Black Labs are the best breed for companionship and sociability with other people and dogs. I have a British breed which is bigger than the American Lab. Ive had several dogs in the past 40+ years and can only day good things about Black labs. Btw, The black Lab is the normal trait. Yellows and chicolates are mutations and can have their issues.
The one you like at the pound.
Find a greyhound rescue near you and take one home. You won’t be sorry.
Border collie ❤️
My chocolate Lab is also a sweetie. 90 lbs, but acts like she's a little pup.
Springer spaniels usually have a good temperment, are not too large and are easy to groom.
We do a lot of work with Golden Retriever rescue.
Because this is a popular breed, the Amish (the real Amish, not the gangstas) have jumped in bigtime and drastically overbred for max cashflow producing a lot of bad characteristics. Often sold via intermediary buyers (aka “dogwashing”).
Look for small heads generally indicative of Amish breeding.
Don’t get an aggressive breed like sled dogs, pitbulls, rottweilers, etc.
And make sure it is a puppy and a young one at that.
And prepare to spend over half your waking day with your dog, training, walks, jogs, activities with other dogs.
Do NOT get a pound dog to FEEL GOOD.
Dogs take a tremendous amount of time to raise and becomes family members with. Think a human child and it is like a half child size responsibility.
This is NOT a small commitment. Time, energy, psych, your soul.
Make damn sure you have NO DOUBTS about being a dog owner.
We found a Black Mouth Cur at our local shelter 2 and a half years ago. Love that girl! What a great dog. Smart, protective, good tracker. Very obedient.
You get more hound for the pound with a dachshund!
I have two!
Do you have children in the house?
What age are they?
Do you have other pets?
What kind?
Do you live with someone?
What are they comfortable with?
You start narrowing it down rather quickly.
We took in a senior doberman who belonged to a neighbor who passed. Lily know us and the kids and the cats. She was comfortable with all of us so it was a good fit.
She does love to chase rabbits though, so while I enjoy the fact she goes after the despoiler of gardens, someone who raised show rabbits would not.
Something like a German Shepherd.......
No sarcasm, that's my opinions on dogs as well as my favorite breed.........
Black lab
The dog that responds best to you while at the shelter is usually the best choice. Then again, often the shy one in the back is the one who needs you the most.
It’s up to you. Every dog is a good dog, some just need more love than others.
Get a cat that identifies as a dog. It’ll poop in a box and you won’t have to pick it up.
The youngest you can find. That way you can still mold it into your dog instead of trying to fix someone else’s dog with an unknown history.
Just put down, Mollie, our half pit bull mix. Such a good dog. We got her when she was about four but knew her owner had kids and that he made sure the dog was good with them. He wasn’t some meth head psycho raising a psycho dog. He had divorced and the wife had the kids so he lived alone and Mollie was his living companion. He lived in a historical downtown area of a small city and he had a three foot fence that she stayed in.
We got lucky.
I also had a Great Pyrenees LGD that was four and I had to put him down within a year because he was aggressive towards humans including me. Being aggressive towards humans is not even supposed to be their nature but he had been abused. I could tell because one time I walked by with a 2 inch x 5 foot tree limb in my hand and he went and hid behind something. That told me someone beat him with a stick or similar item.
He got replaced by a couple of Great Pyrenees/Anatolian mix puppies that were weeks old so I’m able to raise them as my own.
I also wouldn’t mind getting another pit mix for up by the house. The LGD puppies are for the goats’ protection. Thought I had a nice full Pit puppy but it didn’t pan out. Didn’t have that humongous head or intense stare.
I prefer mixed breeds because the health issues associated with purebreds are lessened as are the behavioral issues. Mixed Pit is less apt to be a killer but still has that scary teeth baring snarl which people, umm, appreciate.
look for around 30 lbs worth of dog; over 40 lbs theres a higher chance of hip dysplasia. Also, smaller dogs live longer.
One from a shelter
Best of luck on finding that special new family member.
We adopted a rescue, last year.
A middle aged, 11 pound poodle mix.
So smart, highly trained, never barks..unless door bell rings or my oven timer is going off, and, I’m in the laundry room 😂
No shedding, is a fringe benefit.