How did you choose your breed?

I spent 25+ years owning dobermans.... Loved my dogs and the breed (what it used to be).  I got tired of dogs who died too young (first backyard bred dog lived 16-9).  I was also a bit tired of weather whimps, I wanted a dog who would go out in the snow and cold with a bit less complaining.  I wanted a medium sized, easy coat care, speed of light, whip smart, canine dynamo.  Started researching breeds, considered a giant schnaunzer (what was I thinking?)  My "soon to be friend" kennel owner had belgians.  Hanging around; there reading the standard..... Belgians were everything I liked about dobermans and none of the problems or traits I was less enamored with.  So, I got belgians.... then I got the dynamo  (oh yea, Nora is a belgian MALINOIS) believe me the caps are needed []

Well, I started out by taking just about every breed selector quiz that there is. I found the one at [linkhttp://www.k9country.com/perl/dogBreed.pl]http://www.k9country.com/perl/dogBreed.pl[/link] to be the best. Once I had an idea of what breeds were right for me, I researched the bejeezees out of them. Every breed quiz that I took always came back with the same two breeds: the Golden Retriever and the Flat Coated Retriever. I started to look on Petfinder.com looking for breed rescues. I found that there was a Golden Retriever rescue less then an hour from my house. So that decided it for me.

I married into lhasas and spend 12 years or so showing them.  Then I got a papillon from a friend who showed them when the pap's bite went bad (one tooth was a bit crooked) with the stipulation that I do some obedience with her.  I found someone who could help me with obedience and he owned border collies and goldens. 
While I trained my pap and a lhasa, he kept trying to talk me into a border.  Eventually I took one (after years!), and now have 3 border collies (9 year old girl, her 5 year old son, and 11 week old granddaughter), my second papillon, and a polish lowland sheepdog (PON).  I got the PON after wandering around a few shows and becoming totally smitten with them.  They are a really funny breed...and probably not for everyone.  I find her to be a cross between my borders and lhasas.  Although not terribly outgoing with strangers, she's wonderful with family and friends and plays the best with my 5 year old daughter.  I just lost my last lhasa at Christmas.
 
It's an interesting assortment, to be sure...but we seldom are bored!
 
Laura

Well, I've had a few dogs, Irish setter, German Shepherd, mutts and a Bernese mountain dog. I liked them all, but not enough to get another of the same breed. As I got older, I developed really bad allergies, so that narrowed my search considerably. My neighbor had a couple of Shih Tzu's, quiet spunky friendly to everyone including other dogs, that was a must in my book. I researched breeders and finally got on the list for one, after a wait, I brought home Molly, less than 2 years later we got Trixie. I love Shih Tzu's and will hopefully always have one in the house.
The only draw back is the coat, I prefer them in a puppy cut and have to do that every few weeks.

We have two mixed breeds and a Malinois. I got the Malinois because rather than being the GSD we initially thought he was, one of our mixes is definately part Mal. He's a super dog but he has dysplasia. Since I wanted an adult rescue, I felt I had a pretty good chance of getting a dog with good joints by getting a Malinois. They have completely different personalities and energy levels, but it worked out fine. Both are great dogs, but very, very different.
 
I also like to go for solo hikes in some pretty remote areas. I wanted a dog that could be easily trained to have good recall when off leash and to be trained to leave snakes alone. I also wanted a dog that was large enough to at least look like they'd protect me while hiking and sounded fierce enough for any would be theives to think twice before choosing my home.
 
I truly love to watch the Malinois run. So easy and graceful. He's about seven now and has amazing endurance. He's also the most willing to please dog I've ever had the pleasure to be around. Treats, praise or play, he's always motivated and once he knows something, he doesn't try to cheat.

The Beagles were a decision made because of the lifestyle I have now...kids, etc. My husband also likes them a lot and thus he allows me more leeway with numbers, etc. had I picked a breed he didn't like so much the resistance would've been more.
 
My first breed is Akitas, which if my life were different I'd still have. They match my personality better and are IMO much more asthetically pleasing than my Beagles..they are beautiful...whereas my hounds are 'cute'...[] But I have a lot of time invested with the hounds and they've grown on me...I find myself growing more like them in character all the time, which is good IMO.

I chose Tootsie because I adore the herding breeds. We already have a heeler mix and he is a dream, so I wanted another, but this time I wanted smaller and who can resist a corgi baby? Tootsie is everything I wanted and more.

Total random chance. For those who don't know, I have two dogs, a mixed breed and a purebred (both adopted from shelters). It was my mixed breed that led me to my purebred though. We adopted Conrad thinking he was a GSD mix (our first dog ever was a GSD x Akita) and that's what we wanted. I know a lot of i-Doggers still think that he's a GSD mix but honesetly if you ever met him in person, he's no more GSD than fly over the moon. Anyway, he's a bloodhound mix, which we realized after we'd owned him for a few weeks (the shelter had him as GSD x Shar Pei--I think he's more Bloodhound x Lab). The more I lived with him and the more I researched about bloodhounds, the more I decided our next dog would be a purebred rescue hound and I was working on my husband to adopt from the local bloodhound rescue.

Right around that time, I was at the shelter I volunteer at and they were temperment testing a new arrival: a purebred black and tan coonhound. I knew about hounds in general and bloodhounds specifically but I had to run home and research coonhounds because this fella was just gorgeous and he looked so sad. Anyway, long story short, Marlowe passed his shelter temperment test with flying colors and then he passed my personal temperment tests (met Conrad and the cats) and was home with us the next week. I love Conrad to pieces, but Marlowe is something special. Our first dog, the akita mix was like that with my husband. Marlowe and I share something that I can't really explain very well but it's something very out of the ordinary.

I suspect I'll always be a black and tan coonhound girl from now on. There are so many in rescue and in need, it's all I can do to keep from adopting more now. But, no more room at the inn! But I found the breed by complete serendipity. I never in a million years thought I'd be in to hounds once upon a time when I first started owning dogs. But I find I just really respect their independence. I don't really like the more handler-oriented sporting breeds because they can be so needy. I like a dog who doesn't need me, but who chooses freely to be with me because we have a bond. It's a great feeling to be chosen by a hound. When we're at the dog park and my hounds continually come over and check in with me and say hi, I just about burst with love and pride. With a hound, you get their love the old fashioned way: you earn it!

I could almost copy and paste Jewlieee's post. With a few editations(I just made up that word! yay me!). First of all, Crusher is only 2 and Onyx is even younger. Onyx has a pretty good recall. I've fallen into the husky/lays chip scenario. You cant have just one. I'll continue with the breed I'd imagine. However the rest will be rescues or from reputable breeders.

One word:  Research.
 
I researched this breed after seeing them on the WKC show in 2003.  I wrote a million emails and got maybe a dozen replies.  Out of those dozen replies I picked a handful of the breeders that I felt comfortable with.  Out of that handful I picked the one that was most protective of her dogs/puppies and seemed like she'd be on my back for the life of the dog. 
 
I like the independence of this breed, their free spirit.  How they do creative things to make you laugh.  How they do creative things to make themselves laugh.  I like that at times they are unpredictable, highly prey driven and somewhat aloof.  In the same respect I like that they are dependent upon me for certain things as well. 
 
If I had a yard then like Gina, I'd have an Akita.  Lucky me though-there's no other dog that perfectly fits me like a pharaoh.  Independent, resourceful, clever, inventive and on and on.  The downside (and yes there is a huge downside) is that they really love to hear themselves, in fact so much so that the majority of them are debarked.  (Ever heard a dog bark for 12 hours straight?)  The other downside: they reserve the right to make friends at their own discression-they will ignore people they don't like.

Destiny
 
Oreo is the best thing that i ever got (besides my horse that is). i dont know how i ever lived with out either of them.

GSD-loyal, smart, beautiful, protective, can do about anything.
 
Rhodesian ridgeback-they are like no other dog i've ever met. Lazy in the house, playful outside, extremely affectionate, short coat!!! P-e-r-s-o-n-a-l-i-t-y!

I didn't choose the Cairn Terrier.  My aunt was getting rid of him because he was naughty and she had several other dogs.  So I took him and trained him, and he's a real good dog for 95% of the time, or even more.  I fell in love with the breed and it's my favorite now!

i went to the shelter looking for a mutt.  i found varitek.  because of all of CO's BSL, and because he gave me "shmoopy eyes", i took him home basically to save his life.  i knew what i was getting into because i'd been around other amstaffs and pits, but had never owned one.  after all the goofy shenanigans, the absolute willingness to go ANYWHERE as long as it's with me, and the suprising aptitude for training, and because i knew how poorly treated the bullies can be, i decided our second dog would be a bully if we could make it work.  and we have.  no looking back!

Siberian Husky – Independent, High Energy, Always ready to go at a drop of a hat, High Play Drive, People orientated, and their big furry clowns.
 
GSD - Loyal, Smart, Protective, Can do anything attitude, and their always wanting to please.