Seeking Recommendation on Dog Breed

I have owned a couple of Schnauzers and I LOVE them. (I think everyone is bias toward the pets they grew up with). They don't shed AT ALL and definitely will alert you to strangers. You do have to keep up with their grooming, though. Good Luck!

Hi C.

I really can recommend the breads of Schnauzer, and the Labrador retriever (even when they grow a little bit bigger then middle size)
We have a Schnauzer mix, around 12 1/2 years old. Adopted at a age 1 1/2 from an animal shelter, and 'he' grew into his job to be a family dog just great. But a Schnauzer is definitily a own personality.
And we adopted 2 years ago a Labrador retriever mix (we don't can find the mix)at a age 12 weeks, from an animal shelter, too. Of course 'she' grew until 60 lb's, but she is a wonderful family dog.
She loves children, is doing everything with our girls (8+5 years old), stays in the middle of the biggest trouble calm, really distrustful to strangers (adults) and is a great watching dog. She gives me in the big house with the large backyard a save feeling.
Like 'every' dog, we went to training with her.
It's a strong dog but unbelievable lovely.
I think the females are closer to the children, and they don't grew (mostly) so big and heavy like the males.
I would always start at a animal shelter again, if I would look for another dog.
We adopted 'Maya' from "operation kindness" and we heared just good recommendations before and today.
www.operationkindness.org
I wish you good luck and another wonderful dog in your life.
E.

We bought a Labradoodle from a WONDERFUL breader in Oklahoma,http://www.okiepups.com/ she is a second generation labradoodle and no shedding at all plus a super friend/pet for our kids. We do have her groomed, but that is the trade when you go for non shedding breeds. The best dog we have ever owned by far and great with babies too. She is about 60lbs but I went for the larger puppy. I hope this helps!

Whippets are awesome. They bark to alert you to strangers, but they are otherwise quiet, yet energetic and kind. They have low hair maintanence and are between 20-35 lbs. :)

Why not go to the shelter and look for a dog you like. With the hurricane that hit last week there are lots of animals in need of a home. Also, I had a beagle growing up. They are kid-friendly, loyal and protective when they need to be. They do not shed much, but are masters of getting out of enclosed spaces if they try hard enough. They can howl a little sometimes to, although with mine that wasn't ever a problem. Good luck finding your new family memeber!

C.-

I'm a pet-sitter in the area and a dog owner so I see a lot of breeds. I would highly suggest a Beagle. I have owned Beagles most of my adult life and they are wonderful! I have a three year old and our Beagle is very patient and sweet, doesn't shed too badly, and they are usually under 30lbs. I know some people complain that they can be loud but ours hardly ever barks...i really think it's how you raise them. We adopted ours through the North Texas Beagle Rescue and she was three when we got her...fully hosebroken etc. Good luck in your search!

I would recommend a Dachshund. I grew up w/one and he was so devoted to our family. My husband and I adopted one from the dachshund society a few years ago and have been extremely pleased. He loves to be involved, and is a great watch dog as well. I have a two year old and a six month old. My two year old has put this dog through anything you could imagine and he has never even flinched. (We of course are on top of things 99% of the time). We take him every where w/us from the lake to the park, he loves to go and to just relax at home as well. He is so low maintenance. I would highly recommend one for loyalty as well as companionship. Also, we have really bad allergies in our family has little to no side effects because of our dog.

Just keep in mind there are always good stories and no so good stories for any breed. I've known Labradors that were great, but most were SO hyper that they were out of control. And I don't know if the following is typical of Dalmatians, but a friend work in the ER and she said the #1 breed of dog for which they saw bite victims was Dalmatian...so you may want to research that some. Based upon your criteria, my first thought was a Doberman Pincher for you. They are good watch dogs, very loyal to your family, and nice short hair. Again, do your research on any breed before you decide because they all tend to have certain "aggression" levels and other possibly unfavorable characteristics--such as, Jack Russell Terriers....they tend to love to dig, dig, dig. There is also a new breed called a Puggle that you might like--it's part Beagle and part Pug.

A Wheaton terrier or a Field Spaniel are also nice dogs. They don't shed too badly.

I would recommend a soft coated wheaten terrier http://www.scwtca.org/ . We got our wheaten as a rescue puppy. We chose this breed because I am allergic to just about every breed under the sun. They have hair instead of fur which means lower dander. Ours is 35 lbs which is fairly typical. They are a very, very friendly lovable breed. They love their people and are great with kids (I have a one year old son). I would not recommend this breed however unless someone is home during the day most days as they are happiest when around people. To someone else's point about the labradoodle....this breed does require quite a bit of grooming upkeep. All very manageable as long as you keep on top of it. Also, I don't like the traditional wheaten cut but instead cut his hair so you can see his eyes.

So sorry that you lost your dog. We lost our husky to cancer last year. It's always a sad thing for a family. We ended up finding a dog at a shelter that is part beagle (not sure what esle she is!), and she has turned out to be a really sweet dog. She plays well with our daughter, and is very protective of her. She is super friendly to anyone that we let in the house, but would go crazy if a stranger came in the yard or house at night. We did do an obedience class with her, which helped alot b/c beagles can be hyper dogs. I would definitely suggest the SPCA, or local shelter...but I just have a soft spot for pound puppies! Good luck!

Check out www.petfinder.com They have many dogs through local rescue groups. If you go through a rescue, they will often be able to guide you to a perfect dog. They'll ask about your family and home and try to show you the dogs that fit your description. As someone else mentioned, a beagle, or beagle mix would be good. Or perhaps a spaniel or some sort. Please do your best to get a rescue. Ther eis really no need to encourage breeders when there are so many awesome dogs needing homes - both mutts and purebreds.

We adopted our 2nd dog a few years ago through a rescue organization called Animal Guardians: http://www.animalguardians.com/index.php and they were great. We met one of the foster couples at Dog Days in Denton and they had several adoptable pets with them. We fell in love with the Dalmation because of his story. I wouldn't trade him for anything, but he sheds like crazy! He took a while to decide we were safe, but after a couple of weeks, he knew he was home and he's been wonderful. He's even great with kids and doesn't hop or jump around them like he does with us.

What we love about Animal Guardians, and I'm sure this is true of other rescue groups, is that they really will do anything to save an animal. Our boy was abused and sick enough that the rescue vet said he wouldn't make it. But with medical attention and 8 months of love from his foster parents, he thrived and is an amazing part of our family. I know my 60-pound dalmation is bigger than you're looking for, but I would recommend the people at Animal Guardians to help with pet-finding anytime.

We have a pug and a black lab. They were both here before the baby and have been wonderful!!! They are both so sweet natured, and very gentle with our son (who's not always so gentle with them). I have used in the past Operation Kindness in Addison, although we didn't get our dogs there. I know that golden retrievers are also good around kids.

A corgi makes a perfect family pet (adult size is 25-35 lbs). Since they are really a mid/larger sized dog on short legs, they are not yipey like most smaller dogs and due to the size of their body/chest, they have a big dog bark (and the mouth/bite to go along with it) and are very protective of their families. They are great with kids and don't run off as they are herding dogs and they will keep likely almost always stay with your kids when they're outside and typically follow you around inside.

The downside is an undercoat, but there are fluffies which don't have the undercoat. And, due to their short legs, they typically can't jump up on furniture - a good vacuuming once or twice a week takes care of any of the fluff that does shed and weekly brushing keeps it minimal. I have one of each - after losing an adopted corgi last year, so you have all my sympathy for having lost your dog - it is never easy.

The breeder that we got our dogs from is great - she's located in Sanger - Maria Petrak (Blue Moon Corgis) - she shows some of her dogs, but basically sells the puppies to cover costs of caring for all her animals (she also has donkeys and horses). Her dogs are extremely competitively priced - fluffies are $200 less than others because you can't show them. All dogs come with the papers - you'll get those as soon as you have the dog neutered/spayed (obviously, you'll pay more for the puppies that have the best qualities as show animals), so IMHO, it is extremely ethical of her to require the spaying/neutering due to the amount of unwanted pets. Mamas and puppies are kept inside the house and are socialized early on - she also keeps older dogs in the house and will take back the dog at anytime - if the dog has any defect that you discover within the first year or so, you will likely get your money back. But, mine were very, very healthy - even the mama after having had 7 puppies was energetic and happy when she came home with us (I had originally called Maria about getting an older dog and she kept one of the female puppies from the litter for future showing - mama was beautiful but one ear was floppy).

Corgis are very, very social animals and LOVE people. Corgis were rated the best family pet in Family Circle magazine a while back - they need some exercise, but not too much. I walk mine everyday for about a mile and that makes them sleep (and behave) well. Another bonus of corgis is that due to their body size, they have good size bladders and they are very, very smart, so are very, very easy to house train - about 4 weeks for our puppy (ie., fully house trained by the time he was 3 months old).

If you really are determined to avoid the undercoat, a Jack Russell terrier would be good. But, they have a bit more energy than corgis and are a bit more yipey (my preference for smaller animals is cats since they don't bark ;)

Also, I typically encourage folks to contact rescue leagues/shelters (there is a DFW corgi rescue league), but given that we lost our corgi to kidney failue (she was only 7) after having her just over 3 years, we really wanted a dog with a known background/health history so that my kids would have a pet to grow up with. In the future, I do plan on entirely adding to my family of fur children through rescues.

Hi C., I'm so sorry you lost your dog, we've lost two to lymphoma. We had the sweetest dog, Sandy who was a Cairn terrier. She never bit, which is important when you have kids. They're very good with kids, they need minimal grooming and they do bark when someone gets near the property, but they are inside dogs. I've heard that labs are sweet dogs too, but dalmatians are known for biting. I would try petfinder after getting a dogbreed book or going on to AKC.gov and get some information about each breed. After we had two dogs pass away with Lymphoma, we were afraid it was something that we were putting on the ground like fertilizers and bug sprays. Vets also think that it could be possible that lymphoma could be caused from the rabies shots that they have to have every year. They think that they get an overload of it year after year. That being said, we decided that we wanted a papillon, but they're not good with kids under 12, because they're so little. Anyway, we decided to do everything organic, fertilizers, bug sprays, food, everything. Just something to think about. Someone said something about misplaced dogs from the Hurricane, I think that's a good idea too. I would just do your research, you'll find the perfect pup for your family. Good luck!

Hi C.~
I am so sorry to hear about your sweet dog's passing. It is so hard to let them go. I totally agree w/the previous poster who recommended a Beagle. We have one and have 3 kids-she is GREAT w/ them. Beagles are pack dogs and love being part of a family. Unlike some breeds they won't typically just take to 1 family member. They love being part of the pack. They are also so fun and playful. My sweet Beagle loves to play catch and hide and go seek. Besides all that, she never met a stranger she didn't like(I don't think they'd make great watchdogs,lol). Oh and did I mention I think they are just the cutest puppies ever????

Good luck in your search.
N.