i am getting a puppy, which breed is the best and why?

Question

i live in the suburbs. it wont be used for hunting just a housedog.

Answer 1

That COMPLETELY DEPENDS on your lifestyle. Ask your self the following questions:

How much time do I want to spend exercising my new dog?

Puppies are super active and some breeds will stay active their WHOLE lives. If you don't want to have to spend 2 or more hours a day exerciseing your dog than stay away from working breeds like border collies, austrailian shepards, australian cattle dogs, huskies, and spaniels. All of these types of dogs are going to want to work and exercise their minds and bodies.

How large a living space do you have?

If you live in a 500 sq ft studio you're probably not going to want a great big hyper lab thats going to bomb around there, especially if you don't have a yard!

Are you prepared to deal with shedding?

Some breeds shed WAY more than others! Are you going to mind picking dog hair off of all your clothes and vaccuming EVERYDAY...?

Do you have children, are around children often, or want your dog to be super comfortable with kids?

Some breeds are great with kids and others are just not. Some of it is in how you raise them and the experience that they have with children, but some of it is the dogs personality.

Because of the shelter I work at I have worked with MANY different breeds of dogs, pure and mixed and here are some of my PERSONAL opinions based on my experience:

Labs: They can be great dogs, but for me they are too stupid and have a tendency to be too hyper. Some people swear by them...Male yellow labs especially have a tendency to get real BUG, real fast, and can be a challange to train and control. If I were to get a lab it would be a black lab female.

Husky: Not for the faint of heart or the beginner. Many huskys are dropped off because they are bought based on appearence. The husky I got from the humane society was dropped off at 7 WEEKS OLD, because he kept chewing up the family's small children's toys and then had some dominance issues when you tried to scold him or take it away. After 6 moths and the use of a muzzle when he had his temper tantrums he is a perfect good dog, but some of them arent' neutered like they should be or trained well right off the bat to combat the agressive behavior they can have.

Jack Russel Terriers/Terriers In General: If you want a dog to go every where with you these are great! But they have a tendency to be loud and obnoxious. They're also rather hyper, in part because they were bred to hunt small animals. I reccomend getting 2 of them so that they can keep each other company and wear each other out.

Pugs and other "companion" dogs: These small dogs were bred to be companions to humans, unlike terriers who were breed to hunt. They're usually more quiet and love affection, but some can be barkers! They're usually very sweet and have the most adorable faces and personalities!

Dalmations: Dals are a one person dog. They don't usually fair well with small children either, but I absolutely love them! I owned one for a while, but we actually had to put him to sleep because his intolerance fo children turned in to biting! We adopted him from a shelter so who knows what happened to him before we got him when he was already 5 yrs old! However, they are wonderful little dogs are the most loyal companions you'll find. Some of them are rather hyper and you need to be consistant un your training regiment, but I never had any trouble with my dal being overy hyper or hard to train. Since that movie came out a couple of years ago many Dals found them selves in shelters because uneducated people ran to the pet store and bought one to be the family dog...Dals are not family dogs...therefore they were dropped off at the shelter.

Mix breeds: These are wonderful dogs, you can't always tell what they're made up of, but they love you anyways.

Pit bulls: It is human intervention that has made these poor animals what they are today. I wouldn't own one with a child around because of their ability to "lock jaw." Yes, some of it is in the way that they are raised, but I also know that to create that breed there was a certian amount of inbreeding that was involved, so I believe that there is some mental disease. It is a responsiblity to own one of these dogs, but I know people who truely love them and are VERY careful with them. Its nice to see people give them a chance, but you have to be prepared to carry out the inevatable if the dog were ever to turn on you, even a little and put them humanely to sleep for your own safety and the safety of everyone else.

German Shepard: While they can be loud, they are guard dogs by breeding they are great dogs. They are smart, good with children. They are big dogs, so you have to be prepared to handle these dogs so if they're not well trained, do yourself a favor and take them to a professional trainer. I would say this about any dog:WELL TRAINED DOGS ARE MORE FUN TO OWN! You're not worried about them dragging you or taking off after a cat or jumping up on your guests, or eating food off your counter when you're not looking!

Rottwielers: We had a beautiful rottie named Katie, whom we could not seem to adopt out because of the unfair reputation her breed had. Rotties are not exactly like pit bulls or doberman pinshers. They are NOT bred to BE mean, just to LOOK mean. Rotties are great with kids and great family dogs. I wouldn't reccomend them for families with small children because they are so large, but they are great dogs ( providing that they are properly trainer...see above). Sometimes they can have a tendency to be dominante over other dogs, so if you like to vacation with your friends and their dog, be careful with rotties and just make sure they get along first.

I would always reccomend going to a shelter and getting an animal. Pet store, while the puppies are cute, they probably have a lot of physical problems because many of those puppies are purchased from "puppy mills". I'm sure you know what those are. A respected breeder is a good choice too, but I can't stand to spend $500 or more on a pure bred family pet when there are so many unwanted dogs in the world. If you go to the shelter, follow my advice: Tell the person helping you what kind of LIFESTYLE you have, NOT what kind of puppy you're looking for. The caretakers know each of the dogs intimately so they are more likely to be able to match you with a dog that will fit your lifestyle. You don't want a dog that needs to be run 5 miles a day, when all you want to do is lay on the sofa, nor do you want a dog to small to keep up with you on your weekend hikes!

Go onto petfinder.org and you can search shelter animals based on breed, age, or size. By zip code you can search shelter with an actual building where you can go an visit the animals before you are approved for adoption, to breed rescues who specialize in ONE breed, to organizations that work purely by volunteer foster homes who import puppies from kill shelters in the mid-west and south-east where they are only given several days to a few weeks to be adopted before they are euthiniased...for space! Good Luck and I hope my info was helpful.

Answer 2

You definitely need to consider a lot of things, as others have already mentioned. What size dog do you want? How much room do you have? The list of questions you need to ask yourself goes on and on...

Personally, I have a golden retriever and think they are just the best. My family also adopted two mixed breeds that turned out to be such wonderful, wonderful dogs. But really, this is a question that nobody else can answer for you. You need to think about what you need and what you can provide for this puppy. Think about long-term effects. You are making a big commitment when you decide to get a dog, and there will certainly be rough spots along the way. You need to be prepared for that. There will be accidents, there may be destruction, and you will certainly need to invest a whole lot of time into proper training. But the rewards can be so, so great!

I hope you enjoy your new puppy and find a new life-long friend!

Answer 3

This is a personal preference question, of course each person will say the breed that they already have. I have a German Shepherd, a Yorkie and an English Springer Spaniel and Co-Own a beagle, so therefore I am partial to those breeds, but they are each unique in their own breed so it goes back to you. WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
Companion-any breed
Personal Protection-German Shepherd
Hunting- Beagle or Eng Springer Spaniel
Cute little purse buddy- Yorkie
You need to think about your pets exercise needs, grooming needs, and living quarters. you would not want to keep a toy breed outdoors, too cold or too hot.
You wouldnt want to keep an active working breed indoors all the time, they need plenty of room to run.

Many shelters have wonderful hearty mixed dogs that make wonderful pets. Your best bet would be before purchasing a pet is to visit a local shelter or contact a specific breed rescue program of the breed of YOUR choice.
No one else can decide which puppy is best for you. This needs to be well thought out, it is a LIFELONG committment, keep in mind a puppy will someday turn into a senior dog with needs and you wouldnt throw grandma in a dog pound when she gets old, one may want to but we just dont do that to our families and I would not do it with my extended fur family either.
GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR PUPPY, WHICHEVER YOU CHOSE.

Answer 4

OK, for those who suggest a labrador or retriever, they didn't tell you that you better have plenty of room for them to live and play and you better have plenty of energy for them. They are great dogs but can be horrible pups(up to 3 years old). I, personally, love German Shepards. They are extremely loyal and are pretty much down for whatever. If you're looking for a small dog, go for a pugs. The only small dogs I can stand are pugs, they just have cool attitudes.

If you do go with a bigger dog like a lab, retriever, shepard, or something, I would definitely invest a couple hundred in obedience, etc... training. It makes a huge difference in whether or not you have an out of control dog. Not all dogs are crazy and wild but if this is your first dog on your own then big un-obedient dogs can be very hard to deal with. From just walking them, to them acting out, to coming home from work and having found them to have eaten every shoe in your closet. A good dog doesn't need a crate and I don't believe in crates but I definitely believe in some obedience training. Congratulations on the addition of a new member in your family.

Answer 5

depends where u live and everything, because it is very important for the dog, if u live in the city in a smapp apartment, then i would say a cavalier king charles spanel, because they are small, love to cuddle and are very bright, the only bad thing is they need to be brushed everyday.
But if u live in a quite small town in a big house, then u could also get a bigger dog like a golden retriever, or rottweiler. Both watch out, very inteligent and notice everything.
But i think it would be best if u would go to an animal shelter, because they need to be adopted the most, because if they dont after a halfyear they get rid of, if u know what imean. (at least i know that is what they did in florida)

Answer 6

Go to see different breeders in your area.
We weren't planning on getting a pomeranian (they're known for being hyper and yappy), but a local breeder just happened to have puppies.

We saw BOTH the parents, who were clearly NOT yappers. Both parents were relatively calm (we went back twice before deciding)-- or atleast NOT hyper.

Also, because we saw the parents, we know that our dog won't get much larger than the 6.5 lbs she currently is (her dad was 7 lbs and her mom was 8.5 lbs).

It would probably be best for you to rule out breeds which you do NOT want (in our case, because of the birds and living in an apartment we had to rule out terriers and large breeds)... and then browse the papers/craigslist/internet for all the local breeders of the rest of the breeds and have fun!

Answer 7

tell the individuals at a safeguard what characteristics you're searching for. go searching on the canines in greater desirable than one safeguard, in the experience that your city has greater desirable than one. we've had a German shepherd, a black lab, a Lakeland terrier, and a canines that we picked up off the line while it have been deserted as a domestic dog with one in each of its littermates. They gave the impression to be a mix of terrier and sheltie or another long-haired canines. That mongrel replaced into the neatest, maximum suitable canines we ever had. As a domestic dog, she replaced into downright grotesque, yet she grew as much as be suited, with long, thick fur that coated her face. If we even get a canines lower back, it's going to be a medium-sized (=much less puzzling to deal with) safeguard canines, and it need no longer be purebred. surely, you have gotten a greater useful danger of having a healthful canines in case you do get a mixed breed. some breeds tend to have their very own specific well being issues. that's something to check out till now choosing.

Answer 8

There is not best breed, but breeds that fit people lifestyles, desires, personalities, and so on. You should find a breed that fits those desires, lifestyles, your personality and such. I stick with small breed dogs because they are good for an apartment lifestyle and there basically high spirited as well as as a large dog in a small body. Good Luck.

Also remember with having a dog comes a huge responsibility money (vet bills, food, toys, necessities for the dog), time, and energy.

Answer 9

Get a smaller breed. They last longer. The larger breeds have a shorter life span. I put my pomeranian to sleep last year and he was going on 15. My brother's German shepard died at 10. Small dogs can live to 20 years.

You get attached and it's hard to let them go so I think the smaller breeds are better. I have three dogs now. I hope they last forever but know that they wont. If I had my choice I would by another small breed, not only are they cute, they love you to pieces too.

Answer 10

Well first you need to ask your self a few questions. Do you want a puppy that is very active? do you want one with alot of hair? do you want one that is big or small? How often can you play with your dog? do you have the time and money for a dog? Do you have space for a dog? Dogs are lot of responsabilities. Do your research rahter than asking on yahoo. Go to google and type in "Breeds of dogs" web sites will come up to help you choose one that is best suited to what you want it for.

Answer 11

GO TO A SHELTER....I work at a humane society and i know how many dogs get put down because there just aren't enough homes...adopting a dog is saving a life...go to www.petfinder.com to find the exact type of puppy you are looking for that is at a shelter waiting for a home..


And for the ignorant person who said that pitbulls have "lockjaw" do some research before you open your mouth...that is a myth...a dog is what you make of it and train it to be...