However, since you have kids that may or may not be the best dog. They are great around kids, but their average life span is only 8-10 years. It might be tough to get that attached.
Another question for you is in regards to the allergies. Is it the hair or the pet dandruff? Boxers are short haired, but they shed quite a bit. If its the hair (as much as I hate to say this) you might have to look at a poodle. They shed less than almost every other dog. Of course you could always go with a labradoodle.
Oh yeah, one other thing. How often are you going to be around the dog and where will you keep him when you are gone?
The reason this matters is because the smarter the dog, the more it needs to be constantly entertained. If you leave a smart dog alone in a yard, it will spend the day trying to figure out how to escape. Less smart dogs will be content to lay around and play with you when you want to play.
Those labradoodles are too cute. I kinda feel silly admitting it.
Yes...lifespan is important too. We've thought about a Great Dane. We both LOVE them...but they only have about 6-8 years and that would be heart-wrenching.
We are definitely going to check shelters and pet rescues first.
One of my favorite breeds, though, is a Bernese Mountain Dog. They are beautiful!!!! Matt won't hear of it though.
Interesting...
the breed I own ranks 14th for my compatibility.
However my only dissatisfaction is in grooming requirements.
(I grudgingly give him about half the grooming attention he should have.)
The top ranked breed for me is the Sheltie.
I could only imagine how insane I would be after spending a few weeks
with a Sheltie. No offense to the Sheltie owners, but I am not a "Sheltie person"!
Take these reccomendations with a little salt (on the rim of a saucer-shaped glass).
“Give me a woman who loves beer and I will conquer the world.”
- Kaiser Welhelm
"The call is a loud wulli-wulli, and there is much twittering at the drinking holes."
buffettbride wrote:We are definitely going to check shelters and pet rescues first.
My fiance is a vet student. As much as she would love to save every animal, when it comes to dogs she feels very strongly that you need to have them from when they are a puppy. That is the only way you can train them the way you want them trained. At a rescue or shelter, you don't know the animals background or how they will react to certain situations.
Perfect example from my childhood. My parents picked up a puppy from the local animal shelter and brought him home. He couldn't have been more than 6-8 months old. Apparently, he knew either herding or hunting. He would lay under the beds, and as soon as he saw an ankle he would start nipping at it until you went where he wanted you to go.
buffettbride wrote:We are definitely going to check shelters and pet rescues first.
My fiance is a vet student. As much as she would love to save every animal, when it comes to dogs she feels very strongly that you need to have them from when they are a puppy. That is the only way you can train them the way you want them trained. At a rescue or shelter, you don't know the animals background or how they will react to certain situations.
Perfect example from my childhood. My parents picked up a puppy from the local animal shelter and brought him home. He couldn't have been more than 6-8 months old. Apparently, he knew either herding or hunting. He would lay under the beds, and as soon as he saw an ankle he would start nipping at it until you went where he wanted you to go.
I definitely agree. But we're going to check them first, to see if we get lucky. We're not really risking it with the kids around.
I had a dog like that as a kid too. We had to take him "back" where he came from.
I'm going to cast my vote for lab as well. We have a yellow lab mix, and my hubby also has dog allergies, but she's never bothered him much, even when she was shedding. She bothered his allergies maybe the first 2-3 days we had her, and after that he's been fine.
