New dog idea.

A couple of questions that might help others identify breeds or traits that might fit her needs, when she is ready:

• Are there children in the house, or would the dog be exposed to children regularly?
• Are there other dogs in the house, or would the dog need to be sociable with other dogs regularly?

What kind of energy level are you looking for?

Jacks are ALWAYS ready to go. Casey is a corgi/jack mix - he can run at the park for hours, and still come home ready to go. I was able to 'train' him to relax in the house, by giving him a go to bed/chill command - which he does on his own now.

Temperament wise - they can be prone to dog aggression, esp. same sex aggression. depends on the dog - but it is in the lines. You have to remember they are terriers - and not always the best with small children, or other small pets. Casey is fantastic with all other animals, but not people.

What kind of coat are you looking for? Can you tolerate shedding?

 How much bark are we talking about, here? Would something vocal like a hound (maybe beagle?) suit your needs? If you had a dog that loved to bark, would you get phone calls from the police because your neighbors complain about incessant barking?

How much exercise are you willing and able to provide for the dog?

If the shedding isn't a big deal, I might look into Shetland Sheepdogs. If you go that route, though, just be very very very careful to find a breeder (or rescue) with a STRONG emphasis on good temperaments. Shelties can be "yappy" if not bred and trained well.

There's also just plain going to the pound and seeing what kinds of dogs are available. Some pounds/shelters have a sort of "waiting list" so you can leave a description of your ideal dog and they'll call you if they get any dogs in that might be a match.

A beagle with the right personality?  Ours loves to hike and run but is just as happy to snooze on the couch.  She is friendly and loving, but is protective and has a real growl and bark. She also has the wonderful beagle bay, but luckily she is not an especially vocal hound, so it’s not annoying or a problem.  When the rest of the neighbor’s dogs are all barking, she completely ignores them (there is probably something more interesting for her to smell).  I know I’ve read that some don’t feel beagles are particularly empathetic, but ours is.  We are most important to her and she is very in tune with every tone/inflection of voice or emotion I may have.  She’s been easy to train the basics to.  We can’t let her off leash because of her bunny drive, but it’s not a big deal for us.  If you go through a rescue, they should be able to match you up with a dog that matches your lifestyle and personality.

My aunt has daschund/jack russell mixes and they are the worst dogs.  Agrressive and obnoxious, they destroy everything.  Always wired.  Too much for me.

Good luck!  Sorry to hear of your dogs passing.  {{hugs}}

I don't think your dog will be mad at you for getting another. You gave him a secure, happy home for years and years. He wouldn't want you to be lonely for the companionship of another dog.

 Perhaps visit the shelter a few times until you find a really happy/associative dog.  One that is medium sized, maybe a mix?

Most dogs are happy to bark at the doorbell or passersby, a medium sized dog would be capable of sounding 'protective.'   I have a 14lb minpin who has cornered visitors and pinned the UPS guy against the wall LOL.  Ok, I don't laugh, because I don't encourage that type of behavior in today's day and age.  One of my bichon girls has a deep bark, almost houndy, that she does reserve for emergency situations.  she has great discretion.

Good luck finding a new dog :)

 As someone who has Miniature Pinschers, I thought I would tell you a little bit about them. I call them my permanent 2 year old. Why? Because it is just like having a two year old child - all the time. They are wonderful dogs. Full of energy (but also love to snuggle and steal every blanket that you have LOL). They like to be involved in everything you do. And if they get quiet, you go looking to find out why, cause it usually means trouble. LOL That is one reason why I crate mine when I leave the house. They love their crates anyway, but at least I don't have to worry about a chewed electrical cord or them pulling something down on top of them as they investigate. Right now, my Jezzy is obsessing about a mouse in the house and getting into everything trying to find it. Even with me here, she's almost gotten into trouble twice.

They are a very smart dog, sometimes to smart for their own good, so training (and reinforcement) is a must. Hard headed, definitely. They can also be very high prey drive, so cats, other rodents, and children (running, playing, squealing) can trigger them to tune you out and chase to their hearts content. If they are raised around children, they might not react to kids that way, but I know mine do despite the training I have done. Even though they aren't classified as a terrier, they very much have the terrier personality.

Their bark is also high pitched, and they can be very yappy. They are jokers at heart but leery of strangers. I am constantly taking mine out to keep them socialized with people. Even then, they really don't care for people fawning over them.

Now a lot of this can apply to a lot of breeds out there. It comes down to each individual's dog personality and the training that is done. If you decide you want a Min Pin, may I suggest you go to the breed club website and look into a good breeder or their rescue organization. I would be happy to help you connect with a good breeder if you want.

I love my girls. I love my breed. But, they are not for everyone.

 Woah so many ideas! thank you!

First to address the child and small animal thing.. The only child that would be around the dog is my nephew who comes over once a week. He is about to turn 10 years old so he isn't exactly a small child but he is a child none the less.

As far as other dogs, there are no other dogs. We only had max.  We do have two cats though.  The one was attached to max (I think she feels she is a dog) we got her as a kitten and she only grew up with him (she is 2 now) the other cat isn't fond of dogs but he doesn't seem too bothered he just doesn't go near the dog. He is 3 he is just scared because he was taken from a bad environment and it takes him time to trust.

Now about the bark... I would LOVE a beagle but my mom does not want one. She said that because of her experience she had one as a kid that constantly barked and barked and then we have one that lives down the street and it never stops lol.  We are actually moving next month thats why we are waiting on getting one too (not just my mom not being ready) and the owner of the house is my moms friend so luckily he is okay with a dog :)

As far as exercise for the dog. My mom walked max a lot as a pup and took him to the park and she has a job where its in a huge building at night just her and she can take the dog to run around while she is there.  It's a lot of fun but max got skin cancer on his nose (they call it collie nose) and he was only allowed outside during the day for limited time so he could only go for walks at night and at work.  The other dog would probably be walked three times a day and go anywhere he/she could with my mom or me and the new house has a huge backyard that is ALMOST completely fenced in we are going to complete that prior to getting a dog so the dog can run around.

As far as jacks i heard all about the craziness and my mom knows thats why we are still thinking about that. We dont want a dog to destroy the house while tranining but we are also hoping to rescue a dog that is at least 1 if not 2 years old already so we need to find someone who worked with the training of the dog we really don't have the puppy training time right now.  

Shedding is not an issue as max would shed allllllll the time, my one cat does too! Going back to the bark.  I didn't really mean a constant barker or scarey dog it's just we are really used to having max for 11 years he was very protective and would scare off anyone who would come around that wasn't supposed to be around (and people who should be haha) so we are trying to avoid the scaring people who are frequent visitors but still barking to show that there is a dog in the house. Thats my biggest issue right now I feel so weird and unsafe without a dog (and its not even a high crime area) its just creepy to me :-/

Sorry for the book I just wrote I think I addressed all the questions.  As far as working with a shelter, we were thinking about that but my biggest fear is going to a shelter and attempting to leave and go to another, I am not sure I wouldn't just fall in love with every single dog! haha :)

I vote for a Cocker Spaniel!

Get more info on them at this website! http://www.terrificpets.com/dog_breeds/cocker_spaniel.asp

I've previously owned 2 males and a female cocker before they passed on. Right now, I have a seven year old Cocker that I've had since she was 8 weeks old. So, if you have any questions about them I can answer.

Amy is right on about minpins!  Even at age 14, my Gobie still acts like a 2 yr old, busy, mischeivious, smart, funny, into everything. 

Not a dog for people who aren't going to find an outlet for all that energy.

Sorry to hear about your Max.

It is very commendable of you to be checking what breeds might or might not suit your lifestyle.

I am a Big Dog person myself.  I have Rocky who is a Lab Mix and is about 55 lbs that is small for us.  As far as small or medium dog, I will plug a Pug.  I grew up with a pug.  They have great personality.  Not really small or fragile but not really medium either.  They have good energy but not overly crazy.  Our pug would bark if someone came to the door but he wasnt a really yappy kind of dog. Of course he raised a doberman so he didnt really know he was smaller, lol!   He was adorable and he loved spending time outside and he was a cuddle bug when need be.  We got ours when he was about 1-2 years old.   I do highly recommend that you check out the shelters and rescues.  I think there is a furr baby out there just waiting for you and your mom to find them. 

Run free Max, help your Mommy and sis find someone to take care of them.

 Small breeds such as Minpins will have higher pitches barks, not much of a way around it. Also if you don't want a dog prone to being "noisey" MinPins (long with many other toys), Beagles and Shelties are probably not for you. Beagles are hard wired to bark when they are excited, it's part of what they were bred for. Shelties, along with Collies are probably one of the most vocal breeds out there.

  JRTs (Jack Russells) are not a great breed for living with cats. The Jack Russell Terrier Cluc of America is an outstanding resource on the breed. They even have a "profiler" quiz that you can take to see if a JRT is for you: http://www.therealjackrussell.com/breed/jrprofiler.php

 Based on what you have said so far, I'd probably suggest a Corgi first. There are usually plenty of Pembroke Corgis available in rescue if you are hoping to get an adult dog and the breed sounds like it would be a good fit for you. They are what I think of as a "medium-small" breed - they are bigger and sturdier than toys, big enough to not have high pitched barks but still don't take up much room - Corgis really are like big dogs with short legs  :)

 Another option is the North American Shepherd or "Mini-Aussie" - basically a small Austrailan Shepherd which is now being recognized and bred as a separate breed. Many are Sheltie sized but tend to be less barky and have a very Aussie type personality:  http://www.namascusa.com/

When you are ready to pick one out, go to some shelters and visit with some dogs.  Eventually you will find one that is just right.  Don't worry too much about breed-the one you decide on may be a combination of several.  Look at the size you want, and when you find the one that is special for you, your decision is done.

Good luck.  Sorry about your loss.

If you're looking for an intimidating dog - I reccomend a black dog. Black dogs tend to give off more of a 'scary' vibe - or anything with pointy ears.

erica1989

If you're looking for an intimidating dog - I reccomend a black dog. Black dogs tend to give off more of a 'scary' vibe - or anything with pointy ears.

The problem with the black dog is max was a big black dog she doesn't want one that looks like him.  Maybe a little black dog with pointy ears since max had floppy ears. I don't know.

Thank you everyone else for all the advice. We will probably just go to the shelter like said and try and find one but I'm afraid of doing that without researching first just in case it ends up being the total opposite of what is right.  I myself am okay with ANY dog its my mom that wants all these special traits!