New dog idea.

just keep in mind, that even if they look similar - they are not going to be the same dog. Even littermates have completely different personalities.

What about an AKK? I don't know too much about them - but there are a few owners here on the board that may be able to tell you more about them (they look like baby huskies)

 I know that. I agree with you 100% but my mom is the one that can't look at another dog. It was a really traumatic death and she was there when it happened and he looked right in her eyes before he died. She said she just can't look at another dog that looks just like him it would be too hard.

 i would like to echo everything Erica said about JRT mixes. Amber is a mixed of petshop JRT and her mother was some sort of amalgamated pot hound... looked like a cairn terrier with a horribly matted coat. but she was a solid built sweet-natured mutt((Amber came from my stepmoms cousins. got her when i was in high school back in 2000-01-ish)) I've done the same training with her. she has a "go to bed" command that i had taught to all three dogs that i had back then.

But yes Amber is a moody little brat and always has been. she was my dog from 7 weeks old*i know BAD!* up until she was about four years old. then I had to move away from home. found what i thought was a great solid family for her and she lived there for four more years until she beat the snot out of the labrador she was living with. When i heard this i made my husband go get her and bring her back home. i was finally in a place where i could get her back and i wasnt going to allow them to rehome her themselves. 

So she's been back with us for a few years and she's mellowed a LOT but she's still game as ever. her recall is so-so. she still thinks she can whip any dog three times her size ((the little dummy tried to pick a fight with Kaydee and Ben. it was a miracle she survived the encounter)) but she's lately decided she would rather not bite off more than she can chew. she'll stay on the steps and trash talk but doesnt go any further than that. 

with puppies she has no tolerance. at all. she looooooves males though. she's been spayed for almost three years but she still acts like a... you know.. but she treats all other females with the same respect she gives to puppies. has no tolerance for them. gives them the death glare, ignores them or, if push comes to shove, will growl at them... except for with that incident with Kaydee. it was a holiday, lots of company over, and we found out the hard way that Amber figured out a way to escape from our porch by jumping up and over the railing..

BUT thats just AMBER! if you get a younger dog and keep a strict training program((and dont move away and let it live with hoodlums for four years)) then you'll probably have a better behaved dog than Amber. I think if i had not given her up she wouldnt have learned she can bully around bigger dogs. the lab she lived with was a very docile, good natured female, but very very hype... i think Amber got flattened one to many times and finally lashed out. but in doing so she made a big gash on the lab's face and nearly tore off our friend's thumbnail when he tried to get her off their dog. and thats a terrier for you. once they figure out they can win they will keep trying to win..

the death glare.. Amber was being very polite to this little stray but she was looking at ME like "Ma'... if you dont get this thing away from me i'm going to open up her sinuses.."

But she's very good with the kids - she wasnt raised with them, but she knows how to escape or avoid them, plus i taught my boys at early ages NOT to harass any animal, big or small. Amber is basically our farm dog. she keeps the raccoons out of the chickens,the rats out of the feed shed, and will go bike riding with me and has no trouble keeping up.

ALSO her bark matches her bite! i've nicknamed her the white wolverine... she has a real growly bark. but i think again that could be individual to the dog. my brother has a 300lb male german shepherd that has a bark like Mickey Mouse.... 

i like the idea of a cocker as well. i've met a few nice ones and one with "small man complex" that really kinda put me off the breed for a while... unfair i know.. but he just wasnt a nice dog.... still, that was probably more his owners fault than his breeding.. my sister had a cocker when we were little and he was a real sweet heart. kind of an air head at times, but very gentle.

I own a well behaved, not crazy wild JRT.  He loves to play, hunt and snuggle. The sweetest, most people loving dog you'd ever want.  That said, I don't recommend them to anyone not prepared to deal with their personalities.  I also have a cat but I spent months and months and months training Twister to leave the cat alone.  My cat was raised with dogs and is very mellow and fat and not prone to racing around like some cats.  Even with all the training I did and continue to do with Twister (training never ends with dogs) he and his half sister, who I was keeping for a friend, "treed" my cat on the back of the couch.  I'm glad I was home because they were pretty ramped up. Of course, I would never have left them with the cat unsupervised and it was years before I would leave Twister alone with the cat.   I love the breed and think they are maligned to some extent because so many people get them without knowing what their personalities are like. Many that end up in rescues are there because they grew up to be JRT's! and the owners were not ready for the time it takes to make one of these dogs a good pet.  I spend much more time convincing people not to get a JRT than I do telling them what great dogs they are.  They are great dogs, for the right home. 

I know this is a redundant post since you seem to have decided against a JRT but I wanted to give you my input, FWIW.  I'm sorry about the loss of your dog. 

thatamandagirl

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!

  You are right on about still doing research! Know what breeds could and at least as importantly could not work for your household, as this will help you even when looking at mixes. Know if you have any temperament or behavioral issues are not willing to deal with as well. Well meaning shelter workers have been known to talk people into taking a dog that is totally wrong for them - a super shy dog with a family who wants a dog that can go anywhere with anyone or a pit bll mix for an older couple who wanted a lap dog.

 I agree Jackie, i got very lucky with Amber... i was still a teen when i decided to bring her home. the day i walked across the street to take her back to my stepmom's house i wondered for a moment just what i was doing. all puppies are pretty much the same. eat sleep play poop... but whats it going to be like when it turns into.. DOG? i had a vague idea what JRTs are like from movies like the Mask... but movies are such great resources for choosing a dog right? i am being sarcastic btw

so while i was buying puppy paraphernalia i also bought a JRT Survival Guide lol i didnt see one thing in that book(which i read front to back) that would scare me away from the choice i had already made. in fact i looked forward to it! i successfully raised her on a farm with horses, cows, pet rodents, cats, and two other dogs, plus a neighbourhood pack mixed with shepherds and dobermans (and that ruddy cocker spaniel i mentioned earlier) she would tag along on trail rides, loved to ride in the car, loved to go fishing, and i even took her squirrel hunting a time or two.

She crate trained very easily too. her only real vice was she would hide snacks in her crate and then sit outside it and growl at the other dogs. but she never damaged anything significant enough for me to remember. my other dogs were busy doing all of that.... Franky, out doberman mix chewed a hole in the door during a storm... and Maggie was chasing the landlord's cattle.... 

if you're active outdoorsy person then you have your choice of breeds! but i wouldnt be too worried. the right dog will most likely find you. and tell your mom that. dont make an impossible list of standards that may never be met. and the way the dog acts in the shelter/at the breeder's/or foster home may NOT be the way he acts once you get him home. We found out that Ben, our second American Bulldog had major issues with change. when we met him at his owners he was happy and friendly. but the day she left him with us he had a spazz attack when she drove off.... and then we found out he was afraid of open spaces. he was a kennel/chain dog before we got him. he wandered out into the middle of the yard and panicked.. then froze. DH had to carry him back to the house..... But Ben was a rare case and we've worked through most of that with time and letting him adjust. 

Condolences on your lost. its never easy and you cant replace them. but good luck and well wishes in finding the right dog for your family.

 Corgi! Small, 30lbs max, pointy ears, come in tri or red, active, but knows when to turn it off. They do shed and do bark. I'm a bit biased though.

DumDog

i successfully raised her on a farm with horses, cows, pet rodents, cats, and two other dogs, plus a neighbourhood pack mixed with shepherds and dobermans (and that ruddy cocker spaniel i mentioned earlier) she would tag along on trail rides, loved to ride in the car, loved to go fishing, and i even took her squirrel hunting a time or two.

The perfect home for a JRT.  :)  They are great farm/ranch dogs and around here many horse people travel with a JRT or two.  Sorry a bit OT.

 I cannot get over how adorable amber is! I am understanding how crazy these dogs can be though so its straying me away but they are SO CUTE!! I did look up Corgi's they are really cute but I'm not sure what my mom thinks. I'm giving her time. I showed her a few dogs a few days ago and I don't want to press the idea right now.

The biggest thing we are worried about having a dog like Max. We raised him around people and fine and he was GREAT for a few years but he became VERY protective and he couldn't be around people besides us or frequent visitors.... We loved him of course but we are getting to where we want a dog that can bark when someone is there but not be that mean that they bark the ENTIRE time someone is over. He never bit anyone or anything but we never gave him that chance. It was just crazy and of course the older he got the worse he got because he was sick and having trouble seeing also.

So I am trying to keep moms list of "hopes" small. Basically no reallllllllly yappy dogs unless she falls in love with one of course!!  :) and no mean mean dogs and no HUGE dogs. That's really about it. Oh yeah and the minor "can't look like max" requirement. 

 I am taking everything you guys are saying into consideration and I told mom, lets see how it goes!

 Sooo mom came home tonight and said she saw a flyer for chocolate labs at her job and it made her want one to name coco. So much for a small dog she wanted? She is random! Max was a black lab/shepherd mix and she wanted a SMALL dog but she said after I talked so much about small dogs she is realizing she doesn't want one.  Please dont think your advice was wasted! Because! she said that she could change her mind any minute.  I emailed the person with the dogs but I'm not sure they still have them so we might be back at square one.  I told her that if they are all gone we can try to find a pure bred choc lab at a rescue around here.  She didn't say no.  However, she wants to wait until april 1 when we move so not sure how early we can actually start looking!! lets cross our fingers! she is finally taking steps towards really wanting one but she is still saying that she feels like max would hate her for this and that he would be jealous. I told her he would want her happy.

Please make sure that if you chose to not go through a rescue - that the pup you get has a health cert. It is illegal to sell a dog/pup without one- that means vaccines, wormings, testing, and vet check MUST be done before a dog is sold.

Even if it's a friend - do your homework.

 Yeah it was on the flier.  It said something about being AKC and that it would have the vet check and the vaccinations and wormer and come with the certificate so I think it's okay.  When we got max we went through all of that too because he wasn't from a rescue he was from someone a friend knew.  Mom is all over that! That's why she originally wanted a rescue dog and also because there are so many dogs in the shelters that need homes. It's not definite it was just an option I emailed her but I doubt she still has them.  If not we are back to doing the researching at the rescues and shelters. So we will see :) I def appreciate the advice from everyone and still welcome it.  I have never had a chocolate lab but she has.  Does anyone know if they are similar to black labs?  Thanks again guys I'm glad I found this website!

 With Labs, a lot depends on whether they are the stockier shorter build (tend to be calmer) or the lanky tall build (more active as a rule).  All Labs will be very mouthy as puppies, and the best way to insure that they don't stay that way is to enroll them in puppy class *early* (as young as 10-11 weeks) and let them have lots of play dates with appropriate pups and dogs that will play and tussle, but not scare the puppy.  They are active dogs, but you can exercise them with fetch games and a bit of training and they usually do fine.  Good choice for kids, too, once they are out of the nippy stages;-)

esp. with labs - find out as much as you can about the parent dogs... they are prone to a lot of health issues. anyone breeding labs should be doing the proper testing - including (but not limited to) hips, elbows, eyes, etc.

thatamandagirl

 We raised him around people and fine and he was GREAT for a few years but he became VERY protective and he couldn't be around people besides us or frequent visitors.... We loved him of course but we are getting to where we want a dog that can bark when someone is there but not be that mean that they bark the ENTIRE time someone is over. He never bit anyone or anything but we never gave him that chance. It was just crazy and of course the older he got the worse he got because he was sick and having trouble seeing also.

I was hoping one of the trainers would comment on this, but I want to point out that this can be a problem with any dog of any breed. There are steps you can take to stop the dog from barking non stop when someone comes over, but it will take time and commitment from both you and your mom on an ongoing basis. Training/reinforcement never stops. And just because the dog is fine with people away from the home doesn't mean the dog is going to be fine with them in HIS territory.

I hope you will stick around and browse through the training forum here and ask questions. We've got some wonderful people on here.

Good luck with your search!