help me pick a breed

You've got dog experience, big dog experience, so IF you are ready for a dog that is so darned smart they'll keep you on your toes, how about a gsd?

I adore my shepherds.  They love to be active, but they also have a very nice OFF switch and will come inside where rough stuff isn't allowed and just veg.  They are pretty scarey looking to a lot of folks, but gentle and really loving.

A mutt! :P

-They come in all colors, sizes, and coat types

-Tend to not be extreme in looks, meduim height, and usually medium temperment.

-Are not hard to come by or expensive

-The ones I own/have owned are very intelligent and obedient dogs who can learn multiple commands and tricks with ease.

-If adopted from a rescue or shelter you will be saving the dogs life. :3

I love my shepherd mix Rex and part of the reason is his GSD traits of being so tuned in to me and so incredibly smart and the fact that he loves to train. 

Kyda

A mutt! :P

-They come in all colors, sizes, and coat types

-Tend to not be extreme in looks, meduim height, and usually medium temperment.

-Are not hard to come by or expensive

-The ones I own/have owned are very intelligent and obedient dogs who can learn multiple commands and tricks with ease.

-If adopted from a rescue or shelter you will be saving the dogs life. :3

I second this motion!

Thanks all. I had actually given a bit of thought to a gsd, but the only one I have ever been around was an untrained spoiled one that used to live next door. He seemed like he could have been a very great dog with a little work though. And he was pretty.

 As for the mutt idea, I am in the process of going through the classes to volunteer with our local no-kill humane society so I will see plenty of mutts, but they are still mixes of something, and so if I have my eye on certain breeds, I can have an idea of what I light want when that particular mix comes through. I also have a rescue mix, but she is story all in herself, love her but definitely not something I would want to look for again.

Come on everyone, tell me about your dogs!!! Julie

spiritsmom

Come on everyone, tell me about your dogs!!! Julie

Oook!

Sam - 3y/o Lab mix! He's either mixed with Pitt or Husky or somthing. IDK. GREAT dog, super goofy, hasn't calmed down yet because he is mostly Lab(they dont calm down 'til about 4). He's smart, quick to learn(normally), and does well in most weather conditions(like, I wouldn't leave him outside during the extreme weather). He's been outside most of his life, so he's just now learning not to go in the house, he's doing pretty good!

Taz - 1y/o Shih-Pom(Shih-Tzu X Pomeranian). He's a squeky-toy addict. Seriously. He was a little difficult to house train(it took him about 5 or 6 months). He's smart-ish....he doesnt catch on as quickly as Sam, but still a good lap dogs....he's very "What's in it for me??"

I'll tell you about my three mutts. Maggie, 15 years old and still going strong - still highly active, still alert and very much a part of the the household guardian team. She's a little girl, probably Finnish Spitz, Border Collie, and terrier or fiest. People say she looks like a fox. Clever as all get out, loving, but not needy. Just enough of the devil not to be boring. In her youth she was a terrific beginner obedience, flyball, agility dog. She's extremely protective of the kids - and has great discernment between true threats and things that can be ignored. Lu - now there's a dog that will make you feel safe. Pyrenees and Maremma mix. She's almost 12 years old and still fairly active though a life of hard work and arthritis has caught up with her. She's beautiful - she has a lighter coat and build and doesn't drool, but still has the feeling of strength and power of the Pyrenees. She's a great walking companion though never off leash. I'd get just about any LGD mix in a heartbeat for the purpose you are describing. There's nothing an LGD loves more than walking the neighborhood with their "flock leader." Lynn. Lynn is my baby, still only a little over a year old. Eventually she'll be reliable off leash but for now she's learning the ropes. She's a Golden Retriever, Border Collie, and Dutch Shepherd mix. She's fun loving, super active, clever, wants to please like crazy (though she's currently going through her "talk to the paw" stage), and has the potential to do anything we want to do with her, including simply being a household companion. She's very alert and protective, particularly of the kids. She learns quickly to tell the difference between abnormal things that are okay, and things that are genuine threats. This is super important for a dog you hope to take out in public and look protective, but not be a public menace. Every one of these dogs just "happened" to me. Be patient and the right dog will come along.

 I have a Lab, but (and this is important) I have a field-type Lab.  This means that although he has somewhat higher energy levels than a bench-type Lab, he also has an off-switch, which many bench Labs do not.  Ben is a nut outside, running and chasing balls and butterflies, and very, very chilled out in the house.  Our "puppy" stage lasted not 4 years, but about 18 months. 

He's wonderful, he vegges around with me most of the day but gets a look of pure delight on his face whenever it's walk time.  Sheds like crazy, snores, sniffs his rear end in front of company and I wouldn't trade him for the world.  He has the stamina to hike with me for hours, and the laziness to curl up on my feet at home.  Eats everything, loves everyone, learns quickly and never fails to make me laugh when he decides to act like a fool.   He has the bark of a dog twice his size, "reads" people very well and will put himself between me and anyone making me uneasy or upset, but his temperament is such that he is probably the only dog which frequents our local park that can play with any other dog who visits the park.  He does get a bit overwhelmed when groups of dogs surround him/gang up on him, but that is more to do with the fact that he will more readily defend my honour than his own.

Plus he's a cutie. ;)

My mutts first.

~Charlie was a Husky/Golden Reteiver mix from a foster home who found him as a young stray. He was very high energy yet velcro so he was always with me jumping around and wathing to play or do something. I hiked mountians with him and he was still ready for more at the end of the hikes. When he was 2 we first started begging obdeicne classes but we came into them halfway through the season so had to work twice as hard to chatch up to the rest of teh people in the class. By the end of the class season Charlie was on of the top dogs in the class. Every agility class we entered in me and him were one of the top teams, which said something because the more complicated classes we took the more purebreds with excellent breeding and what not there were in there. He was always there for me, a loyal dog true and true! He did have fear issues of strange men and women handling him but loved kids.

~Frankie was a mix of Pitt Bull/Jack Russel/ and Cattle Dog. He was a useful all around farm dog. He killed pests like coons that raided our trash, moles, squirells, small birds, trutles, ect. I would use him to help herd my goats during worming times. He acted as a quite brave gaurd dog with a bark that would make anyone think twice before coming into our property. He was small and lanky but he was all muscle. Frankie had never met a strange dog or human and loved everyone. He had a "MAKE me do it" attitude at times and would need some extra training to let him know what I wanted of him. He was super loyal and would defend me in a heart beat. He had alot of energy and was always getting into something when inside the house.

~Jax is my current mutt, hes a mix of Chow/Labrador/Golden Reteiver and lord knows what else. Jax is still a puppy so his definate personality is not quite known. He is a very friendly and submissive puppy, I doubt he will defend me in a fight unless you count licking someone to death helping defend me. He is quite smart and I expect him to be about the same level of trainability as Charlie was. He is super cute but his coat is on the long side and will need regular brushing.

Now my Lab

Hammer-Head is a BYB Labrador Retreiver found as a stray. He was about tow years old unfixed, having a terrible outbrake of demodex mange, and very emaciated. He still has demodex, a dent on his head that might be genetic or might be from an old injury where someone attempted to kill him, he has dog agression, and a water obsession. But I love him and he is one of teh easiest to train dogs I have ever owned. He is notmhyper indoors and is content to sleep at my feet all day. Outside he is like a different dog zooming around, sniffing, stalking birds, playing with toys. He learned fetch easily, I guess it must be instinct for Labs to retreive. He is well mannered and intouch with my emotions. He handles all weather well, is good with livestock but not with cats, trains easily, and as a love for all humans. He wants to please but has a serious nature about himself.

Note my Lab is from a bad breeder and does not represent Labs as a whole.

Brookcove, what is a LGD? There are a lot of pyrenees around here, but they leave them outside locked up wit the goats. I don't know anyone who actually has one for a pet. They are very beautiful dogs though. They sound pretty good.

benedict, what a beautiful lab! I grew up with a black lab that Dad brought home as a puppy. I always had a soft spot for a black lab. My husband would like a yellow one. Most of the neighborhood labs are neurotic. I have some friends with good ones, although they went through it with them as puppies. They scare me a bit because when I raised my Rottie, she never ONCE chewed up anything in the house I didn't specifically give to her. I like my stuff. I don't mind hair, I could probably do drool. Is there any way to get through lab puppy hood without losing every pair of shoes!!! :-) I like the idea of the working lab line.

Kyda, I got a lot of laughs out of your post tonight. it sounds like a great dog family.

Thank you all for sharing your pets. This is exactly the kind of stuff I was looking for. Thanks again!!!! Merry Christmas!! Julie

spiritsmom

Is there any way to get through lab puppy hood without losing every pair of shoes!!! :-) I like the idea of the working lab line.

 

I never lost a pair of shoes to any Lab puppy because I never left anything around that I didn't want chewed.  If a pup gnawed on a furniture leg or started to chew the carpet I gave them a toy or chew of some sort. If I can't watch him closely, crate or x pen time. If the dog learns what is acceptable chewing it shouldnt be an issue for a Lab or any puppy.  It's all up to the owner to show a puppy the boundaries, puppies have no idea why we don't want them to chew the leather sofa or your expensive shoes.  Hand them a $100.00 bill and they will prove they don't have any concept of money. :) 

 I like Akitas. They are big and gorgeous and they bond closely to you and no one would ever lay a hand on you if you didn't want them to with one keeping an eye on you. On the downside, they shed a lot and can be pretty independent and will cheerfully say "stuff you!" if they don't feel like humoring you.

My corgi is an ace dog, but she doesn't make one feel very safe. I'm always keeping an eye on HER,

My Finnish Lapphund is to die for in looks and temperament. He's as sweet as apple pie. Everyone adores him and that's what he likes. He is still a puppy, really, but he's been dead easy to train and he requires multiple cuddles every day. He's the cuddliest dog I've ever met, in fact, apart from his mother and grandfather who have grown out of the excitable distractable puppy stage. He doesn't make me feel especially safe, though. He has never so much as stiffened his posture and we are entertaining the idea that he doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body. He is a complete wuss and cries whenever another dog (or cat) tells him to get lost.  

Livestock guardian dog. Lulu is a Pyrenees/Maremma Sheepdog mix, purpose bred from working parents. It can be fairly easy to find Pyrenees crosses in shelters and rescues if you live where you see them out guarding livestock. I've had one here recently, and a friend of mine just a few months ago had a gorgeous female at her rescue - both of these were Pyrenees/BC mixes and very nice dogs (if a little strange). A friend of mine even rescued and adopted for her own farm, a Border Collie Maremma cross. You just have to make sure that what the dog is crossed with, hasn't produced a dog that is both territorial and guardy, and sharp/reactive. Many farms produce herding dog/livestock guardian dog mixes and while that sounds like it might be a match made in heaven, it's actually two opposite personalities and if you get the worst of both parents, it can result in disaster. It's best to look for an adult, preferably a mature dog, to make sure you don't get a temperamental time bomb. They are usually really wonderful or really awful, so an awful dog normally doesn't survive into adulthood.

I want to agree with Benedict. A non-working Lab would be fine for you. Males get to be about 24 inches to the shoulder. 65 to 80 lbs in weight. A good Lab loves humans and other dogs. Very trainable. Being chowhounds, they will audition for the Bolshoi Ballet for treats. Most people that would think of bothering you won't be savvy enough to know that Labs are not guard dogs. They will simply see a big dog with a deep, gut rumbling "woof!" and leave you alone.

Blessings on you for volunteering in rescue. You may find what you are looking for there. And it may not be a Lab. But it will be the dog for you. I've often said, even to people local to me looking for a dog to try the shelter. Your dog is waiting there for you, you just didn't know it, yet. There are purebreds, even at the one shelter in my rural county. I have even seen at our one shelter a Shiba Inu. I can't tell you how rare that is around here, but there she was. Most people I know say "a what?" when I say that breed. So, you can find purebreds at the shelter, too. Or buy from a breeder you can trust with plenty of documentation on their breeding program. But just on the physical description you give, I would say Lab.