<p>What’s the difference between male and female personality? My friends seem to mostly have female dogs.</p>
<p>I don’t know if it’s true for all breeds, but when we got our Bichon the breeder told our young son (it was his choice) that a boy dog would be more playful, but would prefer to cuddle with me (the pack “mother”) to him, which has proven to be true. Funny, our dog also recognizes the Alpha male in our family…he won’t do a darn thing I command, but will sit, down, come, shake or anything else my husband tells him to. But as soon as I sit down, he’s in my lap. :)</p>
<p>I have to put a word in for my minature poodle. He is very smart and easy to train, very agile (like a cat), friendly, very affectionate (loves to curl up next to you, or next to any person) and funny. Like the bishon, he doesn’t shed. I don’t have him sculpted or groomed like a poodle, so he is just fluffy all over. And the minature is a good size – small (20 pounds) but not so tiny as a toy. We have a second dog of a different breed, and we find our poodle is better company. </p>
<p>But the bottom line is that you should research different breeds. In my experience, purebred dogs are true to their breed. Their idiosyncracies are well known and if you read about the different breeds, you will find whether the traits of a particular breed are those you can live with. For example, my older dog is in the herding family. A wonderful, easy dog. But whenever anyone runs in the house or outside (as my kids and their friends used to do when they were younger), the dog takes off after them, barking and herding them. This was problematic for kids who were visiting and not used to that or who were afraid of dogs. (Also, invariably, my older dog decides to herd the poodle whenever I’m on the phone and then I can’t hear a thing.) </p>
<p>One thing we did when deciding upon our first dog is to attend a couple of local dog shows. We got to talk to breeders and owners of the show dogs who were willing to talk about the good and bad traits of their dogs (such as whether they were or weren’t good with kids, whether they were easy or hard to train, whether they were susceptible to health problems, etc). This may not be an option for you, but it was fun and turned out to be very helpful. Also, even though I have a female and male dog, I can’t say whether the differences between them are because of gender or whether the differences are due to their different breeds. But this is something a breeder should be able to tell you.</p>
<p>Check out the various breed rescue groups. They can have wonderful dogs for adoption. Most of them are in foster homes so you know what you’re getting. Also, reading the stories of these rescue dogs gives you an idea of the type of “problems” each breed tends to have and is why they have found themselves in rescue. </p>
<p>Remember that if you adopt an older smaller dog, they can live to be 15-16 years old, so don’t let the age deter you. There are so many wonderful homeless dogs that just need that second chance.</p>
<p>I just have to put in my $.02 for pound puppies. Our first two, a *<strong><em>-a-poo and a little black terrier were our children for 10 years before our D was born. *</em></strong>-a-poo was a bit yappy, but didn’t shed. Our terrier mix was a lover boy. Now we have a husky-shepherd mic. Definitely into the pack mentality and my husband is the leader of the pack in our house. He’s a sweetie. All of them came from the Humane Society.</p>
<p>All good advice here. If you are intent on a pure breed a dog show is a wonderful place to meet various dogs and talk with their breeders. Do a google for shows in your area. I personally couldn’t do a pound pup because my husband is allergic and I hate shedding. So, we have to be careful about what dogs we live with.</p>
<p>Males do have a reputation for being a little more easy going, affectionate, and playful than females. Females tend to be little more serious, strong willed, very loyal. My females have alwyas been “rule minders” but I don’t know if that is general. Lots of variation though.</p>
<p>Training issues with Westies? Well, terriers in general are a little harder to train than many of the hunting, working dogs. They are just more imaginitive and strong willed. It is also what terrier-lovers adore about them. Having spent many an hour in obedience with retrievers, labs, and shephards, you would never mistake my Bedlingtons for any of them based on obedience alone!!! Terriers are busy, and they prefer a busy family where they are included in things. The best behaved dog we have ever had in our family was my sisters pound mutt, and he never went to obedience once.</p>
<p>Housebreaking and obedience take A LOT of work and a single-mindedness. Alpha dog(s) needs to be consistent. Puppies need to be confined indoors until they are housebroken. Our rule was always puppy must be crated or in puppy pen unless someone is DIRECTLY interacting with him/her. No accidents that way. You will spend lots of time standing around outside waiting for their business to be done. Play time outside needs to be limited until they know what outside is really for. </p>
<p>Terriers brought up with small kids are better than those that are suddenly introduced into a family with small kids, or those who are “only children” and then along comes baby. Our Westie never did care for our kids. To her, they were omega dogs all the way, in need of discipline (think dog pack). In your family, your dog needs to know from day one that he/she is omega dog and all other family members (including kids) reign supreme over him/her.</p>
<p>If you are intent on a purebred dog, check out the BREED rescues. There are bichon, yorkie, poodle, westie, etc. rescues. These dogs are purebreds. There is no need to go to a breeder and pay outrageous prices for a dog. Check out <a href=“http://www.petfinder.org%5B/url%5D”>www.petfinder.org</a>. You indicate what breed you are interested in and put in your zipcode to find a rescue in your locale. Most of the breed rescues are willing to adopt out of state if you can’t find a local one. I am involved in dog rescue work and I have done home visits for the bichon rescue in New Jersey to complete adoptions in Virginia. If you are interested in giving a dog a second chance, where there is a will, there’s a way.</p>
<p>you are doing the smartest thing in the world by investigating this before getting the dog - i’ve known too many people who fall in love with the “look” of a breed and then try to figure out what to do after they have the dog. </p>
<p>so many breed characteristics are so inbred, it just isn’t fair to a dog to expect it to ignore what its genes tell it - so it is important to understand what a breed was “designed” for - sometimes it goes a long way in understanding what may otherwise seem to be annoying behaviors on the dog’s part.</p>
<p>I would highly recommend a couple of books about basic puppy owning issues in general. Ian Dunbar has two books - Before You get your puppy, and After you get your puppy – or something close to that wording. covers basic issues you should be considering in making the decision to get a dog and how to be prepared for those first few weeks. He can come across a little like, do it “exactly” this way or you will ruin your dog – so take it with a little grain of sale.</p>
<p>Another fabulous book is Pat Miller’s Positive Perspectives – it covers just about everything a new dog owner needs to know from why dogs do what they do, to how to train it to do what you want it to do. 
We gave a copy to a friend who is a pediatrician who got a puppy and she refers to is The Dr. Spock for puppies.</p>
<p>My neighbors have a Westie and, while I am more of a big dog person, I think he is a nice little dog. Barks a fair amount, but is not obnoxious. (He is very well cared for.) Stays in the house while his parents work. My other Westie experience was at my boys’ elementary. The 5th/6th classroom had a Westie in residence. He was very even tempered and the kids doted on him. Seemed fine with the younger kids as well.</p>
<p>Re: greyhounds I have been looking into them. Our local greyhound rescue “cat tests” them. If you do a little looking you can find the process described on the web. I would think that with a rescued greyhound you would be able to adopt another if the cat/dog relationship didn’t work out. (This is also a concern of mine.)</p>
<p>I just dropped my eldest at school and am also trying to decide on a dog. Let me make a quick plug for my last breed-- a Norwegisn Elkhound. Sweetest dog in the world, but very hairy!</p>
<p>Yes, I used to really want a Samoyed. A beautiful dog with a real “smile,” but way too hairy. 
</p>
<p>Brian Jacques (famous children’s author that wrote Redwall) has a Westie named Teddie. It’s very well behaved and makes public appearances with him. Random, I know…</p>
<p>I second odyssey’s vote for the miniature poodle. As with all purebreeds, it is very important to buy from a reputable breeder. These breeders will have captured the best of personality traits, conformation traits and health traits in their lines. Backyard puppy mills are there to make a buck, sometimes with heartbreaking results. </p>
<p>Poodles, which come in three sizes, are great pets. The miniature will be about 16 to 20 pounds and be a maximum of 15 inches at the shoulder (about knee-height). Our little guy does not shed, does not smell, and does not bark (except when a stranger comes into the yard…but he stops when he sees that I welcome the stranger into the house). Poodles are exceptionally intelligent, trainable and perceptive. They understand not only short verbal commands, but complex language and body language clues. They have dear, friendly, perky personalities. I have been told by breeders of different breeds that the boys are more friendly, stay more puppy-like and tend to bond more strongly to his human family.</p>
<p>A reputable poodle breeder will likely his dogs’ eyes and leg joints “registered” or checked, as these are two areas where poodles can have health problems. The longer the breeding line, the less likely you are to get any health problems. It is not uncommon for a miniature poodle to live 15 to 20 years.</p>
<p>I think Border Collies are the smartest, most fun dogs in the world—but they’re not cat-like at all. My friend has one, and he likes to herd my little lamb-like Bichon around when they get together, by bumping him with his nose. He’s also a great soccer goalie. Loves to play soccer with the kids.</p>
<p>As a Great Dane Breeder and Exhibitor, I second all the advise about finding a reputable breeder and then asking to see the health check reports on both the sire and the dam. Every breed is different, and has different health issues to watch for. In Great Danes we check eyes, hips, thyroid and heart. If a breeder is unwilling to share this information, walk away! A very good source of information is going to the specific breeds national clubs website and reading the information contained there; it will often talk about the specific health concerns peculiar to that breed… Also, many people ask, if I just want a pet, why buy from a person that breeds show dogs. The answer is simple this: not every pup from a litter turns out to be show quality. However, every pup from the litter has had the same benefit of the health testing of the parents. Puppy mills and backyard breeders rarely, if ever, health check the parents.</p>
<p>I think it should be noted that much of how a dog behaves depends upon the training and the family behavior. Some traits are hardwired into a breed, such as digging in terriers and herding in collies. But puppies are like children and they will ALL behave if treated firmly and kindly. After all, they all really just want to please you.</p>
<p>I’m no canine behavior expert, but I will note that the aforementioned Border Collie also herds small children, which is as helpful as it is hysterical to watch. No way those kids are getting out of the yard. He herds them away from the street, and then makes them kick soccer balls at him.</p>
<p>lkf725 - I have found that one of the major differences between a golden retriever and a westie is that the golden has a very strong desire to please YOU while the westie is more interested in pleasing herself! I trained my golden to a very impressive degree using mainly a tennis ball and praise as positive reinforcement. The westie can only be trained with a treat. She will chase a ball (especially a soccer ball) and loves to be petted, but on her terms.</p>
<p>actually, most dogs want to please themselves. many an owner has become very frustrated by the fact that the dog won’t simply do what it is “supposed to do” out of shear love for the owner.</p>
<p>which is why training is so important – it is the way one is able to communicate with ones dog to teach it what is expected so you can learn to live together. i’ll throw out another book recommendation - Patricia McConnell’s The Other end of the Leash – great book that discusses what is involved in our two very different species living together. </p>
<p>good training is essential - and what consititutes good training is not necessarily the same for every breed of dog - you have to know what motivates your dog. ignoring breed tempermant and characteristics can be a recipe for disappointment in dog ownership.</p>
<p>for example - someone mentioned border collies - they are great intelligent dogs – but they need the right type of owner who understands that they were bred to work – and if you don’t give them a job, they are likely to find one of their own that may not be what you want :). you can have a wonderful well-behaved, well trained border collie – but if you think you will train it to lie on the floor docilely for 90% of the day while you watch tv together and not exercise its brain and body, i think you will be in for a big disappointement. in contrast, there are other breeds who simply don’t need that same type of mental and physical stimulation to be happy. (all dogs probably benefit from some, but it is so important to choose a dog that fits your lifestyle!)</p>
<p>“outrageous prices for a dog.”</p>
<p>What is outrageous is going to one of those mall pet shops and seeing them try to sell mixed-breed dogs for $500-$600. Breeders who health test are lucky if they break even on a litter – at least that is the case with Danes.</p>
<p>I too work with, and support Great Dane rescue, and think that it is a real act of caring to adopt an older, needy dog. However, one must remember that most (not all, but most) pure breds that wind up in rescues are the progeny of puppy mills and backyard breeders. All the legitmate Great Dane breeders that I know go to extraordinay lengths to take back a dog they have bred when the owner cannot, or will not, care for the dog.</p>
<p>On the male vs. female question, it is best explained in Danes by the following: Female Danes say “Love me, love me, love me.” Male Danes says: “Let me love you, let me love you, really, let me love you.”</p>
<p>unbelievablem’s post brings to mind another important thing to research when selecting a breed and dog…that is the exercise requirement. Some breeds need alot of activity while others are couch potatoes. But whichever you choose, they need their daily exercise. I’ve known some people who think that their dogs are misbehaved, but the dogs just did not get enough activity. A well-exercised dog will always be better behaved.</p>
<p>“A well-exercised dog will always be better behaved.”
That applies to us all. As someone once said, don’t forget to walk the dog…even if you don’t have a dog.</p>