What breed would be best for us

Corgi?   They're little "big" dogs. We have two, and a golden retriever.  The corgi's are always glad to see us, and are wherever we are.  The golden is quiet.  We previously had a lab - always in your face and high energy.

I second the corgi. My mom owns one and he`s always ready to play but LOVES to cuddle.. Infact he's been known to sleep on your head/face. Raised right as a pup, you shouldn't have a problem with the birds

go to  your local shelter. check out all the dogs, all the breeds and all the sizes. pick the one that is happiest to see you.  you'll probably have a tough choice 'cause they'll all be grateful for the home you give them.

rufftie

go to  your local shelter. check out all the dogs, all the breeds and all the sizes. pick the one that is happiest to see you.  you'll probably have a tough choice 'cause they'll all be grateful for the home you give them.

 

LOL that is a good idea!

There are several breed selectors online.  They cover live style, activity level, coat maintenance, etc.  Why not take a few of those and see which breed(s) come up in your top 3 over and over?  You can use Google to find them.  Here is one link:

 http://animal.discovery.com/breed-selector/dog-breeds.html

 The questions they ask will also help you to focus on what is important to you.  Then when you have it narrowed down, you can check the breed club online as they usually have a page with the details of living with that breed, and THEN you can put in Google for breed name rescue!  BTW, with no one home for long stretches, a companion breed is likely not going to be happy and may well develop behavior issues.

 I 3rd the Corgi idea. Tootsie, is always happy to see me, whether its been 8 hrs. or 5 minutes. Loves to do stuff and is a major snuggler. She has been raised with cats so birds should be no problem.

 

ETA: They do Shed. A lot, but daily brushings help immensely. Good luck!

 Oh my gosh, such great responses...thank you....I am heading to that link as soon as I am done here.

I wonder if a corgi will come up...I have to do my homework but I am wondering what kind of health problems a corgi would have with that long, low back. 

We are no strangers to shelter dogs.....my husband has decided that he would like to try a pup this time...again, we will check shelters first. There are so many great dogs at shelters and rescues..

My concern is our working hours but I think we can make it work. We loved playing with our lab (our poodle doesn't really like to play) and we enjoy taking our poodle for her daily walks..twice a day for exercise. 

We do feed taste of the wild food, I would have to see if they make a puppy formula and make sure it isn't on any recall list. 

We do love our animals and try to give them the best we can. Heck, even my birds get a mixture of brown rice, fruits, and veggies for their meal in the morning and birdie bread for a snack. 

On our Cassie's (that's her in my avatar) last night, we pulled our mattress into our living room so she could sleep with us. She had always slept with us but on her last night she couldn't get on the bed and we couldn't  help her without hurting her so we came up with the solution. As my husband said..."she has slept with us all her life, I'll be damned if she isn't sleeping with us on her last night"

Just wanted to let you all know that this isn't a decision we take lightly and we are dedicated to our animals.

 I'm not sure where you are at in MI but I volunteer with the Animal Placement Bureau http://www.apbpets.com/availabledogs.htm

They are mostly in mid-michigan but we have foster homes all over the place. On the available dogs page, there's a few listed but there are well over 100 dogs in foster homes with the group at any given time (they just aren't listed on the website). You can find pure breds, mutts, older dogs, puppies etc. Just tell them what you are looking for and they will find it for you. Adoption fee is $200 and something (can't remember, it's been a while since I fostered). They have "pet parades" every other sunday where foster homes take their available dogs to the local Petco for the day. You'll find lots of dogs that way and get to interact with them and such.

Anyway, from your description of activity level and so forth you can go with almost any breed. I would try to narrow it down a bit more like what type of fur (shed, non-shed, long, short, double coated, etc). Both my brother and my sister have corgis and they are great little dogs. Very barky though so that's another thing to consider. They are healthy and neither has back problems.

I have 3 Australian shepherds and they might fit the bill too. Very furry though (double coated) so lots of shedding. She are typically aloof with strangers so early socialization is key. When I come home from work, they are all wiggles and smiles and of course they are ready to go at the drop of a hat to do whatever it is you want to do for exercise.

 

Well! Now don't laugh.... a Barger Feist. Okay, they are some sort of squirrel hunting dog breed. I got mine at the shelter. He was about 30 pounds, adorable eyes and very smart so he came home with me to be my guard dog. This dog was absolutely amazing. He could smell a hawk hiding in the oleanders (I have a parrot to protect.) He was a spectacular guard dog, and a lap dog all at the same time. Unfortunately, I moved and couldn't keep him. He is now having the time of his life living on my best friend's farm in Vermont. He plays hard with her lab mix, digs in the garden and chases any wild animal that will run just for sport. This dog is either going full blast or asleep in your lap. Apparently they have an automatic on/off switch. Here is a photo of my dog: http://twitpic.com/11qb0b Here is one of the Barger Feist breeders. http://bargerdogs.com/ Nobody had any idea what breed he was at the shelter. My best friend happened upon the barger site and those dogs look exactly like him. They are very much like Jack Russells. They are small, but not too small and don't bark unless they have a reason to. They will quickly quiet down when told everything is ok. And man, do they like to play!! They run and run and run and just LIVE for spending every moment with you. I couldn't even go to the bathroom alone. Nothing like sitting on the pot and having to tell the dog to turn his face away. I wouldn't worry about your birds. You can train the dog to leave the inside birds alone. Especially if he's a pup.

With all due respect Swanky, from what little info is available on the Barger dogs website, which hasn't been updated since 2007, I'd hardly recommend this "breed" since it seems to be nothing more than something a BYB made up. If you can provide real info please do.

Connie,  I think you are on the right track with your research and such.

With the same amount of respect you just showed me, excuse me for sharing my experience with a wonderful type of dog. I haven't re-read her post and maybe I missed it, but I don't remember her asking for an AKC registered breed of dog. I thought she was looking for a companion dog first, not a pedigreed show dog. But, like I said, maybe I missed that part of her post when she was asking for suggestions. Is everyone this insulting and unfriendly on this board? If so, there are lots of other dog forums I can join that appreciate a person sharing about their former pet. Please send me a PM and let me know if this sort of treatment is normal in this particular forum. Thanks, Pam

Pam, I'm sorry you found sharismom post to be rude.  I happen to agree with her to some extent and didn't think it sounded rude but it's hard to convey emotion sometimes and easy to misunderstand intentions. 

 I don't know much about Feist dogs but they seem to be bred to hunt squirrels and though your dog had a good off/on switch I wonder if this "breed" is known for that trait?  JRT's (before AKC turns them into mostly white dogs who may or may not hunt) were bred for years for their hunting abilities and tenacity.  There is a huge discrepancy in physical type but the good lines had the JRT personality and temperment traits they were originally bred to have. Hopefully the AKC breeders will continue this but that's not a given.  The OP can certainly research for herself if a Barger Feist is something she wants to consider. If they haven't been around long, (again I'm ignorant on their history) , I'd be wary without much research but that's just me.

  They sound like neat dogs but I wouldn't suggest anyone assume they are all like yours, but as I said, I know very little about them.  I don't usually judge any breed based on one dog or one person's experience with a breed.  One good thing about most AKC breeds is the opportunity to see them at conformation and performance events and talk to other owners and breeders.  But even with some of the more rare AKC breeds it's hard to get a lot of first hand information. 

connieb

We thought maybe we wanted to try a smaller breed this time but that isn't written in stone

 

I lost my beloved lab mix not too ago.I always said if I got another dog I would want a pug.Now that the possibility of having one is here I just keep thinking about labs and other retrievers.My lab was great with parrots.I'm not sure how objective I am because I'm still grieving but looking back I can't say a single bad thing about having loved a lab for 14 years.Even in her last week of wretched pain she managed to greet me at the door when I got home.

                                                                                   Tena 

Swanky

I don't remember her asking for an AKC registered breed of dog. I thought she was looking for a companion dog first, not a pedigreed show dog. 

Pam, it's great that you liked your Feist. The op did not indicate she was looking for a purebred or a hunting dog. The thing that bothered me about your post was your link to a "breeder" of this type of dog. These dogs are mutts, or hybrids if one falls for that term, and there are plenty of mutts in shelters who'd make great companions without encouraging people to buy one from a "breeder".

My friends have two Corgis, the ones with tails (they say these are very different from the ones without).  Their dogs are doing lure coursing, agility, and flyball.  They are cute, fun, energetic little dogs but not half the drive and energy you get in your average German Shepherd or field type lab.  I guess it depends on your definition of higher energy? They are very fun little dogs though, they seem more robust than many other smaller breeds.  They do shed a lot, holy cow sometimes I swear they are shedding more than my GSDs even though they are 1/4 the size!