Okay, new question for dog people (cat people skip this)
 

I am looking for a new dog and for once I'm not going to go potluck at the pound. I now have criteria.

To wit:

friendly
territorial
small (<20 lbs)
intelligent
trainable easily
attractive (I can be flexible on this)
playful character
no complicated grooming rituals (brushing okay but cannot deal with long hair a la Afghan Hound)

Any ideas? I'm really looking at a rare breed the Alaskan Klee Kai (K2 for short). The Klee Kai (different breed lacking the "bandit mask" markings) is also acceptable since I want a companion dog and not a breeder.

I will have a yard for the dog to run off excess energy but no fence so dogs with strong prey instincts are right out. Wildlife abounds near my new home.

Peace

Brian

If I had to give a (biased) recommendation...
 

...look for a Shetland Sheepdog (Sheltie, Miniature Collie).

(The "biased" reference is because I've had two of them myself.)

Shelties are small-to-medium-sized, quite manageable (more so than the full Collie). They are a highly intelligent breed, and very loyal to their owners and family. Shelties love to run and play, and have no compunctions about sticking their noses into whatever it is you're doing.

They're quite attractive (to me, anyway) and require no unusual grooming (good brushings and general hygiene do nicely).

Shelties bond quite heavily with their adoptive families; if they sense that their owners are being physically threatened, they'll get hyper and bark quite a bit. (In other words, if the dog spazzes out when visiting Aunt Myrtle gives you a big bear hug, don't be surprised.) It tends much more heavily towards "bark and dance" than to "jump and attack" in these circumstances, thankfully. If they grow up around people and get a lot of attention, they should get along fine with strangers and/or visiting kids under most circumstances. They do love friendly attention -- their first impulse when confronted by a stranger is to be friendly unless they detect something amiss.

Many Shelties bark a lot, and they tend to be on the energetic side. There are exceptions -- my second Sheltie was extremely laid-back and easy-going. My first ran laps around the dining-room table and barked whenever anyone entered or left via the front door, and actually wore a path in its fenced-in yard from years of running laps out there. Your mileage may vary.

As far as the prey thing goes, Shelties are quite territorial, and will gladly bark at and/or chase away critters that get too close. One of mine caught a rabbit once, but only once, and it was a rabbit that had a suicidal fixation on hopping through the fence into the dog's yard. It tempted fate once too often. When confronted by an animal (big or small), its usual modus operandi is to bark its head off, and the average critter will vamoose accordingly.

I've never had one unfenced, so I'd look into that, but they're smart enough that I'm sure they can be trained to know where "home" is.

jeff. Sounds like a good match, but use your own judgement.

Jack Russell Terrier ... think "Eddie" on Frasier.

http://www.akc.org/breeds/recbreeds/jrt.cfm

http://www.terrier.com/

There's also a breed selector at

http://selectsmart.com/DOG/

It seems reasonable enough.

http://opampbooks.com/dog.gif

Whatever breed, get a dog that shares your interests.

On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog.

hahahahahaha. That was Tony's perfect quip for the day :)

rrrrrrufff. *tail wags, nose cold and wet*

Sorry, I won't get a 'net hound either. I don't share my computer with anyone else, much less a dog.

Jack Russells are great dogs but have too much energy for me to keep up.
And they're known to destroy an apartment if you leave them for "too long".

I'm also thinking about a Basset Hound. Nice and slow, couch potato, friendly but must be trained to not bark so much.

Brian

Bassetts are cool, no beagles though you won't be able to stop the barking. You definitely don't want my new dog but our old mutt would be perfect, she's a lab/spaniel mix real sweet and quiet. Have you looked at older dogs? My new dogs an australian shepard... he is mental and needs constant supervision.

Bassets are not all that trainable, but if all you need them to do is not jump up on visitors, they can learn that.

Not trainable like border collies, who can be trained to make your morning tea with exactly the right amount of sugar.

Ausies only make coffee,.... buckets and buckets of coffee, kinda like when the mouse played the wizards apprentice.

You know you want one.
 

http://www.sonystyle.com/vaio/images/aibo/menace_4.jpg

Here boy. Here, AIBO

"Bob" has spoken
 

I get potluck again.


This time I am the owner of an American Pit Bull Terrier that I found under my trailer.

He's cute, loveable (except when he pees on my rug/bed/clothes/whatever) and a babe magnet.

I'd forgotten how much work housebreaking is since I haven't done it for twenty years or so.
I'm starting with paper training in the bathroom and working up from there.

The pup is only ten weeks old or so and I have to allow for a small bladder and an excitable nature.

Picture when I get film in my camera.

Brian

PS no name yet. I want to see more of his personality yet.