<p>Just since it’s starting to hijack another thread, let’s come here to talk about our favorite dogs. </p>
<p>I’ve had rottweilers, german shepherds, labs, and a slew of foster dogs from all over the medium/large dog spectrum. </p>
<p>I currently have a pit bull (our 2nd) and she is by far the best dog I’ve ever had. They have the best temperament of any dog I’ve ever worked and are fiercely loyal (which is why people use and abuse them). They have super quirky personalities and absolutely adore children. The first time my pit bull ever met a baby, the baby used her as a ladder and our dog took it with a champ with a smile on her face :). Ours is a role model for the breed and we often take her to city council meetings where they’re talking about banning the breed. She’s a rescue and I could not imagine a better dog. Every one who meets her falls in love and my friends back home will go to my house while I’m at school just to play with the dog haha. </p>
<p>With that said, I don’t like miniature poodles. They scare the begesus out of me. I’ve been bitten by more than one and had to get stitches each time. Major Napoleon complex they have.</p>
<p>Thanks Romani! We’ve had our dog for almost two years now. He and I went to dog training for 8 weeks and I have to say I barely passed. I’m a softie and he knows it!</p>
<p>I have had two mutts - both great dogs. My last dog was a beautiful yellow lab - had to have her put to sleep last summer and it broke my heart. I was amazed how much my lab wanted to please ME and how very smart she was. I miss her everyday.</p>
<p>Only dog I have ever had try to bite me is a chihuahua - sneaky little dogs. I don’t care for yappy dogs.</p>
<p>Current dog is a Miniature Pincher. A great little dog and a terrific athlete - an excellent jumper and a good frisbee dog.</p>
<p>Previously owned two Norwegian Elkhounds. Gorgeous dogs. Very smart and good-natured with kids but fearless defenders against intruders or other suspicious characters. But boy the coat grooming and upkeep was nonstop. I swear you could gather up the fur from a single shedding season from one dog and spin into yarn you’d have enough to knit yourself three sweaters. Come to think of it, they’d probably be pretty good sweaters.</p>
<p>Only disappointing dog we’ve owned was a miniature dachshund. The phrase we still use around our house to describe a totally clueless and untrainable animal is “dachshund dumb.”</p>
<p>We have a Siberian Husky and a Golden Retriever. Love the husky, but wouldn’t recommend for families with small children. She has been known to bite, and is all about the food. The retriever is a big lovable oaf, who has a menacing bark, but truly is man’s best friend (and mine, and yours, and the neighbors, etc.). </p>
<p>You’re brave romani, I would never have a pit bull.</p>
<p>ETA: I suppose that sounds strange coming from someone who owns a dog that bites :).</p>
<p>Nothing brave about it. Pit bulls were called “America’s Nanny Dogs” for a reason. Not the dog’s fault that idiots are owners. Best dogs we’ve ever worked with, hands down. </p>
<p>Go ask a vet how many pit bulls they’ve been bitten by. I’ve never met a single one. They say the small dogs are the worst.</p>
<p>MDmom…me too…now if they’d just make room for the rest of us.</p>
<p>We have 2 dogs…a dachshund and a “chorkie” (half yorkie/half chihuahua).</p>
<p>The doxie has the funniest personality as many doxies do. They know what they want (food!), and they’ll do anything to get it. Doxies are so cute when they sit up on their hineys…they look like prairie dogs. Thankfully, they’re not tall enough to counter-surf. They’re more like bottom-feeders.</p>
<p>My chorkie is very sweet, but very emotional. We rescued her as a small puppy, and she had some early trust issues. We just had to love her thru her issues…“love the dog on the couch!” BTW…she talks…yes, she talks. She says a whole paragraph of words using sounds with high and low tones. We know that with certain tones she’s asking to eat, and with other tones she’s asking to go outside.</p>
<p>“Doxies are so cute when they sit up on their hineys…they look like prairie dogs”</p>
<p>Aw, mom2collegekids, you post reminded me of my family’s terrier/doxie mix (if you can imagine that combo!). He would sit up on his hind legs and I’d pretend to shoot him, saying “bang!” and he’d fall over.</p>
<p>Unfortunately our almost 14-year old Chocolate Lab can’t haul herself up on the couch anymore, so I’ll have to be content with loving the dog on the memory foam dog bed. She is not particularly bright (was exceedingly difficult to train), lives for food, has lost most of her hearing, and still pees the flloor in excitement when someone she’s never met comes in the house. We adore her.</p>
<p>I watched Morning Joe the day after the Westminster dog show, and the consensus of opinion when the photo of the winner, a Pekingese, was shown was “That’s not a dog.” (Additional comments: “It’s a snack.” “It’s an Ewok.”) I have to agree. I don’t care for small yappy dogs, especially ones with pushed in faces. A dog ought to be big enough to hug without fear of breaking its bones, and a decent snout is important! </p>
<p>Bravo to romanigypsyeyes for rescuing pit bulls. Almost every dog at our city’s shelter is a pit bull. Every now and then I take a peek at their pics on the Petfinders website, find them all to be utterly adorable and am seized with the desire to take them all–so I close out the page quickly.</p>
<p>My D has a half chihuahua, half corgi who is very sweet and well behaved. She was a rescue and is perfect for a student in an apartment. </p>
<p>I have a German shepherd puppy who is six months now. We have had him for about six weeks. We lost our sweet six-year-old shepherd to cancer two days before Christmas and got this puppy just a week later. </p>
<p>My other dog is a miniature Schnauzer. My family has had Schnauzers since I was 15.</p>
<p>Having looked at the website re pit bulls as “nanny” dogs, I have to wonder if the dogs now found in shelters would have tend to have much different personalities from the pit bulls of old, since most of them are the product of backyard breeders who have been selecting for aggressive traits for many years. I would be leery of generalizing about the breed one way or the other, and think each dog’s temperament would have to judged individually by a trained evaluator.</p>
<p>I think that a big fluffy rabbit won Westminster.</p>
<p>I have Shelties – and my young dog is making her AKC agility debut this afternoon! I hope we are ready – it’s taken me awhile to get here, starting with a trainer that never ever brought out the contact equipment and having to leave that trainer and move on to someone that did actual coursework and sequencing. Bella had a good warmup match on Sunday, and some great class work on Wednesday, so wish me luck!</p>
<p>bookiemom quote: I have a German shepherd puppy who is six months now. We have had him for about six weeks. We lost our sweet six-year-old shepherd to cancer two days before Christmas and got this puppy just a week later. </p>
<p>==========</p>
<p>So sorry to hear that…and he was only six years old. My doxie had surgery last month to remove a cancerous tumor. </p>
<p>Enjoy your new puppy. I hope his being with you helps soften the pain of your loss.</p>
<p>We are miniature schnauzer fans in our family. Since childhood, I have had four. Three males and one female. They are such a great family pet. Smart, loyal, good with children and really fun. We just had to say goodbye to our 12.5 year old fella two weeks ago. I am still tearing up pretty much every day thinking about him when I do the “regular stuff” we did together. He was what I like to call a once in a lifetime dog. While I loved the others, he was just amazing in how he connected with us. It is going to be awhile before I can consider getting another one, but I know I will and it most likely will be another schnauzer.</p>
<p>I have two pit mixes. They are delightful dogs. The older one is 14, dumb as a log, but sweet as can be. The young one is two years old, super smart, intensely attached to me, cuddly, and funny. Neither has ever shown any aggression toward people or other dogs. The young one does have some “prey drive” and it took several months to get her to stop chasing my cats, but now they cuddle on the sofa with her. She likes to dig big holes in my yard, but otherwise she is perfect. :)</p>
<p>We also have a yellow lab. She is 12 now and is beginning to have trouble getting around. We’ve experimented with various medications for her arthritis, but each one has come with unacceptable side effects. I know her days are probably numbered and it gives me a huge lump in my throat because she is such a sweetheart. She follows me all over the house all the time. The only thing she loves more than me is food. :)</p>
I’m a softie and he knows it!</p>