Which breed of a dog would be perfect for my family?

Question

I am actually afraid of big dogs, so lets keep it at small breeds. My brother, who is 10 years old, would like a playful one, one that would play with him when he is bored. My mom and dad though would like one that doesn't bark in the middle of the night or sheds up a carpet. Please help us deside which breed to get!!

Answer 1

What about a Boxer? Boxers are a medium sized dog and get to be around 60 pounds or so, they have very short hair and shed very little and also have great loving personalities. Also, a boxer mixed with a smaller breed might make you happy. We love labs and have a boxer/lab mix that we just adore. Good luck finding a dog!

Answer 2

All dogs have the tendency to chew and bark. However, likewise, all dogs can be trained not to do these things. There isn't a particular breed of dog that chews up carpets more than others. Do be aware that most small dogs have a high-pitched yap that can grate some people's nerves, as compared to larger dogs.

Choosing a breed of dog goes much deeper than size and disposition...you need to consider things like space, time to commit, whether you want a watch dog, a more active or less active dog, and so on.

The Iams and Animal Planet sites both have good dog breed selectors. Fill in the questionnaires and they can recommend you some good breeds.

http://animal.discovery.com/breedselector/dogselectorindex.do
http://us.iams.com/iams/en_US/jsp/IAMS_Page.jsp?pageID=DBS

Answer 3

No breed is perfect-they are all going to have their good points and their bad points. I like Dachshunds(Weiner dogs). They are fun to play with and the ones I have seen (a few people in my area have them) are well trained.
Keep in mind it is a family effort though. The more willing you ALL are to contribute to play time, walks and training, the happier and easier your experience will be, no matter what the breed. I suggest BEFORE you get the dog, you all divide up the responsibilities associated with the dog.

Answer 4

Golden Retriever. I'm going to have one, have met one and helped me get over my fear of dogs. Just because you're afraid of big breeds it doesn't mean you should avoid them for the rest of your life. Goldens don't get humongous, but they are big. They are sweet and know when you're not feeling good and come up and squeeze your hand with their muzzle.

I highly reccommend this dog.
best of luck!

P.S. A bit of a spoiler for the Golden: They shed their fur to heaven high and it gets EVERYWHERE. Of course, it will be kept under control if you brush him everyday or every other day. A must visit site is this:http://www.drsfostersmith.com/

Search for shedding control and anything else you want. They have reasonable prices and wonderful products!

Answer 5

I love our poodle x shih-tzu dogs.

Neither poodle nor shih-tzu shed so neither does the cross breed. They are very cute, and they want to only to please.

One of our dogs is very playful and is also quite yappy which I'm told is more of a shih-tzu trait while the other is much less playful and hardly ever barks (which is more of a poodle trait)

Answer 6

Any Retriever Dog.

Answer 7

Well,I would say a golden retriever,but that breed gets to about a medium size.But I heard that they are good with kids and they're so cute.Plus,i also heard that they are easy to train too.

Answer 8

poodle but do realize the ones that don't shed a lot need the extra grooming so be prepared for the extra grooming brushes, combs, detanglers, etc.
And often they also need to go to the groomers for the haircuts and so.

Answer 9

Pitbull terrier

Answer 10

miniature poodles they don't shed, they are playful and aren't to big.