Cute fluffy little dogs

[Fashion Lad!]

My min-pin does not shut up. He is constantly barking. My gosh, it drives me up a wall. He barks in his sleep. He barks when he's eating. He barks when he's going to the bathroom. He even barks when he's working on a raw-hide. If you think I'm joking, you can have him for a week and see how much of a joke this is not. Some days I just want to put my head through a wall. Still love him to death. As much as I say I would, I could never trade him for another dog. If given the choice, he'd be quiet. I just don't have that choice.

I love dogs that are mellow like me. My dog Alfie (a whippet) is the biggest baby dog. He and I can just lounge around all day. When he's outside, then he plays. He never shows any sort of aggression.

Like I said, I work very hard on Broc's aggressiveness. My fear is he will hurt someone. But, a lot of people do shrug that off as cute. I just don't find it cute.

I do take biting a bit more seriously. When I was a kid I got bit by a dalmation named Pongo that had a history of biting people. I ended up in the hospital. Aggressiveness is something I don't tolerate and I can't stand those that do tolerate it.

[AdminAssistant]

I will allow a big dog as long as its a lab, sheppard, or mix of the two. These breeds are known for their temperment and I know that I will not have any trouble taking care of it.

My dog (lives with my parents, but he's mine gosh darn it!) is a lab/hound mix. Very sweet dog, wonderful temperment. But one thing to know about labs is that they have an insulating undercoat, and they shed like CRAZY.

[KabeRinnaul]

Yeah, that's the other reason I hate little dogs. No, it's not cute. No, it's not funny. Yes, it's dangerous. Yes, I realize he's only five pounds. It's still dangerous. Gah! On the flip side, there's the big dog that snaps at *and never touches the skin of* a child when the child is abusing the dog. OMG, he's a menace!

That's something that's always kind of amused me with my sister's Pomeranian. He's never bit, but he'll growl and snap at you sometimes. I just think it's funny when he does that to me because of how small he is (and yes I realize this is your exact point, but like I said - hasn't ever bit anyone). Most recently, we were letting him wander around out of the yard a bit while putting up Christmas things, and he found some food that had been thrown out. We didn't really want him eating it, so I went to get him away from it. Of course, I'm threatening a dog's food so he growled at me. To which my response was to scoop him up with one hand and put him back down on the other side of the fence. Not really much he could do about it but look confused, then stare at his former meal through the fence.

But I've had to deal with both big and small dogs that would bite. One smaller one was our old Lhasa Apso. She was territorial and defensive until she got to know you, and anyone entering the yard unannounced would be chased off quickly. And we knew from what she'd done to my neighbor's foot that she could definitely cause some nasty damage. Another small one was a neighbor's Chihuahua. Except this dog was pathetically small and kinda stupid. I think he grabbed my shoelace once, but was just nudged back into his yard where he resumed barking like mad at me.

Finally, a big one. And I have no idea how this thing was never put down. Another neighbor, a really redneck guy this time, had some sort of rottweiler mix. She had no training at all and a very nasty temper, plus she was territorial and their house was along the road I walked home on in high school. The stupid part was that their yard didn't have a fence and she was never on any kind of chain. I had my sleeve torn open a couple times thanks to that dog.

[Savannah]

When we move into our own house, we have an agreement, I will allow a big dog as long as its a lab, sheppard, or mix of the two. These breeds are known for their temperment and I know that I will not have any trouble taking care of it.

Missed this the first time around. Just in case you didn't know, because these breeds are so well known for good temperament, they have been over-bred and there are some very bad examples out there, so be careful. If you're getting a lab as a pet, you'll be better off with a show-line lab and not a hunting-line lab (the show-lines are bigger, bulkier, and more laid back and social). There is also a wide variety of personality across both breeds, so make sure to consider the whole individual, not just his/her breed. Both breeds are very high energy, so be prepared for that, as well. Apologies if you knew this all already!

[blas87]

My favorite dogs are labs and retrievers. Friendly, large, family dogs.

I can't see why people bypass large dogs, either. I can't stand yippy yappy accessory dogs. They are far too hyper and obnoxious and too damn small.

[BlaqueKatt]

I will allow a big dog as long as its a lab, sheppard, or mix of the two. These breeds are known for their temperment and I know that I will not have any trouble taking care of it.

actually the breed of dog with a better temperament-higher than a golden retriever or a german sheppard is actually a "pit bull" otherwise known as an American Staffordshire Terrier(when the media isn't trying to terrify the general public)

this is according to the American Temperament Test Society

German Sheppard is 83.7%
Labrador retriever is 92%
Pit Bull is 85.3%

[blas87]

Well, technically, ANY animal can be mean if you raise it to be that way. While pitbulls (for example, their jaws) are tougher dogs, I don't think they were meant to be as vicious as a lot of people have raised them to be.