Breeds you'd own except for one little thing

Whisper

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#21
I love the Brittany with a tail. It makes her look more beautiful! I love nubbies, though- my rotties' non-tails had so much personality. :D I don't know what it is about Brittanys, but docking detracts from their appearance, IMHO.

Now mine. . .I can pretty much only think of pretty big reasons I wouldn't have a dog. I don't care much about drooling or shedding. The only one I can think of is Shelties- they're such neat dogs, but I've never heard such complaints about barking for little to no reason. And their barks are so high pitched!
Millie barks a little too much, but at least it's when an animal or person is going by and not just to hear herself. Her bark is also pretty deep for her size, so it doesn't have the nails on a chalkboard effect.
 

MicksMom

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#22
Add me to the "I'd own a Standard Poodle if it weren't for the grooming" list. I'd rather deal with shedding than having clip regularly. I went nuts when we had my grandmother's Toy/Mini just trying to keep the tangles out of her coat.

Newf & Bullmastiff- the drool turns me off. Plus, they just plain don't live long enough. I'm not sure I want to deal with the longer top coat of a Newf, either.

Beagles- oh the baying! I've known tons of Beagles in my life, and only three that weren't excessively noisy (as in they only barked when someone came to the door).
 
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#23
I'd own an Akita if it wasn't for the general tendency towards independence/aloofness.

I love the breed soooo much but I also love clingy dogs.
 

JacksonsMom

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#24
I'd be much more inclined to own a Papillon if they came in bigger sizes. I know I could find one in rescue, but I kind of would like a pup from a good breeder. So if paps came in 15-20lb range normally, I think I'd really want them a lot more.

Ummm... I know this sounds weird, but I have a love for Westie's and Cairns but I've never been big on the 'bullet' shaped body. I prefer a bit more of a 'lean' look vs. 'stocky'. Which is one of the reasons I originally started looking into Border Terriers (which I think would fit me more anyway, but yeah, that WAS a reason I stopped looking at Westie's and Cairns). So that's purely aesthetic.

Another aesthetic thing for me is tails. I really wanted a Silky (and still might) but prefer an undocked tail and it's just hard to come by in the US.

I really think at SOME point in my life I will have a giant breed, really just have a love for English Mastiffs and Dogue de Bordeaux, but then I think about the drool, and the hair, and am like... eehhh, *maybe* not. LOL. Definitely wouldn't fit into my life now, but in the far far future, I could see myself with one I think. The only thing that turns me off is really the drool.
 

Paviche

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#25
I'd be much more inclined to own a Papillon if they came in bigger sizes. I know I could find one in rescue, but I kind of would like a pup from a good breeder. So if paps came in 15-20lb range normally, I think I'd really want them a lot more.
This! Paps are just *barely* too small for me and I'd want one from a breeder, too. It doesn't bother me that they're a small dog, just that they're several pounds under what I'd be happy with.

I really like border terriers, but I don't really like how they look when they get older and start graying. Would it keep me from owning one outright? Probably not since it's purely an aesthetic thing, but still.

Also: PWDs. I've loved most of the ones I've known, but every single one has had an awful screeching bark that I just could not live with!

Here's her as a puppy
OMG, I'm in love. What a lovely plumed tail Rowan could've had!
 

Laurelin

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#27
I can't think of any. Most breeds I wouldn't want, I wouldn't want for a multitude of traits. If there's only one trait that's not ideal, I usually cope anyways. I wish paps were bigger but meh... I enjoy them so much it's no big deal. In some ways I think the size adds to their charm, too. So much personality in such a little dog. <3 I don't enjoy sheltie propensity to bark but it's not that bad. I think it gets over-exaggerated. Either that or papillons are underrated barkers because my two hold their own with my shelties.

I don't have a perfect breed, really. Every breed I know of has SOMETHING I dislike/would change. Don't like docked/bobbed tails but I'd get an aussie or a pyr shep. Don't like beards but I'd get a pyr shep. Would prefer a dog over 20 lbs but I'd still have a papillon. Etc etc etc.

I guess the biggest one is that I would not consider any heartbreak breed. It's just something I don't allow myself to even consider because I know I wouldn't want to deal with it. Summer is a very vibrant, active and full of life near 9 year old. I can't imagine her being at the very old end of her breed's life expectancy. But that's not a little thing, imo.
 
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#28
I would love to own an Irish Wolfhound someday, but I don't know if I could deal with that short of a lifespan. I lost my first dog when he was seven, and that was nowhere near long enough.
 

Whisper

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#29
speedydogs, that is something I struggle with. There are several breeds that fall under that category- breeds I would love to own, but are known for short lifespans or a high risk of terminal health problems.
I absolutely adore Berners, but I've personally never known one that lived past 9.
For when I move away, my mom would ideally suited to a Cavalier, and she wants one, but it's just a little scary to think about.
I know there's always chance. I had Lucy, who was a chihuahua and could have lived to be 15 or more, yet I lost her at 6. It's just hard not to absolutely stack the deck in my favor when choosing a breed known to be relatively healthy overall, even though there are health problems in every breed.
Dogs already live too short a time. I just don't know if I have the courage to knowingly get a dog who's rarely known to live to Millie's age.

It probably sounds like I'm making way too big a deal of this. It's just after losing all the rotties I grew up with to bone cancer, and to lose Lucy so young, I'm ridiculously paranoid about the possible heartbreak.

Went out on a bit of a tangent there. Sorry. :eek:
 

MicksMom

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#31
...I absolutely adore Berners, but I've personally never known one that lived past 9...
Someone I know through Rally & Nosework classes told me her last Berner lived to be 12, and that is typical of that breeder's line. She has two Berners now from the same breeder.
 

Whisper

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#32
Someone I know through Rally & Nosework classes told me her last Berner lived to be 12, and that is typical of that breeder's line. She has two Berners now from the same breeder.
That's pretty nice to hear. :) 12 isn't an amazing age (Millie is 11 and I hope she'll be with me for years to come), but it's soooooo much better than what I'm used to hearing with Berners. Pretty good for a dog that size in any case.
I know lines can make a big difference. All the rotties who died of bone cancer were related, and they all got it the same age. I know it crops up elsewhere, but no dogs in this particular line escaped it. :( They were also not bred for anything but money and "OMGPUPPIES" in mind, either. Finding a breeder who puts a lot of effort into health (and other important things, but right now I'm talking about health) is a big deal.
 

Flyinsbt

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#34
Finding a breeder who puts a lot of effort into health (and other important things, but right now I'm talking about health) is a big deal.
It's hard, because even if a breeder is trying to do all the right things, it's difficult to breed for longevity. You do the available health testing (OFA, etc), to try and avoid problems. But stuff like cancer that comes at a later age... you can't test for it, and by the time it happens, the dog has already been bred. And do you throw out every dog who has ever had a relative die of cancer? Then you have no gene pool.

I really feel for those people in breeds where the shortened lifespans are becoming so common. That has to be tough.
 

AdrianneIsabel

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#35
Papillon is another for me, everything about them is great but I can't handle such fragile dogs. Maybe it's not all of them but wrong grabs (picking up) or bumps and the ones we have at work are screaming and then dramatically pouting.

It's actually kind of comical but I couldn't own them because I lack a lot of gentleness, if my dogs are in the way I knock them with my foot and keep walking, I fear a pap would hate me for life. lol
 

Laurelin

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#36
Papillon is another for me, everything about them is great but I can't handle such fragile dogs. Maybe it's not all of them but wrong grabs (picking up) or bumps and the ones we have at work are screaming and then dramatically pouting.

It's actually kind of comical but I couldn't own them because I lack a lot of gentleness, if my dogs are in the way I knock them with my foot and keep walking, I fear a pap would hate me for life. lol
They're really just drama queens. Especially the males. :p You should see Beau go to the vet, it is the most dramatic thing ever. But yes, if you offend the papillon or cause any discomfort- they will let you know.
 

*blackrose

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#37
Curly Coated Retriever. They sound like brilliant dogs, but I just can NOT get over how the coat looks. If a Chessie doesn't work out as the "breed for me", I will probably still seriously look in to them and just get over it, but the coat...*sigh*

English Shepherds. Feathery hair coats are weird for me. I'm fine if they don't need any coat maintenance to say mat free, but if they are in that weird range where you have to brush them every day to keep them free of mats, but you can't shave them down because then you would ruin their coat and make them look weird...I can't do it. Chloe has a really thick feathery coat and I do shave her, but she's a mutt so I don't feel bad about it. :p
 

Shai

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#38
Papillon is another for me, everything about them is great but I can't handle such fragile dogs. Maybe it's not all of them but wrong grabs (picking up) or bumps and the ones we have at work are screaming and then dramatically pouting.
That drama routine is one reason I think my sister's little dog could be part Papillon lol. She's tough as nails but if you offend her sensibilities...omg...she will hold a grudge forever. Kim did something to her once...years ago...body blocked her from getting to my sister IIRC...and she still hates Kim with a cold fury and is completely melodramatic whenever she sees Kim. And it's all an act...she's not stressed or anything, she's just making her point lol.
 
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Laurelin

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#39
That drama routine is one reason I think my sister's little dog could be part Papillon lol. She's tough as nails but if you offend her sensibilities...omg...she will hold a grudge forever. Kim did something to once...years ago...body blocked her from getting to my sister IIRC...and she still hates Kim with a cold fury and is completely melodramatic whenever she sees Kim. And it's all an act...she's not stressed or anything, she's just making her point lol.
Mia held a grudge against my stepmom for two years because she was dogsitting and then Mia ran away from her and wouldn't go in the crate. So she shoved Mia in the crate and now Mia still has to remind her how terrible she is.

Of course it didn't help that *I* left the dogs outside all day on accident and my stepmom found them and let them in. Mia went off letting her know how absolutely WRONG that was to leave her outside all morning. She went out of her way to let my stepmom know she was not happy with her. It still kind of amuses me that Mia thinks it was Rhonda's fault, not mine. :p

Summer doesn't hold grudges, she just wants to make sure you still love her so she's in your face all the time trying to make up with you if she perceives a 'wrong'.

Rose is actually really the toughest one. She's a little sensitive about being picked up but handles the vet with ease. The two boys will pout all day. Bernard got his shots the last time he came in and it was pathetic.
 

~Dixie's_Mom~

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#40
I'd want a LOT more breeds if they didn't shed. If Violet didn't shed, omg... My life would be changed! Lol!

I also really would want a Dobe and or APBT if there wasn't such a predjudist against them and if it weren't for the da and ssa.
 

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