New dog loving member need help choosing a breed.

Hey its my first post here on chazhound but I have been reading from earlier on. I am 14 years old and I originate from Lithuania, but now I'm living in Granada Hills, CA. Which is a suburban/semi rural area.

In Lithuania we used to have a collie and it was my first pet, We left it there when moving to the United States. My other siblings live within 10 miles of us and often visit with there dogs, I sometimes take care the pups for a few days/weeks so I have some experience with dogs. I am a animal lover (mostly dog) and hope to one day become a veterinarian.

Me and my parents didn't get a dog for one reason or another, But now we decided to get one. There's only one problem, choosing a breed...

I need help choosing a breed, I did some research about dog breeds but now I wish to turn to the dog loving community for help. I want a dog that will be part of the family and also a friend. The dog will be mainly kept indoors. I don't plan to take the dog to competitions/dog shows and I want a dog that will get serious when told and will listen to my commands under excitement.


Wanted Traits:

• Very active, even hyperactive.
• Very play-full.
• Very affectionate.
• friendly towards other dogs.
• friendly towards other people.
• intelligence and/or ease of training.
• Dominant/independent.
• Loyal.

I researched quite a few dogs and the ones that I like are the

Wire Fox Terrier,
Border Collie,
Havanese,
Bichon Frise,
West Highland White Terrier, and the
Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever.

I could use some help here please.

Thanks in advance,
-Pytis

Quite a range of breeds !!! I'd substitute Golden Retriever for Tollers ...they can be a handful .

well if you want an active dog id say research

Border Collie
Australian Cattle Dog
and
Australian Shepherd

a Dominant/independent dog probaly wont be v.easy to train. a kind of herding dog is probaly right for you

I have to agree with bubbatd, goldens are a terrific choice. Some of your traits do actually clash with some others...not sure why you've listed dominant/independant along with the others. If you could be more specific as to size and other characteristics, it would be easier to help you out. The dogs that you've listed are as different as they could be...need more clues

Your description is very close to a basenji outside of easy to train. Princess has a very good point. A dominant/independent dog would not be easy to train. Basenjis are very inteligent and independent which equals more time spent training. Although training sessions should only last about 15 minutes per day, my boy catches on pretty quickly. I recently taught him the motion of sit, down & belly up in about 4 days. I don't even have to speak for him to do it. He is a little over a year and a half. Anyway, if you want a small dog who is very high energy, easy to groom and a challenge to train, check out the basenji. You can click the B.R.A.T. link in my sig. Good Luck!!!

Ok, I'm probably just saying this because i'm a Lhasa Lover, but Lhasa Apso's are wonderful family pets and are very affectionate... Also, They definitely don't need to be outside as much as some of the bigger dogs... Just letting you know, LOL

What is that site where you put in your " wishes " and they come up with the breeds ??? When I tried it out ...they had Goldens as my #1 fit ...good site !

I would highly recommend a border collie. Kato *my bc* is 10 now and I can honestly say the best behaved, loving old guy, but when he was a pup he was pure joy. Oh he was hyper, but so smart! I had a bed made up for him that he only used when in trouble...the rest of the time he slept with my husband and I. When he did something wrong I'd tell him to go to bed and he would reluctantly go to his bed and throw himself down, lol. Just a bit of 'tude. But he was then and is now awesome!

i would say that your list of desired traits seems to describe many of the terrier breeds

i'm 14 and i have a border terrier and he is exactly like what you want,
my friend has a westie and hes not very active

I wasint expecting so many replies. Thanks!

A border collie seems about right, but a little TOO smart..
It seems that all of you exept Dr2little Just put down your favorite breed
I know that any dog I chose I will love. Il be doing some more reasearch..

most definetly not!!

i put down those breeds because i thought they would be a good match!

some of my favourite breeds is the pug and the english bulldog!
they dnt match your specifications at all

From reading your desired traits, I wouldn't get a Toller if I were you. Terriers do seem like the may be a good fit, but I don't know enough about them to tell you which would be best.

I think http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/ is one of the sites with a quiz that can help you find the dog for you.

Being friendly towards other dogs/people is not really a breed-specific trait as much as a well-socialized dog of any breed/mix trait. Same with dominance/independence (not sure exactly what you mean by that one...)

Good luck with your search! How exciting

Here's that quiz: http://www2.dogbreedinfo.com/search.htm

i know a bit about terriers

border terriers, lots of energy
dont bark much
like cuddles
great with other dogs
other people
easy to train, (requires everyday training to start)
sheds very little, will need to be stripped twice a year

westie
not as much energy compared to other breeds
will sit still lol
cuddly
needs baths often (white)
longer fur, sheds buckets
good with people
good with other dogs if properly socialized
can be nippy
will tire quick

any other terriers u want to know bout?

My favorite breed is the chiuaua (it's SO hard to spell).
One thing I forgot to add about basenji's is that they don't bark because they can't bark. They do make other noises though.

i have to say i do love b.c, spesh red and white ones, but they do sound quite right for you

I took that test, and several other tests and they all came up with diffrent breeds, exept the border collie...

They just seem too intelligent for dogs

I read the border collie horror stories
http://www.bcrescue.org/bchorror.html

i wouldnt worry, ^^^that stuff could happen with any dog thats not trained propaly or kept in an area thats not secure or safe for a pup