Thinking about getting a dog in the future... Reccomendations?

[BunLengthHotDog]

I have 3 dogs at the moment, and live in an apt...a Mutt from the pound, a Lab from the pound and a beagle / rotty mix that walked up to our door almost frozen, so we kept him...

I will also put a vote in for mutts, or pound puppies...they don't have the genetic problems pure breds do, and are some of the sweetest/smartest dogs around, if you have to own a pure bred for your own reasons, might I recommend the BOXER

Here are my creatures:

Austin, Male Black Lab from Atlanta Humane Society

Puppy : Walked up to our door half frozen, HAD to keep him

Sammie: Pound puppy Mutt...sweetest on earth

Pictures are VERY LARGE, 56K beware

 

[Parrotheader]

My favorite dog breed is the Border Collie due to their amazing intelligence and unmatched athleticism, but they require a LOT of activity and work to be happy. If I worked on a farm I'd have one in a second, but I don't so we needed a dog with pretty much the exact same characteristics you're looking for to fit our lifestyle. So we ended up getting a breed I'd previously never heard of, the Border Terrier (picture Benji or the dog from Something About Mary.) Google pics

The breed is SUPPOSED to be smaller, although ours and most of the ones we've seen are closer to 20lbs rather than the 'breed standard' of 13-14lbs. So they're small enough to curl up on your lap, but big enough to take care of themselves and not be stepped on, roughly the same size of a Beagle. They don't shed much (ours doesn't shed at all.) Ours hardly ever barks at all (I have to intentionally rile him up just to get him to say anything) and although that can vary from dog to dog, most Border owners I know consider them very quiet compared to their other dogs. Some can be more energetic, however ours loves nothing more than curling up on the couch and knawing on a bone while I watch TV. They are one of the most agile and athletic terrier breeds though and ours is becoming quite the frisbee catcher (they're faster than most other terriers due to their legginess.) And even though I'm married he's definitely a chick magnet since he's small enough to not be intimidating to strangers and has the mutt-like cute factor going on.

The only bummer is that they're tough to find here in the states, although there are quite a few breeders in Florida. And Border mixes show up all the time animal rescues.