What was the best dog you've had?

[Vaquero]

Tough call.
I had a pair of border collies as a teenager. They were an awesome team. They had my back a few times.
In the early '90s, Dixie was an all around top hand for the family and farm. She was obviously a German shepherd/yellow lab mix.
Now, I've got Mocha. She's a Catahoula. Smarter than some folks. Low key and does her best to keep me in line.
Knows when to get a move on, and when to relax.
Dixie was real special, but Mocha just listens to me talk and responds to verbal communication that we haven't practiced.
Inexplicable. Probably just me paying more attention. Maybe not.

 

[tomplum]

Wow. Great responses! Times are so weird. You have to set an appointment at the shelter to see a certain dog with this $%%^# plague. The shelters around here are filled with pit bull mixes. I can see that that would be a touchy subject for some, but why would that be? Australian cattle dogs seem to come up frequently. We had one in our extended family that was a good companion. Over the last 20 years, my wife has a soft spot for dachshunds. We lost the last one way too young, the dreaded back. The first two lived full lives.
Lots of lab lovers and I get why. I met a a charcoal lab who was ~6 months old. Made you melt. Catahoula, that's a new one to me. A dog that is smart and responsive makes a better companion in my book. Hope you all had a good Sunday.

 

[goeduck]

I have loved every dog I have ever had. Make sure the breed you get can thrive in your lifestyle.

 

[mikester]

My best dog is my neighbour's dog. Comes over every day. Digs in my garden. Craps on my lawn. The best part is I don't have to feed it or pay any vet bills.

 

[Rockbadchild]

grew up with labs and they where awesome definitely would recommend them, so easy to train, they can be a little energic when young with young kids tho …. but the best dog I ever had was a German shorthair pointer she was a beauty all around, really good hunting instinct. she made bird hunting so easy. she was timid, gentle, and listen so well, perfect size... my next one will be a Brittany Spaniel I am really looking forward to see how she is going to be. should be getting her in a few months

 

[Frankenkubota]

Last 2 dogs found me. 2nd last abandoned at dog park, the last one I found under my trailer freezing 6 weeks ago.

Not the best way to get a dog but in my case, so far so good.

 

[goeduck]

If any of these suit your fancy, they should save you some vacuuming.

"Hypoallergenic" Dog Breeds That Don't Shed

If you’ve always wanted to own a dog but you cannot deal with tumbleweeds of dog hair around your home, or if allergies have always held you back, worry no

www.akc.org

 

[oosik]

I live VERY rural. Coyotes are a constant problem when dealing with dogs out here. I've lost two dogs to coyotes. Stray just a little too far - they become breakfast for the coyotes. The two I lost - both were labs. Both were excellent dogs but just a little too prone to wandering. A little too curious.

I currently have a registered brown Cocker Spaniel. I'm pretty sure he understands that coyotes are not friends. He will stay right with me when we walk the property. I have 80 acres in NE WA state. About 25 miles SW of Spokane.

As you can see - he's pretty brave when on the front porch.

 

[sea2summit]

Sheppard Collie mix. He was smarter than most people.

First so you don't take offense, I believe you. Second, that doesn't seem like it takes a super intelligent dog to be true now days.

For a family dog I love GSDs, I've had half a dozen. For my dog I've moved toward Belgium Malinois but they are absolutely an advanced dog owner dog and take a lot of work.

 

[jay3534]

Hard to say. Grew up with Weimaraners , German Shepherds and Beagles and they all had their place. After moving away started with the Shepherds (one of which saved my life) then Lab mixes, and then a Newfoundland and then a Corgi (for the wife) and then one of my top 3 (Airedale / Shepard ) back to to Lab mixes and Beagles as I can't train anymore to bad knees and upwards of 3 hours a day is too hard on me. I feel most breeds can make good companions if treated properly and health issues for the chosen breed realized.

 

[RUSTBUCKET BRONCO]

Best dog we ever had was hank, mix of lab and rot. very independent and never let anything on the property we didn't want. The new one is a mix of lab and mastiff. nice dog but will open the door for anything that wants to come on the property, and super needy.

 

[wawajake]

Best full size dogs were our Golden Retreivers.....but best medium sized dog and smartest with the most character was our Australian Shepherd. ...wonderful dog trained easily not to bark unless urgent, or when enjoying frisbee......also nice small size poops to deal with and no tail knocking over things on tables. Died a couple years ago unfortunately.

 

[cqaigy2]

We've been fortunate with the dogs we've had. The one dog that stands out though, is the one i had when i met my wife. He was a cross, guessing Keeshond as that was what my BIL's brother found in the pen with the *****. The female was a dog from Japan. Found living in a snowbank along with half a dozen other puppies. Not a real large dog, something like 60-70 lbs. Definite guard hair type fur, did well in cold weather but could handle hot weather fairly well. He was also very smart and only did what i told him not anybody else. I can't really take any credit for training him, it was just that he was very smart. Not overly aggressive with other animals, except porcupines(arg!) or people, but was intimidating as he looked people in the eye. After my wife and i dated a bit, i told him to do what she told him to do and from then on he'd follow her commands.

Our current dog is a blue heeler, kinda large from what i've seen of other heelers at 60 lbs. He was from a puppy mill that had gotten broken up, so who knows really what the breeding was. Not aggressive, but used to be a nipper/ skin pincher. Distrustful of people until he spends a lot of time with them.

 

[Jstpssng]

As I mentioned before I’ve always been a lab nut, but reading the replies here shows that there are a lot of good breeds. A smart dog requires a lot more attention and time, otherwise it will get bored. THEN the trouble starts. My previous dog didn’t like being confined and for some reason when she was about a year old I decided to crate train her. I don’t know why, when left home alone she would lay on the couch until I got back. That didn’t work out so well... she would break out and then cause all sorts of mayhem.

 

[bullbreaker]

Never really had any bad one's . I rather hang out with a good dog or a horse than most humanoids . Some of my great dogs were "Sam" (rip) pound dog ," Lisa" German standard schnauzer (rip) , and "Henry " English pointer (rip) ............

 

[FarmGirl55]

Get a Chesapeake Bay Retriever. We are on number 7 and love the animals. They are a large dog however they are very loyal and stay at home. They are great protectors. They are extremely smart. Check out the AKC.org website for more info on them.

 

[forgeblast]

Golden Doodle. Dog has brought such joy and kindness into our lives. She doesn't shed, and is truly a part of the family. Has enough poodle to sound tough when needed, but man that golden shines through. She is great with kids, and other dogs. She will point out in the woods, and has great hunting instincts. She is a kind soul, one who truly feels when your happy or sad. I truly think she might be the last dog I ever get. Its going to be hard when we have to say goodbye. Not sure how many more times I can do that.
We had three rescues before her, but she is the best.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Best for what? My best bird dog ever was a dumpy looking little English springer that turned into poetry in motion in the field. If there were birds, she would get them up, and sometimes retrieved more birds than I shot. Pheasant, quail, waterfowl, nutrea, rabbits, you name it, she would hunt it and bring it back. That was many years ago. A couple years ago I adopted a rescue springer who turned out to be just about as good.

For a varmint dog, I had an English bulldog once that was death on possums and coons. Bulldog jaws are not a myth. You could hear the bones crunching when he bit them. He was also the only dog I ever had who could kill a skunk without getting sprayed. Everything else got soaked, but not him.

For small dogs, I have had three mini dachshunds, who were all hound.

 

[Wakey]

My German Shepherd Zach was the best. It’s important that the master is smarter than the GSD, but that isn’t always the case haha

Any of the crosses with a poodle is a great choice as well.

 

[MossRoad]

Get a Chesapeake Bay Retriever. We are on number 7 and love the animals. They are a large dog however they are very loyal and stay at home. They are great protectors. They are extremely smart. Check out the AKC.org website for more info on them.

One of my coworkers has a Chesapeake Bay Retriever. I was going to pick him up to go ice fishing. He told me to watch out for the dog when I drove up, because it was protective. I drove up. The dog started barking at me. I opened the driver's door and asked it if it wanted to go for a ride? It jumped in and I left with his very happy dog and drove around the block.

I've done that to two of my friends with protective dogs. Quite humorous.

But I will say, that dog is BIG and STRONG. Some dogs play with sticks. His plays with hunks of firewood. It picked up a bowling ball in its mouth. It once ate 1/4 of a roadkill deer (then barfed it up in the house). It's a great dog.