<p>Labs are the best, had one for 12+ years before health deteriorated…Got a Labradoodle 7 years ago, and is just as loving as the Lab,much smarter and doesn’t shed…woo-hoo…also took in a rescue dog, a Malti-poo…a little PITA…very defiant,does what it wants to, regardless of training or outcome…DW loves it, so i am stuck</p>
<p>A thread after my heart. I had mixed breeds all through my childhood. They were wonderful dogs, very smart and gentle. When I got married, dh and I got our first dog, a flat-coated retriever. We love the breed. Very smart, active (make that very active) and goofy. I showed them, tracked with them and my husband hunted with them. The only thing I didn’t like was that we lost all of them to cancer at around 10 years of age. So decided that the next dog would be a different breed. Now, we have a field spaniel and if he isn’t a pip! Ball obsessed and my dear companion. He is clearly my dog. My dh sometimes feels a little put out. This is one smart dog but he is also much more an independent thinker than the retrievers were. I am always trying to convince him that what I want him to do is what he wants to do too. I also like the fact that he is much smaller than the retrievers. I call him my downsized dog.</p>
<p>Chihuahuas always seem like 4 legs with teeth. I also was disappointed in the peke win at Westminster. There were a lot of handsome dogs. Was anyone else amazed at the Neapolitan Mastiff? Roman war dog indeed!</p>
<p>Wheaten Terrier owner/fan here. Loving/lovable, playful, and definitely a “people” dog. About 40 lbs and never sheds a hair. Looks like a teddy bear.</p>
<p>I have two miniature schnauzers and a very old English Setter. The Setter has the sweetest disposition of any dog I’ve ever met. The schnauzers are such terriers! Smart, determined, loyal and energetic. I think its “my breed” 
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<p>Got bitten bad two years ago by a Malamute, they scare me now. :(</p>
<p>We had a wonderful Wheaten Terrier for 12 1/2 years - lost him last fall just after DS11/15 left for college. He was definitely a “people” dog - all who met him loved him and he loved all he met! Very playful but never got the concept of what a ball was for! Got a new goldendoodle puppy a month later on the way home from parents weekend. Thought he was going to be about the same size, but at 21 lbs at 6 months we’re not thinking he’ll be smaller and kind of liking that. He’s a love and loves chasing balls which is nice for the kids. And has a similar personality - loves all and all love him. And he doesn’t shed either! Very smart and doesn’t tend to run away which is a nice change. And DS actually spends some time at the house when he’s home from school to play with the puppy so we see him more :)</p>
<p>We just welcomed a new yellow Lab puppy to our home three weeks ago. Our black lab, “best dog ever”, had to be put to sleep at the age of 9 due to a very aggressive lymphoma. It just about broke my heart. I missed him so terribly I couldn’t begin to think of another dog. Eight months later, we were ready. Having the puppy is like having a toddler in the house again, but he is incredibly smart, playful and just fun to have around. With both kids out of the house, I finally have someone to talk to other than myself!</p>
<p>We have an English Mastiff and this is by far the best dog I’ve ever owned. She’s not that big for a mastiff (140 lbs?) and luckily the only time she drools is when she’s around other dogs - weird. She is truly the most gentle dog I’ve had (and I’ve owned labs and love them too) and really the only one I’ve felt comfortable with bringing to crowded places. (The lab would get too crazy.) She sits or lays down and lets everyone pet her. :)</p>
<p>My only complaint is the shedding. The dog hair drives me crazy.</p>
<p>I am not a fan of little dogs. We had a cairn terrier growing up, and she bit at least 3 people and was very barky!</p>
<p>Good luck to those of you with puppies! They are a LOT of work.</p>
<p>I have the nastiest, snarkiest, most sarcastic Jack Russell terrier in the world. He will lower himself to accept butter cookies or pound cake, possibly bacon, from the lesser humans who are not my daughter. Since she is away at college he has no choice but to deal with the rest of us, but he does it grudgingly and with an attitude. When she is around, he is the sweetest, perkiest, most loveable dog. It’s like the kid who puts on one face when the parents are around, but is a demon behind their backs!</p>
<p>Since I am the one who derailed the other thread (my bad!), I will say that it is my life’s goal to have a beagle of my very own. If I had a beagle, we would take walks, read books and go on picnics together. I am wildly in love with Uno, the incomparable beagle who won Westminster in 2008. My son, who is 13, buys me a small Snoopy of some sort for every holiday because that’s the closest I can get right now to an actual beagle because the Jack Russell bites everyone and hates other dogs. When my beagle comes into my life, his name will be DUO!!!</p>
<p>Onward- I was considering a Flat Coated Retriever when looking for our first dog. The breeder was very honest with me and said that they were having an issue with cancer in many of the lines so we looked at another breed. We ended up with an English Setter. Rufus is a wonderful dog- going on 14 now. We also have a Pappillion (sp) and a Chinese Crested. All of them add to our lives.</p>
<p>a lovable, wonderful rescue peke-a-poo resides with me. most wonderful dog ever! he is my biggest fan!</p>
<p>I can’t do puppies.</p>
<p>Corgi mom here. Great breed, but they do shed a lot. Ours is a bit naughty which is totally our fault since we were a bit easy on her in the puppy days. Love her!</p>
<p>Yay for this thread! We have a white Lhasa Apso that we rescued. He is adorable and lovable and a beloved member of our family. He does require upkeep and goes to the groomer every 6 weeks or else his hair becomes too long (and eventually matted.)</p>
<p>He loves to cuddle and be a part of the action in our family. He does not require much exercise, and sometimes when I tell him we are going for “Walkies!” he runs into his crate and hides :)</p>
<p>family, that is so cute. Our first dog as a couple was a Lhaso Apso/Shih Tzu-type thing. I’d never had a small dog. We always had hunting dogs when I was little. She was 4 when we got her, the month after we married. My entire extended family gets wistful when Polly’s name is mentioned. She was just a great dog.</p>
<p>Our current dog is equally loved, and when I say “Walk” he goes nuts.</p>
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<p>I swore after our last puppy (goldendoodle) that I would never have another puppy. I think if we ever get another dog, it will have to be one that is at least potty trained.</p>
<p>We have a wonderful Belgium Shepard we adopted 11 years ago, a Japanese Chin/Peke we rescued from a kill shelter, who has issues, and since I just flunked fostering last week (actually I was only doing two legs of a transport to get her from a shelter to foster home) we will be the proud parents of a 3yr old Japanese Chin as soon as she gets spayed and recovers enough to travel. </p>
<p>Re Wheaton’s - my sister has a Woodle and he is the most adorable dog I have ever seen.</p>
<p>mn, my boyfriend wants a corgi more than anything else in the world. I’ve heard mixed reviews on them. Something about trying to herd children. </p>
<p>I never thought of the hair issue. I’m allergic to dogs, but don’t really have issues when I’m around them all the time. We’ve always had long hair/thick fur dogs and now that I have a low maintence pit bull, I don’t know if I could ever go back to all that fur! Ironic since I want a newfoundland dog haha.</p>
<p>I don’t care for purse-sized dogs or pit bulls. (sorry)</p>
<p>We have a giant almost 9 year old Golden Retriever (126 pounds) who is a gentle giant and loves his 3 cats. He is the darling of the neighborhood and likes to go to the school bus stop so the kids can love on him. I can’t imagine life without him, although he was an unexpected arrival when then 16 year old WildChild stole our checkbook, found a breeder and came home with the puppy. We already had a house full of animals and did NOT need a puppy! He was so adorable that we kept the dog and sent the kid away! He is TERRIBLE about food (due to some spoiling and bad training) and will take anything he can reach- which is a lot! He eats a can of green beans (no sodium) every evening with his dinner, licks the 3 cat bowls and gets a milkbone and glucosmine treat (it’s a 3 course meal every night).</p>
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<p>mom2collegekids, objection:) Doxies are not tall but they are long. When standing up, they can do just as much damage. My doxie jumps up to catch a bag hanging over the countertop.</p>