Are you ever hesitant to stray from "your" breed?

Ideally? One Northern breed dog and one shepherd. There are a few breeds I really like and I don't really see branching outside that.

I prefer distance bred Alaskan sled dogs to Siberians (I really don't care for the popular blue eyes on a B&W or R&W dog... I MUCH prefer brown eyes and a sable or agouti coat... pinto is okay too), but if it was the right Sibe... I dig Malamutes and Akitas too, but I prefer a smaller dog generally.

I would be A-OK with a GSD, a Malinois, or a Dutchie. I love all the breeds, but I've fallen really hard for the Mals. It was kind of a surprise how hard and it didn't happen until I met some. I've met a ton of nicely bred GSD too and they are awesome as well. Good shepherds just .... they just click for me, its hard to explain.

I love BC's and will always love BC's. I keep saying that someday I'll have one. Honestly I'm not sure... I could do herding with a Malinois and have just as much fun. Spending time with this little BC/toy breed mix foster has been an eye opener. I much prefer the GSD "quirks" and drivy obnoxiousness to the collie pup obnoxiousness, if that makes sense? Like my girls are just as chatty as he is, but I don't mind the yodeling, howling, and shepherd barking.... the more "normal" barking Spaz does makes me want to tear my freaking hair out though. I dunno, it could be whatever toy breed he is mixed with that I find annoying, I've grown up with BC's and none of them annoyed me... but then again my parent's dogs have always lived outside. *shrug*

Not really. I find connections with individual dogs much more than breeds, and I don't have a breed. Now, there are some that I really love, like GSDs, APBTs, and several others, but that doesn't mean they're *my* breed.

Mutts are my favorite anyway *shrug* I don't care much for predictability

I haven't found mine yet. I would love a pure whippet, because I really like Argon's whippety side. Gambit is....well, life is never boring with him around, that's for sure! Another coydog, though? I don't know. Ask me again in a year, when he's totally through social maturity and his true colors show.

While I'm not sure about breeds, I am sure that I'm suited for sighthounds and herding dogs and not much else. Luckily, there's plenty of those to choose from!

I feel guilty when I stray from Chow Chows, but I'm on a Karelian Bear Dog crush. (but maybe I just like the idea of owning a "bear dog")

I don't think I could/would stray from the Spitz family, but thankfully there's some variety within that group.

I don't think I have 'a breed.' I adore Elsie, but I've only had her a year. I've also only lived with GSDs, a Sheltie, Elsie and Zobby (the peke-mix).

I'm a one-dog person, at least at this point in my life, and so it'll be a long time until I get another dog. I don't have to think about it yet. ;]

Like Kat I am a sucker for spaniels I have had both English cockers and American cockers and I adored them...but when the time came to get a puppy 12 years ago after losing my English cocker I decided I wanted to try something different and we got Maeve. Collies are wonderful, and I loved mine, but that being said I now know that they are not the perfect breed for me.

After losing my last living American cocker in April it was time to decide, do I stick or do I try something new. I found that the requirement for what I need and want in a dog helped make the decision for us. I no longer wanted to deal with all that hair...so we looked to different breeds and along came Watson the basenji and he was followed later that summer by a shar pei puppy (Menchi). Shar Peis were a breed I had been exposed to and always admired.

Never be afraid to go with something new I love different things about different breeds. I spend a lot of time with members of specific breeds that I may want to bring into my home before actually doing so...it really helps!

Also thank you Dekka for singing Watson's praises

I doubt it. Lol I don't really like change..
I am the kind of person who finds a restaurant she LOVES and eats breakfast there everyday
orders the same thing at starbucks everyday
always sticks to the same brands
finds a business she loves and continues to buy from them

lol if it ain't broke..

Chances are, if I find a dog breed I LOVE, I will stick with it forever

Change freaks me out

I always thought I would have sighthounds, but after losing Maddy the way I did, I just worry about their safely all the time now. I don't think I am the right person for sighthounds anymore. I think my next dog will be a Cocker Spaniel.

There's a TON of dogs where I go "Ohhhh, I want one!" or "Ohhh, I wanna have one someday" but yeah, I am a little scared to stray too far from what I am familiar with. But my whole thing is, I don't consider myself a "Yorkie person" -- to be honest, I don't particularly like most Yorkies and I wouldn't ever seek out a dog under 7lbs. So I guess I am more of a BYB/rescue Yorkie lover... for some reason, I do find the bigger out of standard Yorkies to have different personalities.

Honestly, I really really want another dog similar to Jackson. Doesn't have to be exact, what would the fun be in that? But I really lucked out with him and don't know if I have the desire to stray too far. So that's what got me looking at Silky's, similar to Yorkies, similar temperament and size to Jackson, etc.

And as many other breeds as I look into and show interest in, something keeps pulling me back to a purebred Silky Terrier puppy.

I do know when it comes to bigger breeds, there's 3 that I am very interested in... medium - Border Collies. Large- GSD. Giant- English Mastiff.

So yeah basically even though I meet a lot of dogs that I would love, very few breeds truly grab me to the point where I want to seek them out to own.

I am kind of like you, in a sense.
I get the same thing at Dunkin Donuts (Vanilla Latte), I get the same sandwich at Subway, I try and shop at the same places (like you, if I have money lol), but change doesn't freak me out. I actually like change, but if I find something I like, I tend to stick to it until something new comes about. If that makes sense lol.

I LOVE Aussies, I will definitely always have one, but I am more of a one dog kinda person, like Red Apricot said.
So I might only have Aussies my whole life, and I am very fine with that. Though I would love a Chi, but they are so tiny lol

Now that you say it... I am like this too.

Once I find something I like, I stick with it.

I will try new things on occasion, but usually end up disappointed, so end up just sticking with what works.

So maybe I am just bound to stick with my little terriers.

I like herding breeds and am definitely hesitant to stray outside of the herding group for future dogs.

I've had lab mixes, a wolfdog, a papillon and countless foster dogs of various breeds/types. I connected best with the vigilant, responsible shepherd and collie types. I feel like I immediately connect with and understand the herding types, and it's just a little bit more of a stretch for everything else.

I guess more than I like a breed, I like a type. There's a certain KIND of dog that appeals to me - attentive, biddable, sensible, highly driven and mostly sane. A dog that, once bonded to me, wants to stay by my side and function as my partner? A dog that will respond well to respect, fair treatment and being regarded as an equal? Swoooooooooon.

Fran.. I like eating the same things.

BUT if you have more than one dog look at like the old faithful staple plus something interesting on the side.

I love JRTs through and through, but I want to experience other dogs as well, but never instead of.

I felt odd straying from apbts but I love my malinois. I'll consider wandering but if I never do so I'll be okay, they are perfect of course.

This a million times over.

I am so with you on the last paragraph and I agree with everything you said. I tried typing it out but goodness you said it better than I ever could lol

I'm leaning towards this view.
I currently have a Chi x who is quite active, lively and very spunky in her attitude. She is a great joy (and challenge) to train. Couple that with the snuggles on the couch and she is my perfect dog. Except for her DA (work in progress - but sometimes you just have to work with the dog you have and she has taught me a lot to date.) After researching breeds, I am thinking that a papillon would be a great breed for me and is probably what I'll end up with next.

I also have a soft spot for utility gundogs - vizlas, gsps and brittanies... perhaps in the future, but I'm not sure if I would take the plunge with a bigger dog... I love them, but I'm absolutely in love with my littlies. I'd not rule out a couple of rescue mutts along the way.

Edit - I'd also not rule out a Staffordshire Bull Terrier at some point. My parent's gorgeous old girl Grace is one of a kind and I have an absolute ball with her, we train in rally-o. But what gets me is her absolutely solid temperament, her confidence, her happiness. After having my DA girl, it's really made me appreciate also having a dog that is so very appropriate in her responses to other dogs. She is a little over the top to play with every dog we know, but she has some great dog friends. Just a great, unflappable individual.

Im pretty confident in what I want and what I don't want, but I would love to foster so I get more experiance with different breeds and different personalities of dogs/breeds.

Shelties are the breed for me, but there are several breeds I wouldn't mind having - but I don't plan on going looking for one. It'll be a situation where it just happens to be the right dog at the right time. About a year ago there was a BC mix I wanted, like so much that I almost had a panic attack over how much I wanted to just leave work, drive straight to the shelter, and put in my application. But I couldn't. =P I still sometimes really wish I had found a way to get that dog... in fact I even tried to convince my aunt and uncle to adopt him instead, because I knew they were looking to adopt another dog, and I was like "Well I can't have him... so YOU go get him!!" But he was "too much energy" for them. X___X THAT'S WHY HE WAS GREAT... ughhhhhhhhhh... See, it still kills me, LOL. I really loved that dog...

But if I ever add a BC, or Aussie, or corgi, or one of a few other breeds, it will be something like that... where just the right dog is sitting in a shelter or rescue and I am like "That's the one. That's what I want."

And yeah, it really is about type for me too. Most of the dogs I would ever consider adding are herding breeds. I know what I like and what suits me and my lifestyle, so that's what I stick with.

I did take a big leap when I chose to adopt Radar. I had NEVER owned anything other than herding breeds and he was my first little dog and even though I did know a fair amount about Westies I was really nervous to branch away from my fluffy sheepdogs. In the end he desperately needed a stable home and I knew at the very least I could love him and properly care for him. He ended up being a perfect fit for me and I am extremely glad that I tried something new.

That being said I am kind of torn at one point in time I wanted to try a wide variety of breeds but the more I have been around other peoples dogs for extended periods of time, especially in the last year dog sitting and living with Duke, the more I realize there is a reason I love the breeds I do. I am not as flexible in what I want and need in a dog as I thought I was I am getting more picky. Collies are 'my breed' and while I have not had a chance to add one to my house since Beau passed, I would like to always have one around. With very few exceptions (poodles mostly) I can't see myself straying far from herding breeds and small terriers but there are a few breeds I am willing to try different breeds in each group. It would take the right shelter dog for me to stray from my breeds.

Other than paps, all I am really interested in is herding breeds. I grew up with a shepherd, all the shelties, and the farm collie type mutt so that is what I feel fits me best. I love the energy they have and the desire to work and the caring, responsible soul they have.

The paps were something new for sure when we got Beau. Other than the lab, all we'd ever had were herding dogs. I was so not into it at the time to tell the truth. They're absolutely great though and I love their temperament too even if they're not nearly as responsible as the herders are. :lol-sign: I couldn't live without that insanity in my life now. I can't imagine never getting into the breed so I think sometimes being dragged kicking and screaming is a good thing. If I could spend my whole life with only mia-like papillons, I'd be completely satisfied.

I keep trying to convince myself that I need a toller. They sound absolutely perfect on paper and I know a breeder fairly well that tried to hook me up with a pup and I just couldn't do it. I like them a lot but there isn't that same spark to me.

I am coming to realize I only want 2 dogs at a time. If I have one BC and one pap always, there's no room for much else. If I do get something else, I would bet it would be a sheltie, pyr shep, or Aussie. I love shelties a lot and would not say no to another, but they're not my breed in the way papillons are.