Quick facts:
1. Semi-rural/suburban family of four with a nice big yard. Kids are 10 and 14.
2. Our last two dogs lived 16 and 20 years, respectively. They were great dogs, but as cold as this sounds... I'm not looking for another 20 year dog. I want to be retired and traveling before then! Looking for a good ~12 year dog!
3. Looking for a nice mid-size dog that's not destructive. This can't be a dog that wants to claw through the front door every time a squirrel wanders by, or one with severe separation anxiety issues when we go out for an evening.
4. House full of allergy sufferers, who are also dog lovers. Labs are my favorite (I grew up with labs), but obviously not an option, due to massive shedding and dander. Likewise with shepherds, and oddly enough... poodles! Yeah, I know, poodles are supposed to by hypoallergenic, but there's an oil in their skin that makes my forearms break out in rash. Weird. We seem to all do well with short-haired dogs, which don't have an undercoat, as the undercoat (shepherds, labs, retrievers, huskies) is what usually carries all of the dander.
Would like to just go to ASPCA or other shelter and pick something, and may still try that, but fitting all these criteria is more challenging with that route. If buying a breed, looking mostly at short-haired mid-sized dogs. Vizsla in particular caught our eye, as hitting most or all of the marks, despite having been originally bread as a hunting dog.
en.wikipedia.org
