What was the best dog you've had?

[tomplum]

Sure, this is like asking what is your favorite sandwich... I'm just hoping someone can spark something in our search for a new family dog. We are more small to medium size dog folks, but that doesn't matter here. Breed if you know it. What made him or her special to you.

 

[PILOON]

I've had my fair share of dogs during my life.
My worst 'mutts' that I've encountered were little Chiwawa's that always bit my ankles.
The larger , like 'Police dogs' were easiest to tame and most obedient and easily trained.
Down side they ate more.
Smartest I've had was an Airedale.
(also their urine did not kill the grass)
Best were always a found 'mutt' that someone abused. Treat it lovingly and the rewards will be great.

Pound dogs are often a crap shoot!
Who knows how they were treated.

 

[grnspot110]

The one that has me now:

Dottie, our 4th Dal!

 

[/pine]

It was a foot long chili dog at the 1964 worlds fair...!

 

[Jstpssng]

I'm a lab fan, so automatically disqualified because of the size restriction. I like the temperament, they tend to be great with kids and generally are easy to train and want to please you.

I was 5 yo in 1964 and missed the World Fair... but that chili dog sounds pretty appealing right now. .

(Dang, but I miss the old smiley gifs. )

 

[orezok]

The one I have now. ALWAYS the one I have now till the next one.

 

[RustyA]

Best outdoor farm dog we ever had was a Collie mix. Great with kids, super loyal, kind of hairy for indoor dog. Still miss her!

 

[Jstpssng]

The one I have now. ALWAYS the one I have now till the next one.

Yet it doesn't matter how many dogs you have. There are always one or two who were your dog, and set the bar for every pet before and after.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Labs for me too. Best breed I've ever had. They will turn themselves inside out trying to please you. Great family dogs, great temperament. They sure do shed though.

We have 4 at the moment. All rescues. Wouldn't trade them for anything. Youngest is 2, oldest is 15.

 

[Hay Dude]

Alright....show of hands...
Who cried when they shot ’Ol Yeller?

 

[MossRoad]

We had a border collie mix that was the most lovable dog I have ever met. She was also dumber than a box of rocks(probably her mixed part, as every other border collie we've met is smart), which made her even more lovable. Got her from the pound as a puppy. Great with kids, except she'd try and herd us if we ran in the yard and we'd have to call mom to get her if we wanted to play.

We had a pure bred Cairn terrier (like Toto). He was super smart, but thought he was way bigger than he was. Absolutely fearless of other dogs, despite his stature. Typical terrier. Easy to train, small size, very interested in human life. He was too big to breed (very specific sizes in that breed specs), so the breeder gave him to us for free.

I had a collie mix that we found as a puppy. Great mellow dog. Learned a lot of tricks. Got along well with humans. My best buddy for 14 years.

We had a collie mix, again a dog pound dog. The previous owners gave him up because he was supposedly untrainable. Without a doubt, the smartest dog I've ever met. Sit, stay, shake hands, shake other paw, lie down, roll over, roll over the other way, play dead, dead dogs close their eyes, COUNT! 1 finger 1 bark, 2 fingers 2 barks, 3 fingers 3 barks, 4 fingers continuous bark until told to stop. Climb a ladder. Jump through a hoop. Go to the end of the driveway and get the newspaper from the carrier. Take the paper to anybody that you'd name. Point your finger at someone, snap your fingers and yell WARN EM! and he'd bare his teeth at that person and growl. Saved my mom from a car jacking attempt. Bit the heck out of the guy.

All of them were great dogs. Only one was a pure bred (the Cairn). All got along with people, other dogs, and our cats.

I'd say unless you have a very specific reason to have a pure bred dog, there are so many mutts/mixed breed dogs in shelters in need of a good home, I'd go that route. Most shelter dogs are already accustomed to other dogs, multiple people, and group settings. It's a good start

Good luck in your search.

 

[MossRoad]

Alright....show of hands...
Who cried when they shot ’Ol Yeller?

I was a little kid. We were at the first drive-in movie I ever went to with my family. They shot their dog! WHAAAA!!!!

 

[tallyho8]

My hand is up. I've had many dogs over the last 70 years and found that purebreds are the easiest to train for what they were bred to do. If you want to hunt birds get a bird dog. If you want to hunt rabbits get a rabbit dog, etc. Don't get a lab and expect it to herd cattle for you.

My best all around dogs have always been mutts. They don't have the breeding to naturally take off after a rabbit when you are taking them for a walk on a trail and are generally easier to train to be a companion.

 

[MossRoad]

My daughter has a lab/australian cattle dog mix. It's a handful. Very lovable, but almost too much energy for them (us too). Needs to be kept busy. Don't get me wrong, he's a great dog. But they need to be kept active and have a job or they'll take out that energy elsewhere.

We had him in the back yard a couple months ago, when he was maybe 6-7 months old, and he went on point. WOW! what was he pointing at?

Closer inspection revealed a large house fly moving around in the grass!

It had all of his attention.

 

[jaxs]

The best upland hunting dog I ever owned was Liz,an Irish Setter that was so pretty,she looked grand even when making a mistake. Puppy mills have bred all the hunt out of setters to the extent it's near impossible to find one today.
The best farm dog I've had was Jim,a mix of Catahoula and Australian Shepherd. There are some good Catahoulas around but puppy mills have bred alot of intelligence out of Aussies.
The best waterfoul hunting pardner I've owned was Gretch,a black Lab that was also a great family pet. There are many nice Labs today but once again,puppy mills have bred far too many with hip dysplasia so without spending $3k, it can be hard to find one certified hd free. I believe an unmerciful beating with an ax handle should be had by the seller when a family's young Lab has to be put down to spare it misery of HP.
The best lap dog I've owned was LaCee,a Shi-Tzu that could read my thoughts before I had them. Puppy mills have ruined these as well as any other that buyers are willing to pay hundereds of dollars for.
I noticed you didn't specify what you want the dog for so I reccomend one made of bronze since puppy mills haven't managed to ruin them ,,,,,,yet.

 

[shooterdon]

Sheppard Collie mix. He was smarter than most people.

 

[two_bit_score]

Best dog I ever had was the one my Dad had when I was born. Half GSD and half Chow. He taught me that a dog really can be your best friend.

We have had a lot of good dogs over the years. Don’t have one now.

I would get a GSD again if I was looking to get a dog.

 

[bigtiller]

Alright....show of hands...
Who cried when they shot ’Ol Yeller?

My buddy liked the book so much he made an oral book report in sixth grade and again in eighth grade for a different teacher .

 

[duffer]

Many breeds these days have "rescue" operations. We rescued Eli, Boomer before him from Golden Retriever Rescue. Here's a pic below of Eli. Best friend I ever had. Lost him a few years ago. Now we have a Terrier/Boxer/other mix. He's the wife's dog. Puts up with me, but velcro to her.

 

[gsganzer]

Alright....show of hands...
Who cried when they shot ’Ol Yeller?

'Ol Yeller was a Black Mouth Cur and the author, Fred Gipson was from Mason, TX. Interesting breed that has qualities of many different working breeds including a deep muscular chest, long toes for running and webbed feet for swimming. They were used as homestead dogs in the south for treeing coons/squirrels, herding livestock and general homestead protection.

Here's my BMC named Mason. He's different than any other dog I've ever owned. Extremely loyal, but also big on his own self preservation. He hates the cold, will eat anything there is including horse feed, broccoli, carrots and anything else he can find. He digs in the yard to find white lawn grubs and eats them like a snack. If he finds a bunny nest, he'll eat every one of them. I always joke that he's the most trailer park trash dog I've ever owned, but it's also true.

He's also true to his breed and is a natural stock herder and coon/squirrel hunter, but will sulk for hours if you ever yell at him (another BMC trait).

This is him crashed out sleeping. He sleeps like he crash landed.