be honest - pros and cons of your dog's breed?

[tinymeteor]

Just for curiosity's sake, really. My theory is that picking a breed is all about working out which bad habits you can live with.

Our is a beagle. Pros: gorgeous to look at, no grooming required, amazing with kids, no issues with other dogs, very cuddly. Surprisingly, no real problems with recall and he doesn't bark, contrary to breed reputation.

Cons: steals stuff, all the bloody time. Obedience is temporary and only for food rewards. Will immediately break the rules once your back is turned.

What about yours?

Female Rhodesian Ridgeback
pros: she's a snuggle monster, treats my dd like she's her puppy, acts as a fluffy baby gate between the kitchen and living room, brilliant to run with, she loves the cat and she's boootiful
cons: she's fucking huge. and she licks to lick toes

Male Japanese Akita
pros: he also loves to snuggle up with me, dh, and my big beautiful girl. He and my riidgeback are the best of friends, he tidies up after himself (puts toys back in the box when he's done )
cons: he's massive too. His hair gets everywhere. He is not so fond of the cat...he sits on her head quite a lot

Their tails can clear coffee tables

I went to a dinner party recently where the hosts had a lovely, big, friendly Weimaraner. We were all the sitting room drinking wine from beautiful crystal glasses and there was a long low coffee table in the middle of the room so you can guess what happened. An explosion of glass and wine everywhere!

Westie

Pros
Sooo Cute!
Great with my DS(4)
Very cuddly
Cheeky and curious
Clever and easy to train (when he's in the mood!!)
Very little shedding

Cons
Barks at fresh air
Digs holes
Stubborn, really stubborn!
Needs regular grooming - not really a con because I love combing his hair and trying to get him white again!!

He's only 6 months so maybe the list will grow!!

Northern inuit

Pros: shes beautiful, intelligent, easy to train, desperate to please, loves cuddles, very gentle, great with everyone including small children, very submissive, will do anything asked of her. Looks like other snow dogs but more trainable.

Cons: everyone thinks she is a husky!! Shes light on her feet so often sneaks up on me making me jump! Sheds hair like crazy!! Changes colour depending on the season so i cant buy a carpet to hide all the fur!! High prey drive but not as bad as some similar breeds. If shes bored or unsettled she will winge at me xx

German Shepherd

Pros: easily trainable, intelligent, guts of steel( unusual for the breed I know !), good with the cats, the most beautiful eyes, has undying love for me, affectionate but not all the time, playful, good with people but not that interested in them.

Cons:
Nervous disposition, fear reactive (although this is much better since behaviour training), eats anything he can, steals the cat food, sheds all year round, barks ridiculously loudly if anyone knocks on the door or the post comes in, Whiney if he doesn't get his own way. Takes up too much space on the bed!

The pp with a picture of the Toller has made me want another dog. What a gorgeous dog.

Springer (although only 5 months)

Pros:
She's utterly beautiful
Doesn't bark unless something scares/surprises her
Loves cuddles
Lovely temperament - great with my 3 DSs
Very clever and picks up training easily
Fairly good recall (haven't lost her yet )
Confident with other dogs and loves saying hello
Everything is SO exciting and she is so happy about it

Cons:
She's totally bonkers
Knows full well what she shouldn't be doing and does it anyway, hoping she won't get caught eg. jumping on to the dining table
Bit of a pest when I am cooking - desperate to get on to the work surfaces and snaffle something
pulls on the lead
totally crazy mad in the mornings
jumps up at people

Absolutely adore her though :)

Thanks waffer - my phone used to be full of pictures of the dc - now they're grumpy teens it's wall to wall pictures of the dog

Staffy pros: loyal to me and to friends and family, very loving with all
Funny
Velvety coat
Intelligent
Good with most dogs
Inquisitive

Cons
Gobby
Aggressive
Scavenger (was found on streets)
Jumps up
Likes sleeping in my bed

Miniature yorkie
Pros
Sweet natured
Pick upable and easily washable
Happy to see me and my loved ones
Generally well behaved and obedient
Cute

Cons:
Smells ( v close to ground and wee)
Sneaks cat food, stealthy
Follows me everywhere
Needs fur cutting

Both dogs love each other and have the loveliest relationship. However the yorkie gets all the positive and the staffy all the negative attention. Which annoys me. A lot

Springer -

Pros- beautiful, kind, BRILLIANT with my 4 yr old DD, loves exercise, well behaved in the house, completely trustworthy to leave and adores me.

Cons - All the bloody detritus that gets stuck in his bloody ears, the fact that he could spend 10 mins in the Sahara desert and STILL come out covered in mud. The endless, endless hair in my house. The tennis ball obsession.

Terrier -
Pros - so incredibly well behaved, clean and you barely know she's there. Very easy to train.

Cons -
Would not trust her with my child! Has never done anything but does not posses much patience. Steals the (massive) dog bed so springer has to sleep on the quarry tile floor. Steals his food, silently rules the roost at every turn.

Love them!!

Springer -

Pros- beautiful, kind, BRILLIANT with my 4 yr old DD, loves exercise, well behaved in the house, completely trustworthy to leave and adores me.

Cons - All the bloody detritus that gets stuck in his bloody ears, the fact that he could spend 10 mins in the Sahara desert and STILL come out covered in mud. The endless, endless hair in my house. The tennis ball obsession.

Terrier -
Pros - so incredibly well behaved, clean and you barely know she's there. Very easy to train.

Cons -
Would not trust her with my child! Has never done anything but does not posses much patience. Steals the (massive) dog bed so springer has to sleep on the quarry tile floor. Steals his food, silently rules the roost at every turn.

Love them!!

Springer -

Pros- beautiful, kind, BRILLIANT with my 4 yr old DD, loves exercise, well behaved in the house, completely trustworthy to leave and adores me.

Cons - All the bloody detritus that gets stuck in his bloody ears, the fact that he could spend 10 mins in the Sahara desert and STILL come out covered in mud. The endless, endless hair in my house. The tennis ball obsession.

Terrier -
Pros - so incredibly well behaved, clean and you barely know she's there. Very easy to train.

Cons -
Would not trust her with my child! Has never done anything but does not posses much patience. Steals the (massive) dog bed so springer has to sleep on the quarry tile floor. Steals his food, silently rules the roost at every turn.

Love them!!

Springer -

Pros- beautiful, kind, BRILLIANT with my 4 yr old DD, loves exercise, well behaved in the house, completely trustworthy to leave and adores me.

Cons - All the bloody detritus that gets stuck in his bloody ears, the fact that he could spend 10 mins in the Sahara desert and STILL come out covered in mud. The endless, endless hair in my house. The tennis ball obsession.

Terrier -
Pros - so incredibly well behaved, clean and you barely know she's there. Very easy to train.

Cons -
Would not trust her with my child! Has never done anything but does not posses much patience. Steals the (massive) dog bed so springer has to sleep on the quarry tile floor. Steals his food, silently rules the roost at every turn.

Love them!!

Springer -

Pros- beautiful, kind, BRILLIANT with my 4 yr old DD, loves exercise, well behaved in the house, completely trustworthy to leave and adores me.

Cons - All the bloody detritus that gets stuck in his bloody ears, the fact that he could spend 10 mins in the Sahara desert and STILL come out covered in mud. The endless, endless hair in my house. The tennis ball obsession.

Terrier -
Pros - so incredibly well behaved, clean and you barely know she's there. Very easy to train.

Cons -
Would not trust her with my child! Has never done anything but does not posses much patience. Steals the (massive) dog bed so springer has to sleep on the quarry tile floor. Steals his food, silently rules the roost at every turn.

Love them!!

Springer -

Pros- beautiful, kind, BRILLIANT with my 4 yr old DD, loves exercise, well behaved in the house, completely trustworthy to leave and adores me.

Cons - All the bloody detritus that gets stuck in his bloody ears, the fact that he could spend 10 mins in the Sahara desert and STILL come out covered in mud. The endless, endless hair in my house. The tennis ball obsession.

Terrier -
Pros - so incredibly well behaved, clean and you barely know she's there. Very easy to train.

Cons -
Would not trust her with my child! Has never done anything but does not posses much patience. Steals the (massive) dog bed so springer has to sleep on the quarry tile floor. Steals his food, silently rules the roost at every turn.

Love them!!

Springer -

Pros- beautiful, kind, BRILLIANT with my 4 yr old DD, loves exercise, well behaved in the house, completely trustworthy to leave and adores me.

Cons - All the bloody detritus that gets stuck in his bloody ears, the fact that he could spend 10 mins in the Sahara desert and STILL come out covered in mud. The endless, endless hair in my house. The tennis ball obsession.

Terrier -
Pros - so incredibly well behaved, clean and you barely know she's there. Very easy to train.

Cons -
Would not trust her with my child! Has never done anything but does not posses much patience. Steals the (massive) dog bed so springer has to sleep on the quarry tile floor. Steals his food, silently rules the roost at every turn.

Love them!!

Springer -

Pros- beautiful, kind, BRILLIANT with my 4 yr old DD, loves exercise, well behaved in the house, completely trustworthy to leave and adores me.

Cons - All the bloody detritus that gets stuck in his bloody ears, the fact that he could spend 10 mins in the Sahara desert and STILL come out covered in mud. The endless, endless hair in my house. The tennis ball obsession.

Terrier -
Pros - so incredibly well behaved, clean and you barely know she's there. Very easy to train.

Cons -
Would not trust her with my child! Has never done anything but does not posses much patience. Steals the (massive) dog bed so springer has to sleep on the quarry tile floor. Steals his food, silently rules the roost at every turn.

Love them!!

Springer -

Pros- beautiful, kind, BRILLIANT with my 4 yr old DD, loves exercise, well behaved in the house, completely trustworthy to leave and adores me.

Cons - All the bloody detritus that gets stuck in his bloody ears, the fact that he could spend 10 mins in the Sahara desert and STILL come out covered in mud. The endless, endless hair in my house. The tennis ball obsession.

Terrier -
Pros - so incredibly well behaved, clean and you barely know she's there. Very easy to train.

Cons -
Would not trust her with my child! Has never done anything but does not posses much patience. Steals the (massive) dog bed so springer has to sleep on the quarry tile floor. Steals his food, silently rules the roost at every turn.

Love them!!

Border Terrier

Pros: wonderful temperament, great with children and other dogs, loves cuddles and would sit on my lap all day if I let him, loves a long walk but just as happy with a short one if the weather is bad, intelligent and relatively easy to train. He makes me laugh every day

Cons: can go deaf if we are out walking and he sees something more interesting. Typical terrier.

Chihuahua

Pros
Very loving, towards the whole family including extended family and friends. The kids friends turn up early so they have time for the inevitable fussing
Doesn't need much walking but happy to go for walks
Smooth coat moults a little but doesn't need any grooming
Loves to be a lapdog and never gets enough cuddles
Easy to train -except toilet training which took a bit more effort especially when it's raining
Not a chewer

Cons
Can be a bit nervous around strangers and will quiver if they fuss him, but is never aggressive
Does not like the rain and is not a fan of wet walkies
Likes to play with people's shoelaces
It's hard to walk down the street as everyone wants to stop and have a chat about how small and cute he is!

Boxer Dog
Pros:
Stunning looking
So very very funny
Affectionate
Fantastic temperament

Cons:
Stinky farts
Steals everything
Tail like a whip
Needs a fuck-of-a-lot of exercise

Luffs him though

Lurchers
Pros:
Low shedding
Very flexible on the exercise front - will run for miles, or happy with 10 mins off lead (or nothing at all)
Cuddly
Asleep most of the day
Not much need for mental stimulation
Lots of excuses for buying nice collars and coats

Cons:
Terrible food theives
In the case of ddog1 (greyhound x saluki) as tolerant of rain as an open packet of crisps
ddog2 attracts a huge amount of attention

Collie

Pros
Clever
Good company

Cons clever :o

It takes up alot of headspace having a collie

Pug

Pros:
Friendly
Love cuddles
Good for those who hate exercise
Food motivated
Can dress them up
Sleep all day
Loves being out and about

Cons:
The hair. The hair is everywhere. All the time
Lazy
Could clear a room with their farts
Food obsessed
Have rolls, folds and glands to clean

Shih Tzu x Poodle

Pros:
Incredibly cuddly and loyal
Super Smart and easy to train
Sociable with other dogs (loves being chased round and round in circles!)
Sociable with people (bit scared of strangers though)
So gentle with children
Doesn't need much exercise
No shedding and beautiful soft wavy hair
Happy all the time
Crazy sunny personality
Loves baths and showers
Loves autumn, leaves are her favourite thing in the whole wide world

Cons:
Brushing, lots of brushing and she still gets mats
Bossy (big/small dog syndrome, still not sure which is which)
Stubborn (that's the shih tzu part)
Can be a bit growly, but only ever follows through with a lick so not aggression more like vocal
Barks at every one that walks past the house
Hates cats, chases mine incessently
Rubbish at fetch
Bit of a wuss, gives it all that but can't follow through i.e barking at someone then hiding behind me with her tail between her legs if they talk to her
Fussy with food