Im looking for the right breed of dog for me, i would like an active breed that i could take for long walks and also play with and do different activites in the garden. I would also love to do agility and some sort of training but it would be good if the dog was easy to train as this is my first dog. For grooming i am willing to spend as long as the dog needs.
Please help, any more questions that you need answering i will answer them as best i can so i can get a good picture of what breed of dog is best for me.
Many breeds fit this bill. To narrow it down, you really need to get more shallow
In other words, what suits you? A dog with a ton of energy, or a dog who can be happy napping on your feet? A bold dog who you have to squelch constantly or a restful dog who is happy to let you be the boss? It would pay to do research on any breed before looking.
A first-time dog buyer is going to hear a lot of conflicting advice about the suitability of various breeds for a newbie. The main reason some breeds are described as being 'for experienced owners' is that there's a belief that after owning a dog or two, most people have some background in reading canine body language, training a dog to behave basically, and otherwise managing a beloved pet without turning it into a monster. Important for all breeds, it's markedly more important for breeds which will, if given an unprepared human, tend to seize initiative and can easily become dangerous. I tend to believe that it is important to choose a first dog who's small enough and gentle enough so that bad handling mistakes won't create a monster. Personally, I'd say a spaniel, smaller hound or herding breed is usually a nice beginner dog. Individuals vary, of course, but they're frequently very warm, friendly, easy-to-handle dogs who accept a great deal of blundering and human stupidity.
edit: I didn't mean your stupidity, exactly. We all do stupid things as owners, especially at first, but another thing you learn as you own dogs is how to spot and cut off the stupidity of other people and animals. For example, a new dog owner might not see the excited child running pell-mell across the park to pat the 'nice doggie' but anyone who's had a dog for a while will have spotted that kid the instant she toddled out of the car. A lot of handling a dog responsibly involves handling other people. The child, the retarded adult, the just plain dumb adult, etc., are all a lot safer when a newbie has a dog who won't react protectively/aggressively to a combination of an unaware owner and a stranger's alarming behavior.