Laurelin_429: Mm, I think borzois are the most amazing looking dogs on the planet, I just know that they probably aren't the breed for me. (Way understatement; they'd drive me crazy.) But I want one based on looks so badly. All of the sighthounds are gorgeous, but not for me, which is a shame.
I have had a secret crush on papillons since I watched an animal planet special on them. I was probably ten or eleven and I told my dad I wanted one. They're just so little! I'd be afraid of hurting them. I hadn't spent much time around small dogs that were interested in being around me until very recently, and I'm still afraid I'll hurt them. With our dogs, if I run into one, it's more of a issue of politeness than a danger of injury.
mrv: =] Thank you so much! All of your advice is really wonderful. Once I get settled into college I plan to be working my way to a whole bunch of different dog shows and talking to as many people as I can without being a pest. I plan on reading a library on dogs, and the breeds I'm interested in particularly before I start looking for a breeder. =] And, yeah, I know those dogs were all really different, but I think I have time to narrow down my list and really get to know those breeds better before making a choice. =]
FourIsCompany: GSD always comes up number one for me, too. =P I really love them, and we've had four different ones in my lifetime here. (Sadie, who passed when I was very young, Cory, who died about six years ago, and Patriot and Sheila who we have now). I guess a part of me feels like there's so many wonderful dog breeds that I don't want to pick the "wrong one," just because I stick with what we've always had, if that makes sense. (Like, my boyfriend has a peke/(probably)pitbull cross, and while I think Zobby is a doll, if he were my dog, he'd drive me nuts. He's sweet and he's funny, but he's too independent. He's figured out that once he's out the door, the silly people can't catch him. (Although once I gently told the boyfriend that chasing him didn't help, and he needed to take smelly wonderful treats and bribe the silly dog back, Zobby doesn't try to run off as much.) But Zobby doesn't want to do stuff because he's asked, he wants to do them because there's something in it for him. Sorry, I'm rambling.
corvus: Wow, I'm really sorry about Penny. It must be really hard to have a
dog that's in pain. =( I really don't mind about the thread hijacking,
it was a fairly interesting conversation.
I really liked that breed selector. It said that my best bets were (in order) the GSD, the Standard Poodle, and the Bernese Mountain dog. =P All dogs that I think are really cool. Still, it was a nice conformation, and it was neat because it really highlighted what the important things to think about are, rather than appearance and whatnot. It was very helpful.
agilebasenji:No,
I hadn't looked into them too much, but I think I will, thanks. =] I've
heard about them, but not too much. I'll try to see if the library has
anything on them. And, about the apartment, everyone I know is going to
one too, but my parents had to work their own way through college and
decided that my sister and I weren't going to do that. So basically,
I'm not allowed to move out until I can afford it, and that means a
house to them, so unless I really wanted to stir things up (which I
don't, I like it here, a lot) I'm staying. Besides, I get along with my
dad really well. (Mom not so much, but she's at work most of the day,
so whatever.)
Pwca: Thanks for the corgi information.
Corgipower: That's really nice to know. =) I love dogs that can outsmart people. Our Patriot is like that. (He's the 'riot dog from hell.)