Why did you pick that breed?

Lillybob

Lillybob

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I one day hope to own a dog again, but being a student right now is not financially or time permitting as I'd love to get a puppy.
But just for the fun of it, I tried a few "what breed would suit you?" tests, where it asked me some questions and gave me a breed! I tried a few and they ranged from Chihuahua to Rottweiler!
But as I said, it was just out of curiosity, but it got me wondering what made people chose the breed of dog they have?

So tell me about yours! Why did you choose that breed over every other? Was there a reason at all? :)
 
I have an Irish setter. I had always wanted one-when I was very wee I had a pencil drawing of one by my grandfather and of course, Pat the dog was an Irish setter in the Peter and Jane books (yep, that old). I grew up with GSDs and later worked with huskies, owned some rescue collies and collie crosses. We wanted a pup for several reasons so decided to go for a setter. He's awesome but sadly getting on a bit now. OH really wants another one but I am not sure I have the time or energy for a teenage setter anytime soon but we'll see. He has the loveliest nature and if it wasn't for the two young horses, two jobs and other assorted animals I wouldn't hesitate to have another.
 
I have 2 Staffordshire bull terriers.
I was brought up around them, always had them in my life and they have always been fantastic family dogs,
My 2 boys have grown up around the 2 latest girls and they have never put a foot wrong (besides eating their toys and the occasional fence haha)
 
I have a Beagle. From the first time I ever followed my local Beagle pack when I was a child, I wanted a Beagle. My OH had much more freedom than I did to get a dog and got one before I moved up to live with him; by the time I arrived he had two. He now has three and I have one of my own, so our very own pack!

I simply love their natures. They're great little guard dogs for up at our stables because they're very loyal to their owners, they're pretty vocal and they're great for catching small rodents! They're full of energy and love playing, we go on epic walks and they're never tired. They're great with OH's nieces and nephews too. My beautiful girl is still a big softie even at 10 months, she thinks she's still small enough to leap up into my lap and loves her belly being scratched. The only downside is she is so territorial that whenever she sees an 'outside' dog or anybody she doesn't frequently come into contact with, she howls in that way that hounds do. She seems to think I need protecting, which may be the case but she's only capable of protecting my ankles and that's about it!

I'll never be without a Beagle again, that's a certainty.
 
Zero00000 said:
I have 2 Staffordshire bull terriers.
I was brought up around them, always had them in my life and they have always been fantastic family dogs
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This :)

I grew up with them so naturally wanted them forever! I just love everything about them. They're clumsy and goofy and such good friends.
 
I've got 2 boxer X. The first one was from a friend who woke up to two puppies one morning from her boxer bitch. Dad was a Spaniel. I love boxers and would have a pure bred one in a flash, however he's an absolutely brilliant dog and I wouldn't swap him for the world. For me all his good points are the boxer in him.
When we decided to get another dog we were 100% that we would get a rescue, none of the boxer rescues would rehome to us - one had a litter of pups but they were all boys and they wouldn't give us one - and nothing suitable came up from the rescues that would. We started looking at other breeds/crosses. Six months after starting looking we saw a 7month Staffy x pup come up, we were instantly drawn to him, then we found out he was Boxer x Staff. Took our older dog to meet him and they were BFFs within minutes, pup came home that day.
I'd still love a pure Boxer one day but have a funny feeling our next dog will be another cross, or Staffy as my OH loves them.
 
Zero00000 said:
Clumsy and Goofy is exactly the right words for them ha!
Id never be without the now, and love the staffy 'SMILE'
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My OH, who used to be scared of dogs, has been totally converted to Staffys after getting our Boxer x Staff. Dog is the happiest, cuddliest, daftest thing you could meet, I think we could end up with a house full of them.

His Staffy smile...
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I had always wanted a cocker spaniel and my first boyfriend had an absolutely lovely one. I missed him much more than re boyfriend!

When I was in a position to get my own dog there was no question for me, it had to be a cocker.

We did bits of gundog training with him but his heart just isn't in it enough for him to ever work - but by this point my OH had got really into gundog training. So we got a springer, and she's brilliant!

We are waiting for the latest addition, another springer bitch, who will be joining us in about 3 weeks!!
 
We've always had setters (Gordon, English) and Labradors for working in the family. I always preferred spaniels and have a brace of them now with another joining soon.
 
We ended up with a border collie on accident (he got dumped on my family as a 'present' despite my dad not wanting a dog).
Apart from a few socialising issues with other dogs due to being attacked at a young age, he is the best dog ever and I wouldn't hesitate to get another one. He is so intelligent, has been so easy to train and is very loyal.

I would also love a rescue staffie....love them!
 
I have poodles and a border terrier. I actually followed advice on one of those sites and think he was a fab match for our family. The poodles because I'm a groomer and I rather like to groom.
 
I have 2 malamutes both rescues but our first malamute which sparked our love for the breed we got as a puppy and bad owners that we are it was mostly coz of their looks! We both love bog dogs so were originally looking for german shepherd or rottie pup but then OH saw a pic of malamute puppies and that was that he would not entertain any other breed
 
We have two Chihuahuas, we started off with one after looking after my daughters dogs (holiday sitting), we decided it would be a good idea for him to have a companion so got another a month later. We only have a small garden, other half hates dog poo ( but cleans up after the boys all the time:) ) they suit us because they fit in with our lifestyle so well. They are adorable, and the only thing We hate, is that we love them so much, such characters, they are our Achilles heel.
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We have a Bichon Frise. We went for that breed because we had experience of them through other family members, and knew what wonderful little dogs they were.

Like BSL, though - we love Daisy so much, and me too much.
 
Beagle.

Our first boy, Max, we got when I was 11 and was desperate for a dog. I wanted a beagle for naive, child appropriate reasons (watched the movie Cats and Dogs!). Went to breeder, found Max, fell in love, took him home at 8 weeks old.
He was my best friend for 13 years, he was the most loyal dog you could ask for and I'd trust him with my life. He was always off the lead and would recall like a gent (despite the beagle stereotype).

I was looking for another last year to rehome, rather then buy as a pup again. The night before we were due to get him, Max had a huge fit and passed away at 13. Monty still came to live with us the next day, and whilst he's no replacement for Max, is just as loyal and fun to be around.

Wouldn't get any other breed (much to OH's disappointment who wants a husky...and will carry on wanting for a LONG time!).
 
Terriers - particularly jack russells are my thing. My first dog was a JRT - a proper little stocky chap with Queen Anne legs.

I have always fosters terriers of some sort over the years - having had around 15.

At the moment I have a JRT x Dachs and a Miniature Pinscher. I have to say the JRT/Dach is the easiest dog I have ever owned, he's an absolute babe. The MinPin is a different matter - one of the most difficult, stubborn, ornery little tykes I have ever met - however, he did have a very very bad start in life. He's getting better every day and turning into a nice, affectionate little dog.

My dream dog would be an English Setter - I have always wanted one. They are very hard to come by though - never come into rescue, and there are not many breeders around.
 
I have a standard poodle. I've always thought they were fabulous but always had rescues before, when the last one passed away I decided to get my poodle. He's an "interesting" character:D, clever and good company but also the most dominant, wilful dog I've ever encountered and he can almost certainly think, I'd have another but a bitch. I've also had 2 rottie x, and they were both wonderful dogs.
 
We have 2 Rottweiler bitches, litter sisters. We got them because we had a rescued Rottie bitch at the same time as a pack of Labs, JRTs and a rescued Collie and she was a lovely dog, although had to be pts aged 9. We did think long and hard about it because Rotties do seem to often succumb in middle-age, rather than making it to old age.
These two are fabulous, clever dogs who both love to watch the TV.
 
It was springers or keeshonds, OH's and my childhood dogs, respectively. Being into horses made me swing to springers, less grooming when they roll in the run off of the muck heap! They suit me, intelligent, quick to learn, energetic, love to swim. The massive bonus is that they're hugely affectionate and the perfect size. The black and whites are my second pair of littermates, we've already said we'll have two more littermates when the time comes.

I'm definitely a gun dog fan, could be swung to a standard poodle, an English setter, munsterlander or GSP.

Like Amymay, I love them too much, they're my babies and shoving them off my knee to go to work is hard!
 
I used to keep my horse on a yard which also had kennels on site. We had a retriever when I was small but my younger brother developed a fear of big dogs so we were on the lookout for something smaller.

One day a pair of fat little cavalier king Charles spaniels were in for boarding and my older sister took them for a walk and fell in love.

So along came Harvey. A Blenheim cav from nice parentage with a slim build. He moved out with my sister after about a year so we started looking for another.

Nearly three years later and I spied a local advert for cavalier pups... Went to see them the next day and fell head over heels in love with a little ruby girl who I named Poppy.

She's now 14 months and is the cutest, friendliest little dog ever and is happy with a few small walks a day or a big hike up a mountain! Harvey is 4 now but has recently been diagnosed with syringomyelia and its not looking good for him :(

As a breed they are awesome dogs and love life and cuddles but the percentage of the breed that have SM is about 50% so anyone considering a cavvie should ensure both parents are scanned and confirmed clear as it is not a nice condition at all.
 
I'm on my third standard poodle,this time a male,after fifty years of having only females. they are like a second skin,so intelligent they bond so deeply with you .I love the grooming involved too,it's like sculpting,it's like having a living piece of artwork.
my second dog is a black mini schnauzer..I wish I'd discovered this breed years ago,I'm so impressed with how biddable,fun,intelligent this little breed is.Also she is a great little guard dog,but not a constant barker . the added bonus is the non shed ,as we are all prone to allergies.
 
Starting married life with a cat as we worked full time, as soon as I went part time we bought a whippet. I had worked as a holiday student helping a family with horses,dogs, children etc and they had a whippet that was such a character, a real country dog but could snuggle up in bed with you if given the chance.
Dalstar Snow Queen was white with dark brown eyes, just beautiful. We called her Sula. In time she had pups and we kept a blue called Whisper ( quite funny calling 'Whisper'at the top of your voice!)
After Sula we wanted a similar type but bigger, so after researching greyhounds and salukies we discovered lurchers. This was in the days when alot of people hadn't heard of them and their weren't so many sighthound crosses called lurchers. We went to Lambourn and bought a smooth pale brindle bitch just like a slightly smaller greyhound with more bone. She was wonderful and we bred a litter and kept a broken coated bitch pup.
It was this one called Rascal that prompted my change of breed. Out riding with me one day she chased a Muntjac and when she returned the whole of the top of her back looked like raw meat, it was shocking!
The vet did a brilliant job of putting her back together again and the general concensus was that it wasn't barbed wire but that she had probably caught the animal by a back leg and it had attacked her with their very long teeth.
Anyway it made me want a breed without a chase instinct. Thinking I would like a Golden Retriever, I went to Crufts to look at them and I found Flatcoats... I had never seen so many wagging tails in my life! I have had a lifelong love of the breed ever since and own two at the moment, along with a rescue of indeterminate breeding and a small lurcher ( couldn't quite give them up).
I have never been a terrier person but we did try a Manchester once, such a smart looking little dog but we didn't replace her.
When i am no longer up to having big dogs, I shall probably have a whippet again.
 
I have just got my second German shorthaired pointer.

We chose them initially because we wanted a large dog, although not a giant (they are a bit taller than a Labrador). We also wanted something that would be up for anything when we wanted but happy to chill out too. High on the list was also short hair! I can towel rub my boy when we get in the car and he will be dry and mud free by the time we get home. Was always going to be a gundog too because of their trainability.

My friend had one and I just loved her temperament and the fact they are beautiful.
 
Bellasophia, funny enough I'd probably get a mini schnauzer as another dog to show - partially because they're same group so at least can be shown on same day at Ch shows. But I love their characters - and I rather enjoy grooming them too!
 
I have a Scottie and had a westie. Totally different dogs the Scottie being the boss but ever so loyal to one person. The westie being friendly and a happy go lucky dog. Plus they don't shed a lot of hair. If I get another it will be a Scottie.
 
We have two jrt crosses... Both are three quarters jrt and a quarter border terrier, half brothers, they have the same mum. One is 5 years old and one is 13 weeks.

We chose a terrierist because they are small (we only had a small house and car when we got him!), full of character and don't need masses of walking. We were always going to get him a friend at some point and as our dog can be funny with other dogs it was always going to be from the same breeder as he gets on with her dogs.

They meet every terrier stereotype. They think they are people. I find them hilarious :D
 
I wanted something medium sized, active and trainable and kept pointing out springer spaniels, border collies etc. to my OH, who was pretty reluctant about dog ownership. He saw a picture of a Siberian and said something along the lines of "they look cool, you can have one of those."

What a learning curve that was. :p A collie would be the very last thing on my list these days funnily enough so I suppose it worked out for the best.
 
Actually we should have English Bull Terriers as that was what my mother had growing up. However, my brother bought her a puppy when we left home which was a Stafford ... (Me he was nearly right!). Back in the day, these weren't vilified dogs and ours became village favourites on account of being massive clowns. My mother actually bred from her bitch and..shock horror, we had a queue of village people wanting pups. I still have staffords only now mine are all via rescue and so sadly..I am always spoilt for choice. Oldest 2 are correct Staffords but strictly speaking 3 and 4 would be deemed to Stafford x as they are the products of backstreet breeding. I would post photos but can't see how to link the photos in my album onto this post!
 
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