On a follow on from the other thread what make you pick you breed

Well, we're into the little Sheltie :)  Basically when I was about 12 my Mam got asked by one of her colleagues at work if she would rescue a male Sheltie.  He'd been badly beaten by his owners cos he only used to get 2nd or 3rd place in shows :rolleyes:  The breeder went to visit him one day and was so shocked by what she saw she just took him home   Anyway, this colleague of my Mam's knew the breeder very well and obviously knew my Mam is a lovely lady and that us kids were older.  My Dad had grown up with dogs but we'd never had a dog as a family.  We got him and were told that he may not live more than 2 months :(  We had him for 9 years though :D  When he was 2.5 we were contacted by the breeder asking if we would take on another (a female) cos she was too small for breeding and not of 'show type' so we said yes!  Don't think Ma & Pa expected the price like! haha  They both lived to be 10 (not very old I know *sigh* ) but we now have a 9 month old little girl :)  We just find the size, temperament and exercise adaptability perfect for us :D

I had ruled out the breed i have now when originally looking at what breeds would suit our lifestyle, as there were non in the UK back then and had/still have no idea on importing. The breeds I was interested in were the Toller, Kooikerhondje and the welsh springer - all small/medium size gundogs, need plenty of exercise and could do conformation/agility with. By chance back in 2004 I came across the website for Small Munsterlanders in the UK while I was researching for my dissertation bizarrely. I emailed them to congratulate them on bringing them into the UK, they emailed back thanking me for my interest and then 7 months later in April 05 I got an email out the blue from them saying they had had a litter of 13 pups, was I interested in one. Although I cant do conformation with her she will make a great agility/flyball dog and she is a great family pet!

I'll be totally honest - impulse   I know, I know, bad idea.  But, having spotted the blue and fawn dobes in the paper and picked out a fawn boy 3 yrs ago, I must say now that  am totally hooked on the breed :)

As for my rott mix - my dad has always liked rotts, and I wanted a pal for Remy, so home she came.  The fact that she has turned out not to be a whole rott doesn't bother me - I actually prefer her racy look (she's 1/4 GSD) and have a soft spot for rotti/GSD mixes now - although if I ever get another one it'll be a rescue.

I will say that my other choice for the future - Belgian Shepherd (Malinois variety) - is based on careful thought, I like the temperament, versatility, the drive, as well as the look of them.  No more impulses for me :)

1. Had to be at least medium size but not too large
2. Had to be known to be good with families i.e. Thinks is part of the family
3. Had to be relatively hardy breed without too many health concerns in breed generally
4. Had to have bags of character & amusing personalities (not a dog that takes life too seriously)
5. OH wanted a dog that was interesting and fun on walks (no good having dog that couldn't be let off lead)
6. Didn't want a dog that was high maintenance so short coat was preferable

Other breeds seriously considered ranked in order - Springer Spaniel, Boxer, Pointer, Labrador & Std Poodle

I have a bullmastiff and pugs :) I love the personality of both these breeds,plus i seem to have the attraction to baby faces, short muzzles and those big googly eyes They had to be loyal,had to be trustworthy off lead,couldnt stand having a dog who couldnt be trusted off lead,not hyper requiring 5 hours excercise per day. I call my guys the velcro dogs,they follow me around everywhere,wont let me out of their site,especially when we are out on walks :)

Went to 'Ask Jeeves' to find somewhere to help select a breed.... Put in our criteria and the site came up with best choices. Then looked up the breeds that matched us and fel in love with the little aussies.... hunted out breeders spoke to several and breed club contacts, discovered less than 50 a year are born in the UK, so then   prepared for the wait!

My mum got me into showing from day one, and how she got into it was her auntie and uncle they had Poodles all 3 sizes ( they were also the first breeder/owners to have 3 CH at the same time over the 3 sizes) thats why from time to time i go back to Poodles. Just now i'm looking to get a American Cocker again but first and always my dallys will come first

Originally I loved the Golden Retriever, but I wanted something with more spark and energy, like my mad crossbreed! I first came across the Toller in a dog book and I became interested in them and researched them a little. They seemed to suit me.
I saw one being walked down my street about 4-5 years ago. I was with my dad and I said to him "That's a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever!" of course he'd never heard of them so he didn't believe me and went to ask the owner. I was right of course
But that got me researching the breed even more, and more, and more...
I started visiting shows about 2 years ago specifically to meet Tollers. I found out what type I liked, what lines were good and which to avoid. Finally my parents agreed that I could have one! I got in contact with the relevant people and found a planned litter I was VERY interested in, but there were already 9 people on the waiting list so I thought I had no chance and went with my 2nd choice bitch with pups due around May (pups by the same stud). But the first bitch has now had her pups, 10 of them 7 are males (I want a male) so I am now getting a pup from that litter! My pup is now 3 days old :D I'm so excited!

Have to say that my first dog picked me...

He was a rescue collie X GSD but when he died and I got another dog, i saw a few Rotties in the park and they were all so friendly and good natured that I decided to look further into this breed. I did my research and I found a great breeder and now have an amazing 11 month old bitch. Have no idea where the last 10 months have gone and seeing her grow from a 4 week old puppy to how she is now. My husbands 12 year old staffie is getting on well with her now (until she has  mad moment).

I have to say that I think I will always have Rotties from now on.

I never liked white dogs and particularly not those with a patch on only one eye.  But that's what we got when we were offered for free a fully trained, purebred, registered  4yr old ESS rescue and of course now I just love any dog like that because she was so wonderful. 

Next I was never keen on black dogs (though I have a passion for black horses and black cats) and could leave or take a Lab but of course after the ESS we were too sad to have another and the OH wanted a nice black female Lab like the one he used to hunt over so now I go soppy over every black Lab we meet.

The breeds are picking me I think, not the other way around

I got my first munster purely on looks [not the way to do it] . we had saw her parents walking round our local park and just loved her dad [mum was lovely too, but dad was a stunner].Well pups then arrived we went to see adn fell in love with kelsey  -now 11. What we werent told was how addictive these things are and i am afraid we are hooked and now have 4 munsters, so it worked out ok. I wouldnt recommend that method though!!!!

I loved St Bernards when i was young, my parents said that they would eat us out of house and home and wouldn't get one.We had Samoyeds at the time. When my girlfriend(wife now)and i built our house she gave me money for my birthday and said go and get the St Bernard you never stop talking about. I have 2 Saints now and hope to keep two from a planned litter later this year,fingers crossed.
Our golden retriever is my wifes i got her for her birthday.

My love of big hairy dogs began with a Pyrenean Mountain Dog in a park in London when I was 3 years old. I had my photo taken with the dog and every time I looked atthe photo I told my Mum that I would have one of those dogs one day. Somewhere along the line I saw a Newfie on TV (might have been Crufts?) and that was it...love at first sight :) Big and hairy like the PMD but not white!! (Don't do white dogs...way too high maintenance for me ;)

When OH and I started talking about getting a dog, he had never seen a Newfie. We were on holiday in Greece a few years ago and the local Scuba Diving School owners had a big black male Newf so OH was able to meet one for the same time. He really liked what he saw but was overwhelmed by the size. I dragged him along to a couple of shows to meet some dogs and soon he was as hoooked as I was. Lola, our first Newfie will be 1 year old on 23rd March and OH has already agreed to another when Lola is older ;)

We got our crossbreed (Chow X Rottie) simply because we could see him living in dire circumstances and couldn't bare to let it continue. We were told at the  time he was Chow X Lab (and later found out that 'daddy' was actually a Rottie) although breed (or combination thereof) never came into it as we would have probably taken any dog living in that situation. Luckily, for a cross of 2 'difficult' breeds with a cr*p start in life, he has grown into a wonderful big soft lump who we just adore and we couldn't have got a better dog if we'd tried :)

My husband had a Doberman bitch when I met him, she passed away soon after we got married (of old age), and the more he talked about her and the more I read about Dobermans, the more I fell in love with the breed.
So last year we finally decided the time was right for us to get our Dobe puppy (also a bitch). She is 6 months old today.
Katie

I had my first bassett eleven years ago, my wife fell in love with the breed, got my second from bassett rescue 12 months later, they're both getting on a bit now and Gromit has been blind for two years, thank goodnes for that amazing sense of smell! hoping to get a bloodhound in the summer, after July,got to do some home improvements to accomodate him first

My husband had alaways grown up wanting a labrador.  We got our black lab from rescue kennels, needless to say he was picked by my husband.  I myself wanted to take home an incontinent bichon x miniture poodle home.  I know we will always have labs, but one day we have a newfie and a dane.

My husband and I have talked about getting a dog for 12 years but the time was never right (I was working, kids were too young etc etc) until recently.  OH has never had a dog but had very fond memories of a Cavalier King Charles at his sailing club.  I grew up with Poodles so automatically wanted one of those but OH was not keen.  We looked into several breeds and after much deliberation and meeting several cavs we decided to get a little Blenheim boy last November.

He is the most delightfull little dog you could every meet and is such fun.  I am totally and utterly smitten with him and could not imagine life without him.

Blue Peter... yes, honestly! I saw the Tibetan Mastiffs they had on when they used to do the breed features and that was it. It took me 20 years to get one, mind you.

I love dobes and had such a wonderful girl that since she passed I've been unable to have another one, because it could never be her and I don't want to be unfair to a dog that would be itself and have every right to be so.
I also love CKCS but after having 2 with numerous health problems and losing both, one age 4yrs and one age 7 years to a very rare disease, I couldn't face going through that trauma again.  I've had numerous other breeds to and have always loved GSD's and owned one till he died at 12yrs and although I've never owned one I always loved Rotties too so I now have a Rottie x GSD who is the most delightful girl.  I also have a very sweet JRT, not my favourite breed but I love this little boy to bits he is so sensitive and gentle.

I first fell in love with kooikers but because they were so rare there was no chance of me getting one so I looked at other breeds. I found out about tollers and instantly loved them but ended on the waiting list for a vizsla. I had 2nd thoughts about a vizsla mainly because of the size of them (I wanted a dog) and said no (and now I have a Toller who is almost as big although thankfuly just within the standerd). I got in contact with a breeder who put me on his waiting list, when his next litter was due I called him up but due to a mix up he told me that he didn't have a puppy for me and his next litter was not for a long time but he gave me the number of some people who had used one of his stud dogs. I was a little aprihensive about calling them as I (and Bekki) had never heard of them. It is a small breed so after a while you get to hear of most people. I called them mainly out of curiosity and enquired about the lines of their bitch. Her lines were 10 times better than anything I could have expected and having seen the photos of the only two show marked dog pups in the litter instantly put my name down for one.