DH and I have been discussing dog breeds since a couple of family members have added new dogs. The thing is that we have a hard time agreeing on a breed for the most part. I think I should have a bigger say since I am the one who does the exercising and training--he will if I ask him but not on his own--but obviously hr will be living with the dog too. He would prefer to own only one lab at a time and while he likes Jack, is not a fan of the breed in general. The only breed he has completely nixed are newfies--the drool and hair combo grosses him out.
We live in town in a roughly 1800 square foot house. We have a yard with a 6 ft privacy fence--I wouldn't call it large but it is big for a town yard.
What DH wants:
-an off switch
-nothing too small (think chi or Maltese)
-a dog that likes to be with their people but not constantly in your face
-a dog that is somewhat reserved with strangers, or at least not an over the top greeter
-a dog that is at least somewhat interested in pleasing its people, some hard headedness is ok with him but I think something that tends to blow him off a lot would annoy him
-good with kids
What I want:
-an off switch
-a dog that is not too likely to be nervy or shy
-a dog with a young lab or young pit bullish energy level--a bit less active than that is fine, but I don't know if I want to go much more active
-could at least be trained not to bother the birds
-I want to avoid dog aggression--it doesn't have to be a "ZOMG!!!! FRIEND!!!" type dog, but I would prefer not to have to crate and rotate and would like to be able to foster with minimal drama
-nothing super tiny or Dane sized
-don't want fila type guardiness, some guardiness is ok (but not necessary), but I don't want a dog that is going to take matters into its own hands (or mouth)
-the less grooming the better, but ultimately I would be fine with lots of grooming for the right dog
-some barking is for a reason is fine, but I don't want a dog that barks to hear itself bark
-a dog that is at least moderately biddable, I like biddability (or biddableness-lol), but its not necessary for the dog to be super-duper handler focused
-a dog that will be good with kids, as well as fine with kids friends that come over to play, etc.
Any ideas? I'm at a loss...
We live in town in a roughly 1800 square foot house. We have a yard with a 6 ft privacy fence--I wouldn't call it large but it is big for a town yard.
What DH wants:
-an off switch
-nothing too small (think chi or Maltese)
-a dog that likes to be with their people but not constantly in your face
-a dog that is somewhat reserved with strangers, or at least not an over the top greeter
-a dog that is at least somewhat interested in pleasing its people, some hard headedness is ok with him but I think something that tends to blow him off a lot would annoy him
-good with kids
What I want:
-an off switch
-a dog that is not too likely to be nervy or shy
-a dog with a young lab or young pit bullish energy level--a bit less active than that is fine, but I don't know if I want to go much more active
-could at least be trained not to bother the birds
-I want to avoid dog aggression--it doesn't have to be a "ZOMG!!!! FRIEND!!!" type dog, but I would prefer not to have to crate and rotate and would like to be able to foster with minimal drama
-nothing super tiny or Dane sized
-don't want fila type guardiness, some guardiness is ok (but not necessary), but I don't want a dog that is going to take matters into its own hands (or mouth)
-the less grooming the better, but ultimately I would be fine with lots of grooming for the right dog
-some barking is for a reason is fine, but I don't want a dog that barks to hear itself bark
-a dog that is at least moderately biddable, I like biddability (or biddableness-lol), but its not necessary for the dog to be super-duper handler focused
-a dog that will be good with kids, as well as fine with kids friends that come over to play, etc.
Any ideas? I'm at a loss...