Just curious as the diversity of breeds around what in particular made you pick your breed?
For example, my mother bred Labradors and we had them forever (Mum), I always wanted a Golden but she said they were too clumsy and hairy. I vowed whenI left home I would buy my own Golden and so from the age of 18 I have had Goldens. I love their gentle nature, biddability, kind expression and beauty. My children (15 & 13) have known no other dogs apart from our ess's but my daughter states that when she leaves home she will be getting a dog from the toy group!!

I got a golden puppy - I had been brought up with a golden bitch and made the silly mistake of thing they easy lol - Our male pup is already proving he is going to be a handful - but such fun :) They are beautiful dogs and so sociable  - he has already made friends with every dog in the park.

We have Staffords as it is the only breed we would own and we decided this long before thinking of getting a dog of our own :)
Their nature is so sweet and they are so loyal and loving to adults and children espicially they are a dream to have in our home. Also I love the physique of a well bred stafford, they are strong without being too big and clumsy and have a real spirit about them, always wanting your attention to play or happy to snuggle up behind you on the sofa, or next to your head in bed!

Also they provide some excellent 15 mins of entertainment as they have their mad moments lol !!

My parents never wanted a dog when I grew up, so used to walk everyone elses dog for them!! owners used to offer me money to walk their dogs but I just wanted to walk their dogs and not have the money!
from Cocker spaniels, Whippets, Westies, mongrels, labs etc
So I had several different breeds in mind for when I was able to have my own, at the age of about 15, I was set on Beagles and Westies!!
When I finally was able to have my own dog I did alot of research and remember seeing a BMD on Crufts one year, so looked up the breed and found them so adorable looking I had to have one!  It took me about 2 years to finally get a puppy which we travelled all the way to South Yorkshire for from Portsmouth!! first trip was when the pups was 5wks old and then back up at 7wks to collect him!! never looked back since!!

I wanted a GSD but OH had been bitten by one as a child and was still nervous of their sheer size.  I discovered the BSD and managed to convince him to view a litter and when he was body slammed and duly mugged by half a dozen or so adults at the breeder's home he realised that they were irresistable :)

There are several breeds I really like but my heart belongs to the BSD - my preferences are now very much towards elegance and refinement in breeds, long chiselled dry heads, good length of leg etc.  I'd love a Borzoi or Afghan, both breeds are suprisingly similar to my own in physique and character but I guess in years to come I should be downsizing rather than going the other way!

We chose ours by knowing what we didn't want.....helped by looking after my older daughters akita for nearly a year!!
The hair/fur/tumble-weeds, mountains and mountains of it was unbearable and always, always wearable LOL. So, short coat was first on the list, not needing excesses of exercise was next. Daughter and hubby then set up camp at the pc and started to trawl through all the breeds that fit. As soon as we saw our breed ,that was it! love at first sight! didn't bother with anything else. We'd never seen one before or in the flesh so we read everything we could about them, their traits, affection, funny ways etc and fell deeper in love. Decided we could cope with the potential health issues, found a breeder et voila !!! :)     Louis Lestat de Lioncourt came into our world :) :)  He is everything we could have wished for and is so much more too,he brings joy to our hearts!!!

INSANITY!!!!!:-p

Good thread. :)

Long explanation here. Way back when I was just 2, my granny bought a Papillon puppy and my aunt bought a Miniature Poodle puppy. So I grew up with them, as I saw both dogs pretty much every week. (We all lived in the same town.) I always wanted a dog of my own, but my parents said no. I really wanted a Papillon, although for years I also really wanted a Poodle, for obvious reasons.

When I was 15 I still had no dog of my own, but had other pets. A friend that lived in the same block of flats also wanted a dog of her own, but had to make do with walking other people's dogs. She actually made the Swedish Junior championships in Obedience with a Labrador she just borrowed. She gave me the idea to walk somebody else's dog, so I put an ad in the local paper offering to walk a dog. Ended up walking a Golden after school and during my lunch hour in school. After a while I was offered the dog as the owners were splitting up and unable to keep him. Somehow I got my mum to agree and at long last I had my very first dog and it was a Golden! 27 years ago now.

Fast forward a lot and cut out a lot here and there (including several dogs, most but not all of which were Goldens) and eventually I was living in England and had my first child. I kept saying once she was old enough I'd get a small dog that she could walk. A friend at home in Sweden had a Cavalier bitch that was an obedience Champion. (Yes really!) I knew that would be the breed. Small, friendly, trainable and pretty. In 1995 one of my Goldens died and we discussed getting the long planned for Cavalier. By sheer coincidence ran into a breeder the very next day who offered us a pup.

For the next few years I had several Goldens (usually 3 at a time) and several Cavaliers (at most 4).

In 1999 I met a Malinois for the first time, in the US, a retired police dog. Grew to love that dog, even though it took a fortnight before I could even go near him without being bitten. When we later ended up with trouble in the area I lived in then and I felt the need to keep one dog that would guard the house and put people off breaking in etc just by its looks, the choice was easy. I thought it would be just the one just for guard duties and obedience, instead got talked into showing her, fell head over heels in love with the breed (because they are SUCH softies really!) and became actively involved in the breed. I'd shown the Goldens and the Cavaliers but never enjoyed it -this I DID enjoy. Always wanted to breed but would not breed from any bitch that wasn't 100 % healthy AND had done well at shows, so never did with the Goldens and Cavaliers, but started with Malinois.

Fast forward again and my last Cavalier was dying (although he's been dying for 6 years now LOL!) and I was fed up with the health problems in the breed, and so I realised my almost life long dream of getting a Papillon. Wanted a small but healthier breed. Just one as a pet. Again fell in love with the breed so totally it is now my second breed that I am properly active in. And the Goldens, well I still have them, but it will be the same as the Cavaliers -I've had enough of the health problems and have also found I really much prefer much faster, more energetic breeds, which both the Malinois and the Papillons are, so it's all changed for me. Will always have one Golden even in future, although when it will next be time to buy one it will be a field trial bred dog for certain.

Really interesting, love all the different reasons. Like you Marianne, I started with show bred Goldens, I now have half and half, I much prefer the true working lines, we have 3 working bred, a lot easier to train, very fast, elegant and a joy to watch working. Saying that though my daughter is wanting to start to show so we have been given the honour of having a breeder pick of litter bitch from  breed specialist judges.
I think when the kids have left home  and the number of dogs has gone down I would like a deerhound as a pet.

lol @ Malakai.. how true...

My parents had Border Terriers, but at shows, I always wandered to the Labrador rings... I married a man who 'just happened' to own 3 Labs... it was all downhill from there :-D  Labs not only entered my life.. they took over ;-)  I have had a couple of working ESS... and I plan to have a Liver FCR, but Labs are my passion (or obsession) :-)

Always loved big hairy dogs. My fave for years was the GSD but my mum was scared stiff of them :( so put the thought of having one out of my mind. Then met my now best friend many years ago, and she had the biggest, hairiest dog I'd ever seen. Instantly I fell in love with the Leonberger. She later got a bitch and I went to loads of champ and open shows with her, where I met lots of them, and spoke to breeders & exhibitors and researched (with her help)  as much as I could and in 2004 I had my very own Leo :)  I've now got three!
They take a LOT of grooming, moult all year round with real heavy coat losses at least twice a year, family and friends get mugged for attention and I don't wear my favourite colour (black) anymore - But would I be without one? Definately not :)

Good one this! At about 11 years old I decided I'd do anyithing to get a dog of my own. I liked Border Collies and Cocker Spaniels, but as I bought books I realised how many breeds there actually are out there! So I researched for about three years until my parents thought I was responsible enough for my very own dog. I had looked at breeds from Pekingese to Thai Ridgebacks, even Labradoodles - I believed what the websites said at first about 'doodles' LOL. I really wanted a Pharaoh Hound but we thought it would be too much for a first dog. Poodles fascinated me, there was a huge blue standard round the corner but that was the only standard I saw in real life except for Crufts before choosing Polo. I thought they looked like horses. Then a met a black miniature at DD Crufts, and that settled it for us. A poodle it had to be! Our requirements for a breed were; low shedding, not smelly, good with cats rabbits and kids and suitable for a very novice owner. I had help finding Polo from a lovely very knowledgable lady and it was love at first bark for me - I heard him over the phone LOL. So we brought him home just before my 15th birthday. Its now almost 2 years later -he's 2 next week already :-0!  I'm looking forward to lots of poodles- I dream of breeding mini's and showing min's, a standard and a Pharaoh in the far off future. :-)   showed him for a bit (Polo)- but thats another story LOL ;-)

Honestly, it was impulse!

My original breed of choice was the malamute - and I still absolutely adore them, huskies too.  But when I was finally allowed to get a puppy, I was so desperate to actually get one that stupidly I got a dobe puppy from a fawn/blue litter.

Thankfully I also found the right forums and it didn't go too t*ts up!!  Now they are my breed of choice, and when I went looking for a rescue dog I was looking specifically for a red dobe bitch, who I have.  Nutty bird that she is :-P

Everything about them is fabulous - except perhaps their intolerance to cold, particularly Remy (but then he is nearly bald!), but everything else is wonderful - the temperament, the goofiness, the look of them (especially when they trot, it always catches my eye), everything.

I do have other breeds I adore - Anatolian Shepherds and Malinois particularly.  The independance, look and protective streak of the Anatolian attracts me, as does the size lol!  And with the Malinois, it's the sheer enthusiasm as well as the look and the work drive.

When I was looking at my choice of breed I had a few requirements of what I wanted and didn't want in a dog. Having a 3 year old and a six week old baby when we were in the position to start researching breeds made the decisions easier. We could have another puppy because unfortunatley we had just lost my 12 year old dobe, if we didn't have such young children there wouldn't have been a question we would have got another dobe but I wanted a breed that wasn't such hard work and stubborn.:)

Had to be at least the size of a dobe
Be dog friendly and people friendly
Be extremely good with children
Any hair type
Doesn't need excessive amounts of excersise
Easyish to train (all I need is sit, heel, down, bed and come, not border collie standard)
Doesn't require constant human input and attention to be happy.

That is the best thing about pedigree dogs, you have a list of requirements for your ideal companion and you match them up against the perfect breed for you and your family.:) For me all of the above equalled the Newfoundland and they are such a great breed I had to have two.:) I also have a retired greyhound who is great, I will have four of them when I retire and it means I can still have big dogs even when I am a bit frail.

I would still love to own another dobe and the OH likes Bullmastiffs, I would like a smaller dog for the kids at some point aswel and really like english cocker spaniels.

We had always had dogs ,from mongrels to German shepherds,my dad had been a Regimental Policeman,thats were my love of German Shepherds came from.When Sammy,my last shepherd died I went for two years with no dog before meeting Holly a very sweet English Cocker spaniel on holiday in Cornwall,that was my turning point ,I read up on Cocker spaniels talked  to  people who owned them and spoke to some breeders of cockers.That is how I came to chose my breed of dog.

My first dog was a rescue Lhasa, she was 3 yrs old, knew nothing about the breed apart from the lady I worked with was the breed rescue in our area and told me about this girl who needed a home, did no homework or anything, she visited me, she rehomed the dog with me and supported me.  No problems of any significance so I know we were lucky, she lived to be 13 and my daughter who never knew life without her was devestated to lose her.  Second dog was a pup 8 weeks old a Cocker Spaniel, he's got retinal disease and this time we did do our homework!  How bizarre! We've still got him bless him and he's as happy as larry so long as he can stay in the confines of our house/garden he's easily disorientated if you have to take him out and gets very stressed.  We rescued a chocolate lab last March, Biscuit he's 3 now and again, no problems as such, a lovely laid back chap who I can't imagine being without, I can honestly say I'm in love with him.  Will always be rescue dogs for me as I feel it's the right thing for me.

Mine was almost the opposite of Teri, my Ex husband wanted a GSD as he had been brought up with one, but I wanted something more manageable size wise as I would be main carer and had a toddler.

So we compromised and when my daughter was 14 months and we had just moved into our house my Groenendael Saga arrived.

It was only then that I realised how much input and socialisation they needed as she was sensitive and not very brave at 10 weeks old.

By the time she went to her first show everyone thought her temperament wonderful, but I knew that without me she had no real confidence.

Unfortunately she was an escape artist, initially fuelled by fear of fireworks and hot air balloons (we live in Bristol so lots of both).  Sadly she died at only 3 1/2, by which time I was a single parent with a toddler and a pre schooler.

I had always liked Spitz breeds especially Keeshonds that I had got to know.  I almost got a rescue Kees, but my four year old daughter when shown a  picture said but their too fluffy.  I knew I had seen a similar but larger dog with more sensible coat, and when I read up they were less of a downsize from my 24 inch bitch.

Went to meet them in the flesh at Bath championship show with the baby and child and was impressed with their sensible and friendly demeanour.

At that time in my life I could not have done with another emotionally high maintenance dog, and the self sufficiency, medium size of the Norwegian Elkhound suited me as I knew I could provide what they needed around my family, I could happily walk two alongside a pushcahir, and can manage to walk five or six on lead.

Can't see myself owning any other breed.

My family has always been a 'cat' family and my sister always wanted a dog but was never allowed one.  When she & I moved up to Scotland to live with my mum, within a month she'd persuaded my mum that she'd be the 'perfect' dog owner if she was allowed to have one etc.  

Enter, one b&w ESS called Louis - an absolute monster.  A barker, male aggressive, inexhaustible, a choc-a-holic, a dog you couldn't take to visit etc.    I bought a dog book, saw a breed I liked in it and so went along to Dundee CC's open show (When it was held in the old Ice Rink - you could see the sky through the roof!!!) and saw 2 Munsters there (Think this was 1987) who were half brothers.   

Started going as a spectator to a few shows, then saw an ad for LM puppies in Dog World & one came into my life, Addison, my first LM.   A real gent & the total opposite to Louis (Thankfully)!    And one of those half brothers I met at Dundee open show was Aristokrat of Craigburg, who turned out to be Addison's gt. grandsire!

Ive allllllllways liked sighthounds, but initially as a child was not allowed a dog at all, so when i was 19 and got my first flat, I got Rocky. He was supposed to be a lurcher, mum was, dad was a gsd... i think mum must have had some bull and terrier in there as thats what he is. The worlds only short legged flat faced lurcher :D

Anyway after a few years, still really wanting a sighthound type and wound up with a dinky little lurcher, Dilly, a bedlington x whippet. Shortly after that i moved to a larger house and then I was given a collie x gsd who i used to dogsit. She was lovely but turned out to have a brain tumour and had to be put down.

Then after a few more years, a few shows, few trips to discover dogs and i knew what breed I wanted... it was a Deerhound! So i set about looking for a breeder, talked to deerhound people...discussed visiting various litters.

Then tragically the lady I was going to visit to see her deerhounds, died. Around the same time i went away to look after a friends gsds and whilst I was away, my sisters friends dad needed a new home for his old lurcher. Sucker that i am, i said for him to bring the dog round and id see if she fitted in. He turned up the day i got back, chucked the lead at me and zoomed off! I had to call him back to find out what her name was (then  Gabi). So there I was... my deerhound turned out to be an orange saluki x with too many miles on teh clock, some nasty mammary tumours and a phantom pregnancy...

Then i met my OH and he wanted a dog of his own.. so i heard of a litter of gsd x collie/springer pups.. last two were due to be put down as no one wanted them (not surprising, mother had odd eyes and daddy was extremely fear aggressive).... so friend and I took the pups, she had a bitch and i had the dog, for OH...so thats Pteppic the Stupid. (Bless him, he got the looks though.. his sister has the brains).

With Abby (Gabi) getting older, I decided it really was time for that deerhound pup, i wanted a bitch who would benefit from Abbys no nonsense style with pups who could learn to grow up and take over the 'boss bitch' role in my doggy group. If i left it any longer i feared abby would be too old (shes 13 now) to cope with a puppy around the place especially a bossy confident bitch pup of a large breed.

So, mooching around the internet, i got in touch with a lovely lady (she got in touch with me really.. to buy poshly collars for her adult deerhounds), and we got to discussing deerhounds, shed just got two pups but it wasnt quite the right time for me to get one... and then she was thinking about breeding...so we went and visted several times to make sure Deerhounds was really really right for us. During this time i was back chatting with various deerhound people and learning loads about the breed.

almost 2 years later.. she bred me my looooooooovely Kelda, the HairyFairy puppy (waves at her cos shes reading, hee!) - sadly a lady who gave me a huge amount of help (who some of you knew on here) died before I could send her piccies of my ickle Snufkinpupster, a great shame but it really is thanks to her that I got into the breed, so ill never forget her even though we never met.

As a child I had allergies to almost ALL animals and I desperately wanted a dog and a horse.   On reaching my mid 40's the allergies suddenly disappeared and the first thing I did was get a dog - (no room for a horse) my criteria was and still is: medium to large breed, long haired, black nose, big black eyes and droopy ears = Golden Retriever. 

Other choices would be: Wheaten Terrier, Old English Sheepdog, English Setter and when we are too old for really active dogs I'll go for something like a Westie or Bichon Frise (sorry I can't spell that one).

i didn't choose my lot, i was born into them...

my aunt and uncle bred and showed bullmastiffs prior to my existance and my parents had always admired the breed and were thinking of getting a dog. due to a scary set of circumstance my mum wanted a large dog that would also be good with my big sis and the anticipated me :)

now i;m not sure but i think our girl cassie was actually returned to my aunt and uncle, not certain though and can't think why she would have been as she was stunning and brilliant.

anyway, its been the bullies since.

however, now that i am venturing into dog owning of my own i'm considering other breeds so our breed will be chosen through research and compromise. we're taking on one of my parents 3 due to my dads health getting worse and this will be great for bf and i as we love him to bits. since he's 'my' boy though i have told the bf that (through discussion) he can pick the next dog we get. after looking into it for a bit i think he has decided on an Akita, which i couldn't be happier with! my taste generally runs to large working types but i've always thought akitas were stunning and their temps seem to suit us and so we've reached a happy compromise which we will keep looking into till the times right :)

Which Akita are you thinking of though ;)  The (American with Mastiff ancestry) Akita, or the authentic (as far as the Japanese are concerned) Japanese Akita Inu?

Must say my own preference between the breeds is the latter, they really look like Giant Shiba's, very Oriental looking.

I would imagine with your taste for the bullies though you would like the Akita (American developed)?

it probably would be the american developed one yes, their a bit heavier looking (though i feel slightly guilty about that for some reason lol). i love the sort of part dog, part cat part bear look that they have as well. from the reading i have done (and granted as yet it still isn't that much) it sounds like for either type there was a certain amount of desperately trying to salvage the breed after the war (as with many breeds). as such they seem to have a funny old ancestry.

i like the slight aloofness with strangers, the bullies have that in them to so its something i'm familiar with. i also like the size, they'd be quite happy playing with the bullies full on as adults

bf was thinking of a GSD but we've talked about it, really not my thing (no offence intended but we all have our tastes!). he'd seen a few breeds in my books that he liked but one of the aims of taking him to crufts was to have a real life look at what is available. as soon as he saw one in the ring he was smitten and has been doing research of his own accord since! (monumental!). really chuffed we seem to have easily been able to meet something that we both like so let the research continue!

and to add one more as too late to edit mine, I love Bearded Collies too!

We wanted a dog who didn't moult as I am allergic to cats and some dogs (goldens that forever moult for instance).  We looked at various breeds including Westies, which we nearly opted for. 

A friend of ours has a Giant Schnauzer who is adorable and although we didn't want a dog that big, we liked the look of the dog so opted for a Miniature Schnauzer.  We'd heard their temperaments were good so were ideal for families, they were easily trainable and fairly long lived. 

We've had Barney for 2 years now, and have recently bought our second mini.  Would highly recommend this breed.

Chose the breed by feeding in criteria to an internet thingy.
Had to be small (small garden), fairly low maintenance,freindly, good with kids, personality etcetra..
Came up with little aussies.....we were hooked, now we are on the second for companionship for the boy!
Karen

Wanted a Bedlington Terrier for most of my life, as a toddler I used to get my dad's dog book out and was always looking at the Bedlington - I have the book now and it falls open at that page LOL   while at home I lived with a few different breeds but when I was in a position to get a dog of my own I ended up with an AfghanX rescue.   He was absolutely lovely and when he was PTS at 15 we both decided we would want a similar temperament in another dog - but not as serious ;)  When I started to research the Bedlington Terrier I realised that the temperament was perfect for us, so playful and affectionate and of course I love the look of them, graceful and elegant but workmanlike too and boy can they move!  I also love the way they look so coiffed at the shows but by the next day are back to looking like real ruffty-tufftys  :-D

All my life - and I do mean ALL - every time someone asked me what I wanted for Christmas/anniversary/birthday etc , I'd reply " A golden retriever".  So every Christmas/anniversary/birthday, I'd get a card - with a GR on it.

I opted for early retirement a few years ago and my husband asked me what I wanted as a retirement present (he'd just bought our first ever brand new car as his retirement present to himself).  "A golden retriever", said I.  I retired on the Friday and brought her home on the Saturday. 

Twenty four years I've waited for her - and she's been worth every second!

I wanted a big dog in a wee wriggly affectionate package and this is why I wanted a staffy.  I love the stocky build, the laughing face and the bizarre noises they make.

I also love rotts but don't have one (yet).  Definitely my next dog as they are so stunning with their lovely markings and big cuddly teddy bear look.  I love the wrinkly heads and quizzical expressions and they also make lots of weird non-barking noises.  Loving it!!

We have a GSD - husband's choice. We also have a Rough Collie. Now as to why, well the GSD needed an experieced home and we had a vacancy at the time and boy was she a challenge!!!! The Rough - I always admired them and Lassie was a huge part of my childhood. That said my Rough is a Tri-colour. My next choices are Whippets, Shiba inus and we'd like a Finnish Lapphund one day. I can't seem to settle on one particular breed I like too many!

boxers were in our family when i was younger, such great dogs love their enthusiasm!!
When i met my oh and after a spate of bad health my oh agreed to getting a dog as long as he could choose and having had a bad experience with a boxer and he wasn't sure.
Any how we wanted a sociable energetic dog as we love the outdoors, we picked a labrador we were very naive!! but he's a turned out to be more than i could of hoped for he's such a gent, then came our girl, they are such happy biddable fun dogs, we will always have at least 1 in our pack:)
We decided on adding another addition and after much scouting around, we spotted the vizsla after talking to many owners at shows and out and about, we decided that this is the next dog for us, so hopefully lots more fun and mayhem to come.............:):)There are so many different breeds i like i don't think i will be able to have them all in my life time!! lol

Having owned several GSDs I decided that I needed something smaller and bought a magazine that had a sort of 'Which Dog' section, we sifted through that and came up with about 4 different breeds. Can't remember now all my short list but finished up visiting a number of kennels and looking at smooth collies and elkhounds.

There was no contest as far as I was concerned the Elkhound seemed everything I had been looking for, have now owned them for 18 years. I'm getting a bit on the creaking side and I'm thinking that my next pup, should there be a next pup, will have to be something smaller.

I am now very taken with the Portuguese Podengo that I have taken to calling P. Pods, not met that many yet and will continue to look but at the moment it will be a rough coat, mind you we do not have any vacancies and I hope that continues for a good while yet.

always had GSDs when growing up, love them to bits, great dogs. however, when my boyf and i moved in, he wanted a lab and i a gsd. so we began discussing various breeds to try and compromise, and as i wanted to show, i got last word. always liked the ridgeback, and mentioned them to my boyf and went to a few shows where he fell in love with them, now we have our 18week old boy and so far so good......most of the time!
will prob have gsds again in future as well as ridgies, love them both!

I saw a Leo when I was about 10 years old (that would have been 1991), since then they have been my love and obsession!
There and then I decided this is the breed I want.
I had to wait few years as I was told I was too small to have a dog of that size, I researched and waited rather than had a dog of a different breed.

Due the circumstances I have been living without a dog for nearly 7 years (My second Leo still lives with my mum in Finland).
For few years now I have been in a position to have a dog again, as I am bonkers, I decided to wait a yet another year and import!
BUT she is coming home in August :) :) :) :)

I love the intelligence of the breed, almost human like thinking, humorous view in life, red color, trainability and of course the size!
I like to do things with my dog so I also like the fact Leos seem to suit so many different "hobbies" ; Obedience, water rescue, agility, carting...
But will not demand action all the time...

How bizarre that my story is much the same as Polos and we both have poodles :-)

I grew up with poodles in the family and as a child had great fun with my grandparents black min poodle-sunny.
I moved out of home when i was 18 and would love a dog but due to the lease on the flat i couldnt have one....so my boyfriend bought me a hamster:-) Fast forward 2 years, we split up and i moved back home. I was approaching my 21st birthday and feeling quite depressed and alone wanted a dog to share my time with and give me some company.
Parents were not happy, thought it was a fad but in the meantime i bought lots of books and did lots of research although at the back of my mind i always wanted a poodle :-)
Eventually parents agreed (i used the line that lots of school mates had several children by my age so me asking for a dog was more reasonable than having a baby!!!:-) think this worked, but they said  "it is your dog, your responsibility" and "it can live here but we are not responsible for feeding it or walking it etc" so i finalised my research with the decision i wanted a poodle. Ideally would have had a standard but a miniature is more practical.
Eventually found the breeder and picked up Freddie at 7 weeks...wow was that an eye opening experience. I tell anyone thats thinking of having kids to have a puppy for a few weeks!!
I would love to have more dogs and adore the standard. I was offered a standard (for free) as the lady who bred them had a huge litter and wsa left with 4 still needing homes. She said she'd be happy for me to have one knowing it was going to a good home but it wouldnt have been fair on Freddie and i didnt truly have enough time at that point to be 100% committed to training etc.
Since getting my first dog it has opened my eyes to all the breeds out there and there are so many i admire.One day i would love a standard poodle followed by a GSD....saw a young guy out with a beautiful GSD this week. He said he grew up with his parents poodles, i asked him if hed swap Fred for his GSD but he wasnt keen :-) lol. ......so there we are. Thats my story :-)  Lovely hearing how others got into their breed

awww i like reading through everyones storys of how they found their breeds :-)

well i grew up with GR's and the rest of the family had GSD's.i moved back down to wales to live with my dad agian from living in scotland with my mum when i was about 12,i had always lived with dogs so when i moved in with my dad it was really strange not to have a dog around.i started walking my uncles dogs he had a ESS and a GSD X i walked them twice aday,i got up 2hours early for school just so the dogs had a good run in the mornings.my dad finaly said we could get a dog because of all the comitment i showed by walking my uncles dogs when i was never asked to do it,but i still did it rain or shine because i knew that if i didnt walk them they wouldnt get walked.i researched for over two years on my shortlist of dogs i wanted a dog that would join in with whatever i was doing and love being with me.i narrowed the shortlist down to GSD's and ESS's we saw quite a few different breeders of both and i finaly decided on a gsd, i got kia just before my 15th birthday she is nearly 6 now and has taught me so much she is the most amazing dog ever she will do anything you throw at her, we do obedience,workin trials and agility.
i moved out when i was 18 and got my own house with my boyfriend and soon after we thought it was the right time to get another dog.i wanted a totaly different dog this time,i wanted one small enough to sit on your knee and quite short coated.i had always been fond of chihuahuas as my great aunt had them when i was young and they were such funny little dogs,so i researched loads on them and went to see different litters until i saw a litter of long coat chi's and i fell in love with his mum and dad so i had to have one of their pups and thats when i got tiger nearly a year after i started looking, he is now 1 1/2 and is doing pre beginers in obedience,has qualified as a PAT dog and he starts agility next month,ive started scent training him aswell and he loves it......you never know he might just be the smallest working trials dog one day:-)
hes already jumping 3ft long jump! i think he will need a boost up on the scale though :-)

I was an 'at home mum' and wanted a family dog to complete our household - I like dogs with 'character' and decided on a Basset Hound - but one day whilst leafing through a dog breed book my hubby said THAT's what we should get and pointed at something that looked like a black wolf  -a Groenendael !- I was intrigued by the description and said that if he could find a breeder close by with dogs we could vist then I'd go along and have a look ....thinking that he had NO chance as the breed was very rare back in those days.

But  he found someone who amazingly lived only a few miles away from us and we went along to have a look .....and the rest is history. I just love the breed for their intelligence , energy, elegance, versatility , beauty and oh yes bags of CHARACTER and I can't ever imagine getting another breed.....

Yvonne

fascinating reading everyone's stories....my story goes back a way too, to when I was about 6 or 7, and in the village where we lived there used to be a big hairy friendly dog called Ben, who used to roam round a lot (I think it was more common then and certainly not frowned upon as much) he was lovely, and used to say hello by putting his paws on your shoulders - at the time I believed he was an Irish Wolfhound, but looking back I believe he was actually a Lurcher ;)

fast forward a few years, I come from a mainly cat family, we did have a family dog, a CKCS called Benjamin, who was always referred to as "the throwback" because he was too tall and his head was too long - lol - he was a lovely boy, never castrated, and all my school friends loved him, I shed a lot of tears when he died, by which time I was at university and my parents didn't want another dog.

I dated a few guys with dogs and loved the sociability of other dog walkers, and the fresh air...and the fact no matter how grumpy I felt or how much I wanted to stay in bed, I knew that as soon as I got out in the fresh air with a dog I would feel so much better. One guy I dated had a rescue yellow lab and JRTxSBT (I think) and I walked them far more than he ever did, and I felt quite sorry for them when we split up :(

and then I got married, hubby had little experience of dogs, or cats for that matter (I have 2) and after a while I got "itchy feet" lol, for wanting a dog....I put the option to hubby - a baby or a dog....he plumped for dog (as I knew he would ;) ) and then I set to looking for a dog...

I looked at Irish Wolfhounds and knew they weren't the dog I remembered from my childhood, and at that time I didn't know about Lurchers. I wanted a dog that was fairly big, and not the sort to start climbing the walls if I couldn't take it for a long walk every day (I work full time shifts) I also wanted something that wouldn't be too messy, definitely no slobber lol. To be honest, I knew what I didn't want more than what I did want, if that makes sense??

And then I happened to catch Crufts one year, and it was on the hound day, I noticed the IW but knew that wasn't for me, and then I saw the most gloriously elegant dog loping across the screen, and that was it! I was smitten by Deerhounds!

I did weeks of research on the internet and e-mailed a couple of breeders, and then got into a correspondance with a lady who we eventually got our first DH from. We went down to see her and her brood, as I wanted to be sure that WE were right for the dog, Hubby wasn't sure, but as soon as we walked in, and were greeted by 3 lovely hairy ladies, he was well smitten too!! We looked at the males she had, and the pups that were there at that time (hubby later said he wanted to tuck one under his arm) and we left knowing that that was the breed for us. We kept in touch, and when she had another litter planned she let us know......hence Skoll, our boy, our learning curve...bless him.

I went to shows without my boy, and later with him, but it's hard to keep going and work, and it's only now that I feel more organised...

so we now have 4 DH's and 1 Lurcher. I love the hounds because they are quite lazy in the house, they have long coats but don't shed excessively and don't smell either, and it's a sheer joy to see them run. Friends comment how quiet they are in the house (they live inside with us) and it's true, they have a mad 5 minutes to meet and greet, and then they go and flop in their corners/on the sofa etc. I'm learning about the breed all the time, and am interested in the history.I also collect Deerhound art, from paintings to sculpture, so I guess I'm a bit of a nut about them :)    

I never wanted a dog at all. My husband had always wanted a Golden Retriever but he doesn't know why! My family had always had GSDs or Collies and I preferred guarding breeds.

I eventually agreed, mainly for his benefit, but now I am a total enthusiast of the breed and would reccommend them to anyone, especially first time owners. They are so friendly and easy as a breed, and our girl is no problem at all, she never has been. Their love of humans is a major plus point, our girl always wants to say hello to other humans before dogs when on walks!

And of course, they look gorgeous!

I was lucky enough to work for a dog groomer for a few years, just the brushing and bathing but it gave me lot's of experience with different breeds and how they behaved when they weren't loving the grooming. I had never been allowed a dog so needed the research.

The first owner wasn't very nice to me (she wanted me to be quicker brushing by being rougher). One day soon after I started she told me that she had booked in a male entire Chow Chow for me to groom and added, 'it'll be a nasty piece of work, they all are'. I was shaking in my boots when this dog arrived, I'd never met one before and my boss had convinced me that I was going to get bitten. It was also in a bad state, the owners had left it with their son whilst on a six month trip round the world and it was badly matted and had a big oozing hot spot. Well this dog blew me away, he was so dignified and proud and did everything I asked him with good grace. He didn't argue with anything, stood when brushed, got in the bath, let me cut his nails. He never once looked at me and refused to acknowledge me in any way but boy did he make life easy for me that day. He came in a couple of times after that and was always the same. Later on a Chow girl started to come in and she had the exact same temperament. I knew these were the dog for me. Every time they came in my boss would mutter, 'nasty piece of work' but I would feel waves of relief, knowing that I was going to have an 'easy' dog that day.

My second breed is the pug. This is the only toy breed I have ever wanted it's just the cute face and curlywurly tails (if those are valid reasons) :)

Other breeds that tempt me are the Akita and Shiba Inu and if they were available here the Korean Jindo Dog. Just love the look of these Asian breeds.

We decided we wanted another dog a while back but didn't know what.
I like dogs that are biggish but not too big and it had to be short haired.  Exercise wouldn't be a problem and we wanted something with a friendly disposition but also a big of spark about it, something we could have a laugh with.  Voila - we ended up with a boxer.  There are quite a few in the gundog group I would consider in the future possibly but for now our smooshy faced, always happy go lucky boy will do just fine.

My first dog is a cross breed and I got her as I worked for the rescue she came into and no one else wanted her so I said I would! The second is a Portuguese Podengo, I used to work for a breeder of them and fell in love with them so when I was offerd one I jumped at the chance and he is a real sweety.
I got my Aussie after going on a course and seeing someone with a puppy one, it was love a t first sight, the brains and beauty in one, 5 years later I was lucky enough to be able to get one and she is so wonderful don't think I would want a different breed now.

> and if they were available here the Korean Jindo Dog. Just love the look of these Asian breeds.

Meg Purnell Carpenter of Overhill boarding and Quarantien has Jindo's.

I bet you like the Japanes Akita Inu then, much more liek the Shiba in looks than the Akita (Americanised).

Hey Brainless, thanks for the info on Jindo's I didn't realise they were in this country.  I do love the Akita Inu but also the Akita as these have a similar look to my smooth Chow Chow :)

Grew up with X breeds, mostly Collie X`s   , Heinz 57 and the like.

Boxers came into my life 30 odd yrs ago, when I married my hubby, All his family seemed to own a Boxer,  hubby's auntie used to baby mind my oldest  child,  and she had the most adorable Red boy called " Sunny" where ever the children where , so was he,  he taught my son to walk, hanging onto his back.

The rest is history.....I adore this breed, i love their gentleness/boisterousness,  clown like antics, their loyalty  and devotion to their people.

I Love the look of  the breed, the elegance  of the movement, the individuality of each and ever one of them.

They make you laugh , they make you cry, they make you want to pull your hair out at times,  but I would never be without one.

You will laugh at least once day , when you own a Boxer or two.

One is never enough!!!!!!!!

Both myself and OH grew up with border collies which I still love and will prob own again one day but at the moment Huskys are defo the breed for me! Must admit I seduced by the wolf like appearance and blue eyes but researched the breed for years before getting one (and then another!)
Plus points for me
High energy
Dog orientated
People orientated
Very affectionate
Very intellegent
puppylike throughout their lives

For me downsides are
not being able to let them off the lead
stubborn - won't do anything unless it benefits them
They moult - a lot!

Knew about the downsides beforehand though and wouldn't want my huskys any other way - moulting and all!

Even though I 1st became interested because of their appearance unlike many I researched a lot before taking the plunge and getting one. Now spend a lot of time trying to discourage those who say "what stunning eyes I want one!" When I offer them Missy for a week (she's a loon!) to see if they still want one they soon go quiet!

i grew up with westies and vowed never would i ever own one. I always wanted a Rottweiler and after owning my first one i was hooked, i also bred working labs with my now ex boyfriend and although i loved my lab girls my Rotties were my first love, its difficult to say why i wanted a Rott i guess its like fancing Brad Pitt or not really LOL, you just know if you do or don't .

Our first family dog was a Golden Retriever who was a lovely if slightly crazy boy and we then also had a GSD and she was wonderful, I still have a love for the breed and would like to have another one one day. But dog wise my course was set when my Mum met my Stepdad when I was 12 which would have been 1993, he had working Springers and me being the dog obsessed kid I was started to help him train them and I went on shoots and to tests and trials with him. The shoots we went to were mostly Labs and Springers and the odd Setter but one day when I was about 13 or 14 someone brought this little black bundle of pocket rocket energy, cheeky character and friendliness who was also a great, bold little worker and I fell head over heels in love with her, it was my first proper meeting with a Working Cocker although I'd heard of them prior to this and seen photos and liked the look and sound of them. I really, really wanted one but my SD wasn't so keen, he wanted to concentrate on the Springers and as I was planning to go away to uni at 18 and to leave Northern Ireland for either Dublin or Edinburgh it wasn't a good idea for me to have a dog of my 'own' at that stage anyway so I just contented myself with admiring them from afar at shoots and game fairs and reading anything I could find on them. Once I graduated and got into a stable job and bought my house in 2005 I started to look seriously for a Working Cocker breeder and I found a great one who didn't have a litter planned herself at that time but had a friend who had one out of a mating from which she'd had dogs herself previously and she'd also used the stud dog on her other bitches (waves in case she reads this cos she's also on here!!) so in March 2006 Alfie came home and I haven't looked back... in October 2006 I added rescue girl Tilly and then in July 2007 golden boy Rodaidh came from another breeder/gundog trainer and I have high hopes for him in the trialling field. I just adore Working Cockers, to me they're the perfect breed, they're a good size, not too big or too small, extremely athletic, bold, brave, up for anything, stubborn, determined, happy, friendly, so funny and just full of life and character, and they're the biggest sooks going and will be all over you like a rash any and every chance they get :-)  I'd like to get into Field Spaniels as well to work and maybe to get into showing but I'm totally hooked on Workers and if I could I'd have a pack of them.

My Dad was the influence on our choice of breeds he would say..."so longs as its a black bitch it doesn't matter what sort". Our first dog I was only  4 yrs old she was a black lab X basset obviously a bitch- Beauty, she would walk herself to the local butcher every day for a bone and she had a milky way every day not the most healthy choice but she lived til she was 17. I have always had dogs happen to me never have I [as yet] chosen what breed to have . I got my first dog in a pub one night the girl who owned her wasn't taking care of her and I'd walked her dog for her a couple of times so I jumped at the chance when she asked me, she was a tervuren  bitch of 2.  Broke my heart when I had to say goodbye when she was 9. My bf wanted a bull terrier so got one  very soon after losing my terv girl. My Dad went crackers when he saw my new sticky up eared white MALE BT  couldn't of gone more against what he liked really but he did realise what a softies boys can be . Then lastly my second girl a black floppy eared girl Dad was pleased, my friends bitch escaped out of the cat flap at 8 months and got pregnant to 6 puppies she could of sold them all but decided to keep a bitch & male obviously she couldn't cope with mum son & daughter so somehow me Being soft has a lot to do with it! took in the daughter Tinkerbell formerly Rosie at 7 months. So the next type or breed is anyone's guess they seem to just come into my life. I do like the Rhodesian ridgeback but would have to do a lot of reading up on them first as I have never been around them to know what there like. If I got a  little dog it would be a black & tan JR or a pug.    

When my Dad was finially convinced that I should be allowed a dog (two years it took my mum!) We decided to go though the illistrated breed standard, taking out all small dogs (dad said his not walking a small dog at night!) no short haired breeds (Dad's astma was often set off when with my grandparents boxers for long periods) nothing too noisey, mum didn't want anything to heavey in grooming (that would be her job).  Of course it had to be good with children (I was only 6/7 and was going to be mine to show) and finally we came down to a setter!

the gordons were too big and heavy, english not appealing enough, irish had no reason against it except the red and whites were much more appealing and a smaller breed to start out in (Grandparents showed so we knew how it worked!)

Then that was that, we got a red and white

Later on I went into Aussies.  By this time my dad and grandad were judging and building their knowledge by going to seminars.  The australian shepherd was about to come of the import register and a judging seminar 2 mins down the road, so they went, grandad got jumped on as he walked in and went home adiment he was having an aussie, he purchased Sonja and as a present to me gave me part ownership.  They carried on with aussies, I carried on showing them!

However when I was 11 I went to luxumberg with JJHA for the junior handling and one one of the days was given a toller.  I fell in love with the breed and have wanted one since.  However never been able to have one.

just under a year ago a friend from red and whites needed a handler for the two bitches she had kept from her first litter of tollers, At b'ham national I showed my first toller in the UK and have been handling this bitch since then with some good results.  Also showing her brother and afew other tollers!

One day I will own one...when the time is right!