The Perfect Breed?

[SpringerLover]

A friend and I took the young dogs out for a romp tonight and the topic of discussion was "finding the perfect breed" and changed to "choosing the perfect puppy/dog."

It was kind of interesting to hear how our dog choices are similar, yet very different. She currently owns a Labrador Retriever and a Flat Coated Retriever. (She's also watching two 9-month old Flattie puppies and a Pomeranian right now.)

My criteria are: people and dog social, longer than lab-length fur but shorter than flattie-length, has a full tail, longevity in the breed/lines, hunting breed-preferably a retriever or spaniel.

Her criteria were: dog and people social (she does SAR), less than 60#, hunting breed. Preferably a low maintenance coat.

It leaves a lot of specifics out but it was kind of fun to see if the dogs we're interested in even fit our criteria. Number one dog on her list is currently a small munsterlander. She's also considered a french brittany, a springer, or another lab.

My #1 is still a toller but I've also considered a springer from the right lines or... a lab... maybe. I really like the super low maintenance coat Amber has!

[Locke]

My wants/needs: low/no shedding, people/dog friendly, moderately active, preferably between 20-35lbs.

I love poodles, but hard to find in the size I want.

[PWCorgi]

You won't get a lab You've waited too long for a Toller and you're too obsessed with Springers still to end up with something like a lab

As for my criteria: people and dog friendly, medium sized, active, toy/water dog.

[Southpaw]

My wants: people/dog friendly (though not OMG I LOVE YOU friendly), low shedding, biddable, easy to train, low energy

My likes: Working and herding breeds.... ummm? Yeah, there are some gaps between what I want, and what dogs I am actually interested in...

[Laurelin]

My criteria (I actually just wrote this all out yesterday trying to make sense of it all/pinpoint the specifics!)

- Working temperament/drive to play in agility and maybe some other sports. Agility is the main focus

- An off switch. I work full time but can exercise the dog before, at lunch, and after work. However the dogs needs to chill sometimes too.

- Handler oriented. Tends to be easy to focus to a task. Not as apt as a lot of breeds to ignore or get the nose to the ground... (I worded that poorly, hopefully you know what I mean)

- Confident and not fearful/timid

- Toy drive- tug, ball, frisbee. Would love a disc dog.

- Decent speed and athletic build. My current dog is very fast but very small. I can't deal with dogs you have to constantly bring 'up' or that walk the course.

- Aloof with strangers but tolerant of them. Willing to compromise with this a bit though. I have one dog that looooves people and it is annoying but manageable.

- 30-50 lbs ideal but might push it 10 lbs either way (20 min and 60 max)

- Likes water- never had a water dog.

- not prone to dog aggression. (Can be dog selective)

- Wash and wear coat. No professional grooming required

- Long hair or maybe smooth hair but no wire hair or continuously growing hair

- Color and marking options <--- I know, totally petty.

Breeder:

- Dog is AKC registrable preferably. Might go for a breeder that only ILPs, not sure. Agility trials around here are mostly AKC.

- Parents health tested

- Parents participate in either work or sport of some fashion

^ Problem? there's about 6 breeds I REALLY like that fit that pretty well. 3 of which I like a ton. Will probably come down to individual breeder/lines and timing on which happens first.

[SpringerLover]

Originally Posted by PWCorgi

You won't get a lab You've waited too long for a Toller and you're too obsessed with Springers still to end up with something like a lab \

True. I suppose. But her coat is SO nice!

[houlahoops]

Totally not what you're asking but I am obsessed with Munsterlanders!

I feel most people have loose criteria and then sort of intuitively fall for a breed or individual dog.

My current criteria: hunting dog, closed on trail, off-switch

[MandyPug]

Originally Posted by houlahoops

Totally not what you're asking but I am obsessed with Munsterlanders!

We have a Munsterlander in my agility club. His name is Cookie Munster

That's all I've got to add to this thread.

[SaraB]

Perfect breed: short hair, herding breed, high drive, high intensity, off-switch a plus.

[sassafras]

Every time I try to sit down and define my wants, I fall in love with an individual dog who doesn't really fit them and realize either they weren't actually my wants or I can live with a lot more than I thought I could.

So I've given up and mostly just sort of go with it at this point.