Rottweilers. They are incredibly intelligent, lovable, and loyal. I was crushed when my Rottweiler (Tequila) died. He was definitely my favourite of all the dogs I've ever had. He was huge and intimidating to look at, but he was really nothing more that a big baby that wanted to be a lap dog.

I always loved taking him out to the pet store and things, because people would always freak out and look at him with fear-filled eyes, which always amused me. Once he came up to them and started drooling on their feet, that fear vanished and they adored him, especially when he would roll over on his back and beg for belly rubs.

He never really offered to bite anyone, and the only person I think he didn't like was a friend of my dad. But that was understandable; no one really liked that guy.

I never had to walk him on a leash; I just did it so that other people wouldn't freak out. If he got too far ahead, all I had to say was 'heel' and he would come right back to my side. He knew 'sit', 'stay', 'roll over' and everything else. Incredibly smart dog with a goofy, lovable personality.

I still miss that dog every day of my life.

oh boy... i love golden retrievers! (and so does the rest of the world right - ?)

I dont know the exact breed but if u watch Fullmetal Alchemist, Black Hayate is soooo adorable!!! Is he a husky - cuz those are so adorkable!!!

...sigh...i love dogs but I'm allergic... so i have a cute cat. >__<

PRVN - White German Shepard's are pretty rare. My mom got ours from a breeder 50 miles away or so from our house. My recommendation would be looking up breeders for them. You want to try to avoid anyone that inbreeds cause the breed is so uncommon it happens.

I am really partial to a Fila or Rottweiler. My husband's family breeds both so I have been around them a lot.

Growing up, though, we had a mutt (German Shepard, Beagle, Fearsome Warrior). She thought she was the biggest dog in the whole word!

My top two favorite dog breeds are the Alano Espanol(Spanish Bulldog)and the Poodle. The Alano is one of my favorites because of their intelligence and athleticism. They are rare and can only be found in Spain. They're also considered to be very cat-like because they can jump high and climb trees. I consider the Poodle a favorite because I own one myself. I wasn't a fan of Poodles until I adopted my Poodle. They're unbelievably intelligent-the only thing my dog doesn't know is how to talk. They're like little humans, they understand everything you say. I have a couple more that I like, but these are my top two. When I was younger, we used to own a 'normal' colored German Shepherd and a White German Shepherd. So I can relate to those who say that German Shepherds are their favorites, they are highly intelligent and amazing family dogs. I also used to have a neighbor who owned a Shepherd/Wolf mix. The owner would let us take him for a walk and play with him...we loved that dog like our own. Our German Shepherds have passed on and we miss them, I know that any dog we every get(hopefully this doesn't come off sounding mean) will never fully live up to them.

Chie wrote:

About the dog becoming a member of a family, I partly disagree with that. I'm not saying they shouldn't be members in your family, just that even if they are, they are still dogs, not humans. There are too many tv-shows going on where an expert has to come and help clueless owners, and many times it's because the dog has stopped being a dog to the owner and become their baby in stead... And that's not really healthy, for either party.

I think the people you are talking about are usually the one's that get small breed dogs and dress them up, take them out in purses and basically show them off to everyone they meet(so use them more as an accessory--OR these people are also pampering the dog, and treating it like their 'baby') and then, because the dog is treated that way, they usually become panicky and stressed out.I was watching on TV show a long time ago, and Hilary Duff was on it with her dog. She was like 'Why is he so panicky and aggressive' and the person she asked said 'Just let him down on the floor, don't carry him so much, let him be a dog' good advice. N' after she did that, he stopped misbehaving.

All dogs, of every size, should be treated like a dog. I agree with you on that, they shouldn't be treated like one's baby or an 'accessory'.However, Many will say 'Oh a dog is just a dog, it doesn't matter. Leave it outside and feed it once in awhile and that's taking care of it'

Most people get dogs when they are puppies and generally, they get them because they are 'cute' and without doing any research on the breed they are purchasing. So they do not know what the basic traits each breed of dog has. Which is why they usually give up on training after the dog doesn't learn right away or when it misbehaves. If the dog misbehaves they blame the dog, and not themselves when it is there fault for not setting rules for the dog, and training them correctly.

Like leash training a dog. When walking a dog they are suppose to stand by your side, or a little bit behind you. That shows that you are alpha, if you don't teach them this when they are young, and they don't learn how to walk correctly on a leash. Walks can become very stressful for them.

German Shepherds, I have read, are one of the breeds that get stressed out because if they are in front of you, they think they have to lead you and make sure everything is fine since walking in front of the pack is 'Alpha' behavior. That's why even just leash training is very important when training your puppy, but most people don't realize how much stress that can be on a dog.

Most T.V shows, show 'problem dogs' caused by owners who either spoil their dog to much, or when they just don't train them and kind of disregard them and let them run around wildly. So I think when someone says 'treating an animal as your family' they don't mean spoil and pamper it until it no longer thinks its a dog. Just to let it be it's canine self, but to be kind to it and love it instead of looking at it as a lesser species(sp- and I hope that made some sense)

lol sorry this was so long, I wasn't trying to rant or anything! But people should think of getting a dog as 'getting a new family member' and not just getting something in the spur of the moment.

I was thinking the same thing, PRVN. I was thinking that some people get a dog, or have a child, and then don't bother to socialize it. Without guidance, how is a dog or a child to know how to behave, and the meaning of the world around them? There are the people who treat their dog or their child as a fashion accessory. Once the child is not a baby, or the dog is no longer a puppy, it ceases to be "cute" and becomes obnoxious... And it is sad for the dog or the child.

My favorite would probably have to be the Siberian Huskies. They are just wayyy too cute for me to ignore. They also look rather wolfish, so it adds almost and edge to them. I can't wait to get one when I get my own place

I'd have to say out of all the dogs I've interacted with I'd say my favorite is the Australian Shepherd. They have to be some of the most intellegent and hard working dogs that I've ever met. Probably a good reason that they're known as "velcro" dogs cause they want to be with their owners all the time. I have also owned and loved the American Eskimo, Beagle, Chow Chow/Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, and German Shepard/Husky/Rhodesian Ridgeback mix. About the only dog breeds I'm not partial to are the Toy Breeds, cause everyone I've ever come in contact with has been a noisy, biting, pooping on the carpet mess. Not saying there aren't well behaved ones out there I've just seen ones that say to the contrary.

PRVN wrote:

But people should think of getting a dog as 'getting a new family member' and not just getting something in the spur of the moment.

I guess I didn't express myself clearly enough with my earlier statement. Treating the dog as a family member is not a bad thing, that's not what I wanted to get across. I merely wanted to remind that even as a member in the family, the dog is still a dog and should be treated like one. Not like a baby, not like a fellow human, it's not a human being so you can't interpret it and its reactions like it were one.

But then again, that's only my opinion, and I don't want to say that I think people on this site are stupid enough not to treat their pets right, since most people here seem very clever and reasonable indeed!

I'll just shut up now.

@chie- I understood what you meant, and you had a very good point. I just wanted to add to what you had already written and express my opinion on it.

I'm glad that you did share your opinion on the matter, it is interesting to see what different people think on one matter.

You don't need to shut up though silly, you can share your opinion without feeling like you shouldn't have. Thanks for sharing what you thought

Hmmmm? I'd have to say InuYoukai. I wish. Seriously, boxers are good family dogs if you have a lot of space. We never have a frown on our faces for long with these canine clowns around.

Heh, thanks PRVN. I just don't often dare to open my mouth to state an opinion - probably a cultural quirk. We Finns are stereotypically way too silent, anyway..

Chie i understood what you meant, and i wasnt offended by it. I happen to agree some people humanize their pets to much. my hubby's aunt and uncle have no kids, their little puff balls are their kids. these are the two most annoying obnoxious dogs i have ever had the misfortune to meet. They even buy people food to cook for their dogs for them once or twice a week, i talking chicken breasts or steak. They take them everywhere with them, we happen to have been visiting the in laws when they came up once we had my old shepherd with us Kali, she got along with mil dog very well. Those two little dustbunnies thought they were in charge, my girl just would take her paw and hold them down or sit on em if they annoyed her, then she figured out they couldnt jump on the bed so she would get up there and sleep lol. one of the little dustballs growled and nipped at my son when he was 5 , my son has autism and was playing with a stuffed toy, the dog tried to take it and nipped at my son, Kali jumped up and got between them and held the dog down while yipping for us. The dustbunnies werent allowed to visit anymore after that.

I have a question, what is everyone's opinion on dogs that bite in defense of their owners or homes? My friend was telling me that one of her neighbors had to have their dog put down because it attacked someone that broke into their house while their 13 yr old was home alone.I couldnt believe it, werent dogs domesticated to begin with to protect us and provide companionship? People seem to think that dogs should forget their instincts and think logically like a human. Where we live in florida there were a series of home invasion robberies , 21 in 10 months, everyone was like arent you afraid? No i had a pit bull, and a german shepherd and a great dane mastiff mix, i say if you can make in my house and back out with stuff you earned it.

I know alot of pit bulls have bad reps, i agree to some point, but i have known some of the most lovable and devoted dogs were pits. My son's first Service dog was a pit name mj, she was great. I think the problem is inbreeding, for certain traits. there is a guy that breeds "gator" and "razor's edge" pits, he is very proud of his line breeding program. Which is inbreeding, it makes the dogs unstable, and sickly as well as bonkers in general. but any breed can be breed unstable.

well im off to bed now, it was official results came back i have mono. now i am being teased by everyone. lol

night all
kc

@Chie- haha sometimes I have the same problem. But that is what is wonderful about conversations. You can hear everyone's opinion and no one is right nor is anyone wrong So share as much as you want, as long as your respectful to the others sharing what you think shouldn't be a problem.

- -- -
@KC-I think dogs that resort to biting when defending themselves, or their owners is fine. It's when they just bite randomly or are aggressive all the time that is becomes a problem.

Sadly, i have heard stories like that before. A person, who was armed with gun, was robbing a place. However, before he could the guard dog the person had 'restrained' the man, which ended up in the man getting hurt by the bite. That man that was ROBBING the place, sewed the owners and had the the dog put to sleep. It's sad.

Also, there was another case I had heard, where someone(forgot if it was a man or woman) but anyways they get abusing this dog(throwing rocks at it, poking it with a stick) those such things. The dog didn't attack the person, however when that person started threatening the dogs owner. It was then that the dog attacked the person, not a vicious attack just growling and a bite(which did break the skin) but then it let go. However, the person who was bit went to the police and the dog ended up being put down.

It really is sad. The most 'vicious' breed title has gone from dog to dog over the years. Sadly it is almost always the 'big' breeds that are usually used for service that are marked as vicious breeds.

Anyways, the thing about pit bulls. I get really, really get annoyed when people say 'oh they are the most vicious breed' I had an argument about this with one of my co-workers. He was so set on them being just a vicious breed and that all pits should be put to sleep.

My defense was 'why?no human is born with problems, the same thing applies to a dog. They are not born vicious it is usually how the grow up, and how their owners treat them that can make them vicious'

pit bulls are put to sleep a lot, because they are breed into fighting and fighting for their life is all that they know. Even with it being illegal. It's just terrible, because pit bulls aren't vicious at all when treated correctly. Some pitbulls that are rescued can recover but its unlikely that they will. I've seen toy breeds that are more vicious then pit bulls, sure they don't do as much damage when they attack. But the point is they still attack.

Anywho-hope you recover soon, just take it easy and make sure no one drinks/eats from what you use. cause is could be passed around that way too.

My favorite dog breed has always been and always will be the German Shepherd ^^

I absolutely LOVE Alaskan Huskies. But I also like German Shepherds, Chows, Alaskan Malamutes, Collies, and Irish Wolfhounds.

Mine is a tie between the English Bull Dog, the Border Collie, and the Irish Wolfhound.

I cut out an advertisement for some clothing or something that had these dogs in it, they are sooo intersting and cute! I wonder if they are a nice dog...

My two favorite breeds are Chihuahua[?] and German Shepards. I had a German Shepard when I was a kid; he followed us home from school one day [Okay, so we were calling him the entire way because we wanted a dog]. Mom said we could only keep him if he stayed, but we couldn't tie him up to make him stay; we wound up feeding him hot dogs out the bathroom window! LOL. Of course this was before a German Sheperd [not ours] bit my leg and i had to have 40+ stitches, now I am terrified of big dogs. Just hearing their bark makes my heart almost stop beating and I start to swet and shake. Hence the Chihuahua thing. We had two given to us, their names were Libby [girl] and Rikki Tikki Tavi [boy]. Tiny dogs, I can handle.

Despite my strange obsession with Sesshoumaru and his hot daddy, my favorite breed of dog is a cat. I am just not a dog person at all. I am getting close to the crazy cat lady stage. With the Christmas kitten I got from my boyfriend, my total is now up to 4. When they are all in the same room, it feels kinda like the Serengetti(okay, I must have spelled that wrong!)