----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
If I were to buy a puregred dog, I would probably opt for a golden retriever or a yellow lab. They seem to be the easiest to train and the most docile. But I'm not expert. Let's see what Wheatfiled has to say.
Look at your lifestyle, and try to match the dog to it. If you are a couch potato, a high energy dog will ruin your life, OTOH, if you like to take part in all sorts of physical activities that involve dogs, then a high energy dog might just be the ticket.
If you want a companion that is also going to be a useful protector, don't get a really small dog. A Shit-Zu may have a lot of heart, but is hardly going to be a man stopper.
If you want a little cuddly lap dog, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel would be a better choice than a Jack Russell Terrier.
If you want a docile (by this I mean a quiet dog that won't wreck your house) dog, a gun dog is probably a bad choice. Labs and Goldens have to be able to go hard all day, and consequently, they tend to have lots of energy to burn, and a relatively short attention span.
For easy to train and docile, in the size range of a Golden or a Lab, I would go for a smallish Rottie bitch instead of a gun dog. A good Rottie is very gentle, very trainable, and an excellent family companion dog, and they aren't a dog to go looking for trouble. They can be a very headstrong animal, and they are very smart, so they will keep you on your toes.
At our show this weekend, a Rottie took High in Trial with a score of 198 ½ out of 200 in an Open trial, and she would have gotten a perfect 200 except for a handler error that didn't allow the dog to finish after the broad jump.
William Robb
