What was the best dog you've had?

   / What was the best dog you've had? #41  
Get a Chesapeake Bay Retriever. We are on number 7 and love the animals. They are a large dog however they are very loyal and stay at home. They are great protectors. They are extremely smart. Check out the AKC.org website for more info on them.
They are great dogs but also very head strong. I would be too, if I'd had to work in the icy waters of Chesapeake Bay all year long. :)
A coworker just got a Chesapeake pup... his fourth of the breed. They fit well together. One of his last apparently was a terror. He came into work one day telling of how they put in the back of the Jeep to go for a ride. When they got home the dog blanket was missing. The dog ate it. :D A quick trip to the ER room and they had the blanket back.
 
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   / What was the best dog you've had? #42  
We hunted the last 5 in Montana. They truly are workers and never give up. Had a female that blew out 2 of her knees, after surgery and recovery she was back at it. They can be very head strong, you need to make sure you let them know you are the Alpha dog. They will train you if you don't pay attention. Love them to death and wouldn't have any other breed of dog. Love Love Love my Chessies.:)
 
   / What was the best dog you've had? #43  
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. :ROFLMAO:

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.
There are plenty of purebred dogs needing a home. I currently have an English Springer, standard poodle, and long haired miniature dachshund, all rescues. In the past I have rescued a chocolate lab, another springer, and a Large Muensterlander. The lab was bred as a dock dog, but the Muensterlander came with NAVHDA hunt tests. Every breed has a breed rescue organization, and reputable breeders will take return dogs and re-home them. I have never adopted a dud. Dogs are surrendered because the owner died, or moved to assisted living, or went through a divorce and lost the house, etc.
 
   / What was the best dog you've had? #44  
One of my coworkers has a Chesapeake Bay Retriever. I was going to pick him up to go ice fishing. He told me to watch out for the dog when I drove up, because it was protective. I drove up. The dog started barking at me. I opened the driver's door and asked it if it wanted to go for a ride? It jumped in and I left with his very happy dog and drove around the block.

I've done that to two of my friends with protective dogs. Quite humorous. :ROFLMAO:

But I will say, that dog is BIG and STRONG. Some dogs play with sticks. His plays with hunks of firewood. It picked up a bowling ball in its mouth. It once ate 1/4 of a roadkill deer (then barfed it up in the house). It's a great dog.
I had a chessie once. I lived in town, so fenced the back yard, then piled concrete blocks up so the dog could be in and out as he wanted. It was not a good neighborhood, and I had been burglarized twice. When he was 7 months old, the burglars saw the dog in the back yard and broke in, not realizing the dog could get in any time. When I got home from work, the back door was wide open, the front door was wide open, and a very happy dog was sitting on the porch. Inside there were pieces of burglar all over. Fine dog, and as loyal as they come. I still miss him, but I've never had another. He was a young man's dog.
 
   / What was the best dog you've had? #45  
I saw this thread the other day... & my initial answer was "absolutely none" never had a "best dog" ever.... & then reading through this, I truly appreciate all the responses given.

We have both been blessed to have dogs in our lives (even prior to meeting each other), but since, in our short 28yrs together we have been lucky enough to have had 16+ dogs (we always have multiple) & many other fosters in our lives.... Everyone of them have been part of our family... different breeds, different backgrounds, & different personalities... do we have certain ones that standout... definitely, can I pick a best.... I can not. Maybe best for a certain situation but best overall.... nope... definitely not.... they have all been major parts of our family, some have gone far beyond our expectations, but they have all touched our souls...
 
   / What was the best dog you've had? #46  
This fella right here. Lol
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   / What was the best dog you've had? #48  
Current companion is a Mini Aussie.

43 pounds of love and attention.
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   / What was the best dog you've had? #49  
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. :( )
We have had Labs, and currently have a nearly pure white 22 month old female Lab pup.
"Lady Sadie" is an absolutely delightful creature!
 
   / What was the best dog you've had? #50  
I only have rescues now as I love dogs so much I hate seeing a good dog put down. One is a mix that was going to be euthanized the next day because she had heartworms. I adopted her, treated her and she is the best watchdog I ever had and will let me know if anyone comes within 100 yards of the house. Eight years later she is the most loving dog you could have and happy and healthy as can be.

The other is a retired racing greyhound. As athletic as they are I never realized that they are gentle sleepers. They will gladly lay on their bed 22 hours a day and spend the other 2 hours eating and exercising. This dogs bed is in our bedroom and he always wants to get up about 2 or 3 to go outside. He comes to my side of the bed and with a little whine wakes me up and I whisper to him "go tell grammy". Then he will go around the bed to the other side and whine in my wife's ears until she gets up and lets him out. He is tall enough to easily reach his treats that we keep on the dresser but he was easy to train to never eat anything that was not in his feed bowl.
 
 
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