great, well behaved and wonderful company on the river.

[andyfox]

I'm hoping to win POTD yet again this week.

[Boris]

Please don't tell me your cat person.

[Redmen62]

We have a beagle/sheltie cross. One day we were walking him at the dog park, and a little girl, who had been to the vet and seen her dog have its temperature taken, put her finger in our dog's rear entrance.

It's entirely possible that I would bite someone if they checked the oil without warning, but his only reaction was a startled, confused look in my direction.

Good family dogs indeed.

[ThaSaltCracka]

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Please don't tell me your cat person.

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I think he is referring to this post:
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I remember when it first came out I posted a review here and SKP remarked about the sex in the bathroom. I responded that the sex in the bathroom was the only thing that kept me awake. I had to then explain that I meant the sex in the bathroom in the movie.

[/ QUOTE ]

[Boris]

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The OP's understanding of rottweilers and pit bulls is very misguided. These dogs get a bad reputation because many times the kind of owner who would want one is a dumb prick with a small penis who feels the need to compensate with a mean dog. Most of them have great personalities and are harmless,

[/ QUOTE ]

The statistics simply don't support this. The problem with these dogs is that you just can never be sure. It would be irresponsible for anyone with children to own a Rottweiler. I had a friend who owned the sweetest pit bull bitch you would ever meet. The dog was very well cared for and socialized. But even the friend admitted she wouldn't trust her dog around kids after the dog had a litter of puppies.

[Wingnut]

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But even the friend admitted she wouldn't trust her dog around kids after the dog had a litter of puppies.

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I wouldn't trust any dog around kids after the dog had a litter. When I was growing up we had a fox terrier who had a couple of litters of puppies and was holy hell towards little kids that wanted to play with the puppies. This reaction is more of a maternal animal rather than a specific breed of dog.

[ThaSaltCracka]

here is a link for some info on dog attacks.

http://www.dogexpert.com/FatalDogAttacks/dogbreeds.pdf

Pit Bulls look like the worst

[RcrdBoy]

Might be the coolest breed of Dog.

Great personalities and look scary enough if needed.

The only real draw back is they have a lot of health problems. The have a lot of tumors, digestive problems, and the skin on their face gets infected easily. I think the average life span is about 7 or 8 years.

[ThaSaltCracka]

for a boxer????

no man, its around 10-14.

[RcrdBoy]

I think the Wirehaired Fox Terrier is one of the best breeds of dog.

Stubborn, energetic, smart and loyal.

Great dog.

[ThaSaltCracka]

this is why I like Boxers.

From the AKC website:

Character and Temperament
These are of paramount importance in the Boxer. Instinctively a "hearing" guard dog, his bearing is alert, dignified and self-assured. In the show ring, his behavior should exhibit constrained animation. With family and friends, his temperament is fundamentally playful, yet patient and stoical with children. Deliberate and wary with strangers, he will exhibit curiosity but, most importantly, fearless courage if threatened. However, he responds promptly to friendly overtures honestly rendered. His intelligence, loyal affection and tractability to discipline make him a highly desirable companion. Faults--Lack of dignity and alertness. Shyness.

Plus the look [censored] sweet too!

[vulturesrow]

[ QUOTE ]
The statistics simply don't support this. The problem with these dogs is that you just can never be sure. It would be irresponsible for anyone with children to own a Rottweiler. I had a friend who owned the sweetest pit bull bitch you would ever meet. The dog was very well cared for and socialized. But even the friend admitted she wouldn't trust her dog around kids after the dog had a litter of puppies.

[/ QUOTE ]

No one that has any kind of dog should let a kid around that dog after it has had a litter. As some others have pointed out, Rottweilers are great dogs. They have a gentle disposition and are very trainable. My aunt bred Rotties for a long time and never had an incident even with 6 or 7 of those brutes tripping around. The problem with them is, as other have pointed, is a lot of assholes own them who treat them badly. Any dog can turn mean with poor treatment and abuse.

My own personal vote for the best breed is the English Springer Spaniel. Very pretty and very intelligent, with great dispositions. The drawbacks: some of them tend to be very hyper and they shed a lot.

I've owned many different dogs in my short life and my mother was an obedience trainer for a long time and I assisted a lot with her classes. Ive had Shelties (we used to breed those), Collies, Greyhounds, English Springers, Whippets, and a Lab-Springer mix. Not all at the same time though. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[ThaSaltCracka]

another key thing that I noticed, if you have a dog that is not nuetered, they will be much more aggresive than a nuetered dog, regardless of the bread.

[vulturesrow]

True. If you own a dog and have no intention of showing or breeding it, you ought to have neutered, for a variety of reason. In my mind it is very irresponsible not to.

[wacki]

My vote is for Boxers and Vizlas. For those of you that don't know what a Vizla is, look at this:

http://www.vizsladogs.com/HUMOUR/ad2.jpg

They are badass dogs. The females are thin and slender and the males I've seen (which is a total of 6) are Conan the Barbarian like, very muscular. They don't shed, and have lots of energy. They even smile! The drawback, their face gets grey when they get older, but they are very beautiful dogs. They have a very rich amber color fur.

[ThaSaltCracka]

good choices wacki.

The Vizla's are hunting dogs as well, and I believe they were actually used by the Chzeck(sp) royal family.

[wacki]

Ya, when we brought home our first Vizla as soon as we opened up the door the dog bolted out of the car, jumped up in a bush and then came back and gave a bird to my dad. The dog had been on our property for less than a minute and he already was handing my dad birds. That dog was always going through bushes and trees. He would even chase beams from laser pointers, flashlights, and anything that would reflect sunlight on the ground. They are nuts! They are alot of fun though.

[theBruiser500]

This is ridiculous, how has no one praised the golden retriever yet? Very smart, friendly and beautiful.

[MMMMMM]

Well Boris didn't list Golden but he did list Labs: White, Black, Chocolate, and Whatever. They're all great Labs (or great Dogs, even if Goldens aren't technically the same breed, not sure; but if not they're awfully darn close).

Maybe Goldens are still having that hip dysplasia problem from overbreeding?

P.S.: just looked on AKC site; they are indeed different breeds, but they're still awfully similar.

[Blarg]

[ QUOTE ]
I wouldn't trust any dog around kids after the dog had a litter. When I was growing up we had a fox terrier who had a couple of litters of puppies and was holy hell towards little kids that wanted to play with the puppies. This reaction is more of a maternal animal rather than a specific breed of dog.

[/ QUOTE ]

One poster wrote about a kid pulling on the eyelids and I think it was the lip of a dog. It's crazy to risk your kid that way. Not to mention cruel to the dog to let it go by without stopping it. What a bad show!

Similarly, keep your kids away from dogs when they have their litters. Dogs can be unpredictable then, and if their instincts kick in to defend their kids, they could bite to kill, not warn.

I'm amazed how crazy and irresponsible people can be. And then they wind up blaming the dog and not themselves.

My family owned a kennel and quarantine and a pet shop when I was growing up. That was long ago, and since then, inbreeding for looks alone has near destroyed a lot of breeds, and compromised many. Cocker spaniels, which used to be quite gentle, now are well known to bite a lot. German shepherds in America, which were once very strong dogs, now extremely commonly have terrible hip problems(dysplacia I think it's spelled) because they were bred to meet a bizarre ideal of having drastically sloping backs from their front shoulders to their rear. Now they're often crippled by those problems even while quite young. It's a shame how many people have destroyed the health of many purebred dogs for so long. Terrible shame; seems like flat out animal cruelty to me.

We had a black labrador once. They are indeed often very dumb. Ours was near retarded. He would jump straight up and down in the air for hours at a time.

We had cocker spaniels back before they had biting problems bred into them, and they used to be extremely friendly.

Collies can be very dumb. Shepherds are still my favorite, but not from American stock. In Australia and other places, they still breed them in a healthy way. Good size dogs that can help protect the house, very trainable, and very good family dogs. Go pulling on anything's eyelids, though, and if you aren't bitten, well...you certainly should be.

Pitbulls and rottweilers have been commonly bred for meanness and fighting for many generations now. At this point, getting a pitbull is great if you want a gangster status symbol, but irresponsible otherwise, unless you know a great deal about the bloodline. Raising a dog well(which many don't know how or care to do) can help a lot of things, but fighting genetically innate dispositions and weaknesses is a dangerous gamble. There are other perfectly good kinds of dogs out there you won't be risking your kids' lives to get. Or the lives of the kids next door.

The best way to choose a dog breed is probably to talk to your vet. Tell them what kind of family you have, what kind of living space, and how active you are. Perfectly good dogs that are too active will drive a sedentary person crazy or chew up the whole house, for instance. If your vet doesn't have much to say, ask another. They won't charge you for asking; just call on the phone. Don't ask someone who specializes in breeding a certain type of animal if that's the animal for you: they might not be capable of honesty even if they tried to be honest, and are too biased.

In a similarly practical vein, keep in mind that a big dog needs lots of room, preferably some space to run about in, and all dogs need exercise. Most people don't treat their dogs all that well; they probably should have just picked a cat.

And dogs with long coats will develop painful mats in their hair very quickly, even in the space of a day sometimes, that start to actually tear away their skin in short order. It's also much harder to clean away fleas and ticks from long-haired dogs. These problems can happen easily even with dogs that are completely indoor dogs. Unless you really enjoy spending a lot of time combing your dog and picking through hair knots and untangling and snipping them, a dog with a short or medium length coat is the way to go. I love Newfoundlands and English sheepdogs myself, but having a dog like that is a lifestyle in itself. The hair just gets to be too much.

Big dogs eat a ton. People talk about Great Danes -- those will go through a 25 lb. bag of food in no time flat, and produce the poop to show it. It can be expensive to feed a dog like that.

[juanez]

Goldens are my favorite. My guy Bob past away a few months ago. Still sad about that. /images/graemlins/frown.gif He was a 110 pound monster and fun as hell. He lived 9 good years and succumbed to spleen cancer.

A child could pull on Bob's ears or tail forever and he would never flinch. He'd just take it and lick the little bastard kid.

Labs are a close second.

[astroglide]

serious bummer /images/graemlins/frown.gif goldens are amazing, but cancer plagues them

[theBruiser500]

Why is that? My family had two golden retrievers and they both died of cancer.

[wacki]

I don't know genetics of golden retrievers but there are many genes that are involved in suppressing cancer. One gene called p53, induces apoptosis (among other things). Apoptosis is when a cell recognizes that something is wrong so it literally decides to kill itself in order to save the rest of the organism. Sometimes the p53 gene is defective and can't induce apoptosis. When a cell becomes cancerous the p53 failsafe mechanism doesn't work and the cancerous cell grows and multiplies. There are many other mechanisms that can be defective as well but this is just one way that a species can be much more prone to cancer. Since Golden Retrievers were heavily bred, I'm guessing they were also inbred which causes even more problems when it comes to genetics. There is a reason why the Bible doesn't look very kindly on incest and I have a feeling genetics had alot to do with it.

Also, cancer seems to be passed on in this species because it has on onset time after sexual maturity. There isn't a selection process to weed out the gene. Breeders could be able to correct this fairly easily, but it looks like it's not being done.

I just did a quick google search and this paper looks legit. I didn't read it all the way through, but it mentions p53 so it can't be that far off.

http://www.spinone.com/AKC_CHF99/14GeneticsOfCancer.htm

[wacki]

If you like Golden retrievers you can look at the family tree. If the puppies parents didn't die from cancer, then the puppy should be cancer free as well. That puppy family tree probably has a working p53 gene.

[Jeff W]

Neutering ruins dogs. Removing the dog's sex organs drops hormone production to dangerously low levels and opens your dog up to a variety of health problems. Don't listen to propagandist veterinarian bullsh*t. Be responsible in preventing your bitches from getting pregnant and your dogs from getting out of the yard and you will be rewarded with a happier, healthier canine.

[astroglide]

...and a carpet covered in blood or piss!

[tolbiny]

Mutts are the best.
Had a Great dane/springer spaniel/black lab mix that was gentle, energetic and big as heck. Great fricking dog.
Mutts live longer/healthier lives as well.

[tolbiny]

I am a big fans of mutts, my next door neighbor and her kids went through 6 golden's during the past 15 years (multiple dogs at once) and had to have them all put down. Our mostly collie mutt needs to be put down soon, well into her 18th year.
Any dog can be intelligent and kind, It can be very sad to watch a healthy dog deteriorate suddenly due to a genetic disorder, even sadder that a lot of them would be preventable if people would follow proper breeding guidlines.

[bugstud]

for a house dog I'm partial to a pug.

[Blarg]

[ QUOTE ]
Neutering ruins dogs. Removing the dog's sex organs drops hormone production to dangerously low levels and opens your dog up to a variety of health problems. Don't listen to propagandist veterinarian bullsh*t. Be responsible in preventing your bitches from getting pregnant and your dogs from getting out of the yard and you will be rewarded with a happier, healthier canine.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not a big fan of neutering either, but I come from a family that did a lot of pet care and pet sales, and we're experienced at caring for pups and willing to give them the time and socialization they need, and find good homes for them. Most people really don't have any of the above assets, and at least eventually wind up not caring much who the puppies go to as long as they get them the hell out of the house or the buyer pays them enough.

The problem is, keeping adult sexually mature animals in the yard is hard. Most dogs can leap fences surprisingly well, even if they have swim up them with their hind legs scrambling away. They also can dig under fences or even chew the bottoms off them and slide out that way. When they're in heat, they can really get the wanderlust something fierce.

And it's not just about your own dog...other dogs will try to come in when tbey smell a bitch in heat. Dogs have nothing but time, so unless you have one hell of a high fence or extremely good security system, chances are pretty good that any dog that doesn't live entirely in the house is going to be out impregnating or being impregnated sooner or later.

So if you don't neuter your dogs, you have to take much more responsibility for your pets than people usually take -- which is little to none. I doubt most people are willing to do that. Those that try alternatives like chaining their dogs up to a tree with a bowl of water and abandoning them are choosing a punishment worse than the crime -- plus, a dog that sneaks in won't be stopped by that anyway.

[Ray Zee]

labs are great and dont run off far away from you. big consideration. the other is that people get dogs that look like them. boris i think you need a yellow lab. not the pointy nose type ones. perfect dog for you and matches your disposition. name him zee.

[Boris]

So yer sayin I look happy and kinda stupid?

[Ray Zee]

yea thats it. i couldnt put my finger on it. thanks.

[andyfox]

Like 'em even less than dogs. Which is saying something.

[Toro]

Bump

[Topflight]

Thanks Toro