Selecting a dog - Which Dog Type

Choosing a particular breed or type of dog is a very personal decision. Everyone has their own favourite breed or group type, as well as admiring various different characteristics within groups and breeds. Many of the modern breeds of dogs have been developed and chosen for specific appearances, physical requirements, coat colours, types and patterns, behaviours and even personalities. Since people become so familiar with the various common traits of certain breeds it is important to keep in mind that there are also other factors to consider. Most people think white with black spots when they hear the breed type of Dalmatian, but few think of a very high energy dog that needs more than an average amount of exercise per day.

One of the worst possible ways to choose a dog is to simply go out one day to purchase a dog or a puppy with no research or exploration of the various breeds. Not only are you likely to base your decision on looks, price or just what is available, but also you are less likely to consider factors such as how large the dog will be full grown, what characteristics the dog is likely to develop or how much attention and physical space the dog will need to be happy and content. There are also additional issues such as veterinary and medical care and feeding of dog, the cost of a puppy, insurance and treats, toys and other miscellaneous expenses. Most dogs will average approximately £25 per week with all expenses, but larger dogs can cost significantly more.

In the article on "Types of Dogs" the basic traits of the various groups were discussed, including very general information on the requirements of keeping dogs in the various groups. To begin to evaluate which group, and ultimately which breeds will fit the best with your lifestyle, requirements and expectations for a dog as well as your family structure try answering the following questions. Although it may be tempting to just quickly rush through, take the time to actually write down the answers and keep them by your side as you work through the various groups and breeds to keep focused on what you want.

With your pencil and paper in hand, begin working through the various questions, taking time to note all aspects of your answers. Remember that you may need to check with other members of the household before answering some of the questions:

1. Do you want an inside or outside dog?

This basic question will eliminate a lot of dogs based on the climate that you live in as well as the type of dog that will be suitable. If, for example, you wish to have an outside dog, you need to consider breeds that are able to handle temperature changes, don't need a lot of human attention and interaction, and are medium to large size dogs. Toy and small dogs are not good outside dogs, but are excellent as inside or inside and outside dogs. Dogs that have double coats or coarser outside coats are more able to tolerate outside temperatures even in colder, wet climates.

2. What size of dog do you want based on the physical living space that you have for the dog?

Remember that puppies will grow rapidly in the first year of life, and most of the large breeds in the working and utility group will not be fully grown until 18 months to 2 years of age. By doing some quick online research it is easy to determine the average size of the breed when full grown. It is very important to consider how big your house, apartment or living space is when you are thinking about breeds, especially if you are planning to keep your dog in the house, even if only for part of the time. Small dogs and toy breeds often will self-exercise, even in small spaces. These are idea breeds for small living spaces. Larger breeds in the even in the Terrier group will need more living space.

3. How much outside exercise space do you have for the dog in your garden?

If you live in an apartment or small flat, perhaps there is not a garden for the dog to run in. If you live in the country or in a house there may be a small, medium or large sized fenced, outdoor exercise area. Be sure that the area is completely fenced to both keep you dog contained as well as keeping other dogs out.

4. How much time can you spend with your dog per day?

This is consistent, daily time that you can spend with the dog or puppy in exercise, play, grooming and training. If there are several people in your house you should find out how much time they will agree to commit to working with the dog or puppy.

5. What characteristics or personality traits are you looking for in a dog?

Do you want a friendly dog or a watchdog? Is it important that your dog is sedate and calm or do you want an energetic, ready for anything breed?

6. How do the other members of your household feel about having a dog?

This is a very important question to ask everyone in the house, especially if they will be taking on some of the responsibility for looking after the dog.

7. Do you have small or young children in the house?

If you have kids already are they knowledgeable about dogs or will this be the first puppy in the house? Do the children have allergies, respiratory programs there a possibility there may be issues with allergies?

8. Do you have other pets or do you wish to have other pets in the house?

This is a very critical question as some breeds do very well with other dogs, cats and house pets whereas others simply do not, especially if the other pets come into the home after the puppy has matured.

Once you have answered the questions, plus any other that you may consider important in determining the breed of dog you are better prepared to start narrowing down the selection of breeds to meet each one of the different criteria.

With your handy hreference list of questions and answers you can now start working through the specific groups. Below is a general discussion of groups and breeds that are suitable for the various criteria. It is important to remember that each breed within a group and each dog within that breed will have his or her own personality, but the traits will be similar across the breed and group.

People with an active lifestyle will most likely be best matched with a dog that is willing and able to travel, enjoys exercise and adventure, and is easy to socialise and enjoys being with other people and pets. Dogs that have a high energy level and enjoy a very active lifestyle include dogs in the pastoral group, working group, hound dog, gundog group and the terrier group. Some of the dogs in the utility group also require a lot of exercise and movement on a regular, daily basis. This is very important for people to consider as dogs will need an active lifestyle daily, not just on weekends or holidays. Breeds that are excellent choices for active lifestyles include:

• The Terrier group including Airedale, Jack Russell, Cairn, Scottie, West Highland White, Kerry Blue, Skye, Sealyham and Bull Terriers.
• The Pastoral Group including Border Collies, Australian Cattle Dogs, Corgis, Collies and German Shepherds
• The Gundog Group including Irish Setters, English Setters, Brittany Spaniels, Cocker Spaniels, Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers.
• The Working Group including, Rottweilers, Boxers, Dobermann Pinscher, Siberian Husky
• Utility Group - Dalmatians, Akita, Spitz, Schnauzers, Poodles, Shih Tzu
• Hound Group - all breeds

Dogs that are generally suited to a calmer and more sedate lifestyle are often the larger breeds of dogs and those that are bred specifically as lapdogs or companion dogs. These breeds can be found in most groups but are more prominent in the Toy Group and the Utility Group. Dogs that do very well with small amounts of structured exercise and a quieter lifestyle include:

• Toy Group - Toy and Miniature Poodles, Pekingese, Maltese, Papillion, Yorkshire Terriers, Pomeranians and Pugs, Bichon Frise
• Utility Group - Boston Terrier, Mexican Hairless, Shar Pei, Lhasa Apso

In the pastoral group dogs that have been bred for watching over flocks as opposed to herding are often very calm dogs that require structured exercise times but can do very well in quieter lifestyles. These often include the various sheepdog breeds and even the Corgis.

Generally dogs that need a lot of exercise do better in country setting or at least in houses with moderate or large sized fenced gardens. This is true regardless of the actual physical size of the dog. It is interesting to note that many of the largest dogs need only a moderate amount of exercise per day whereas the smaller dogs need almost continuous opportunities to exercise throughout the day.

While most children and dogs can get along very well there are some groups or breeds that are not as adaptable to small children as others. As a general statement the Toy Group is not as suitable to families with small children as are some of the other groups. Dogs in the working group that have been bred as watchdogs may not be as appropriate for homes with small children or children that are timid of dogs. Excellent family dogs include:

• Working Group - St. Bernard, Newfoundland, Bouvier des Flandres, Portuguese Water Dog
• Pastoral Group - Sheepdogs, Collies and German Shepherds, Corgis
• Gundog Group - Spaniels, Setters, Labradors and Retrievers
• Utility Group - Akita, Japanese Spitz, Standard Poodle, Schnauzer, Shar Pei, Tibetan Spaniel and Terrier
• Hound Group - Bassett, Basenji, Beagles, Bloodhounds, Irish Wolfhound

Terrier group breeds can be excellent dogs with families and children provided the dogs have be raised with children and the children do not tease or provoke the dogs when they have had enough play. Terriers are naturally more possessive and territorial than many of the groups and may snap if children try to take toys or food. Dogs that are naturally aggressive are also not good companion dogs for children. Often small, toy or miniature dogs are less tolerant of children. Children should always be closely supervised when interacting with all dogs until the adults are confident of the relationship between the child and the dog. Teaching children how to pick up dogs, how to correct and play with dogs as well as how to speak to dogs is very important in the socialisation training of the puppy or dog.

It is important to note that some dogs are more likely to bond with one or two people rather than bonding with the whole family. These are also dogs that are very independent and tend to ignore commands from those that it does not consider its master. These dogs may be better suited to single person homes or homes where the owner will be home most of the time with the dog. Some breeds that are more prone to bonding with one or two people in the family include Anatolian Shepherds, Shar Pei, Tibetan Terriers, Border Collies, Toy or Miniature Dogs, Portuguese Water Dogs, some of the Sheepdogs and the Mastiff varieties and breeds.

Dogs that have been bred as companion dogs absolutely need a lot of attention by the owners. Some of these dogs become highly bonded with one person, and will become despondent, aggressive or even engage in destructive behaviour if they are not given enough attention. These traits are common in all groups of dogs however the Toy Group as a whole requires a minimum amount of time of isolation from owners per day. Dogs in the Toy Group should only be considered if family members are home the greatest part of the day, each and every day. Some of the spaniels such as the Cavalier King Charles and the American Cocker Spaniel require lots of attention on a daily basis.

Most breeds of dogs do require constant human companionship and need to feel that they are doing things for the family. Dogs that have been bred to work with humans continue to need that mental stimulation in their lives on a regular basis. Dogs such as Border Collies, Australian Cattle Dogs, Weimaraners and some of the Labradors, Salukis, Afghan Hounds, Basenji, Mexican Hairless, Boxers and Poodles do need to be kept busy and involved in their owner's lives and daily activities.

Generally all dogs are happier and more content if they have constant contact with their owners and families. Some breeds can do better in more independent situations such as being left at home during the day provided they have proper exercise or the run of a garden during the day. Some breeds that can tolerate being left alone for moderate amounts of time include:

• Working Group - Alaskan Malamute, Dobermann, Rottweilers, Mastiffs, Newfoundland, St. Bernard, Great Dane, Canadian Eskimo Dog
• Utility Group - Chow Chow, Schnauzer, Shar Pei, Akita, Japanese Inu
• Pastoral Group - German Shepherds, Komondors, Anatolian Shepherds, Collies, Sheepdogs, Corgis, Border Collies, Australian Cattle Dogs
• Terrier Group - Most of the terriers can be very independent and do well with moderate time alone.
• Gundog Group - Pointers, Setters, Labradors
• Hound Group - Bloodhounds, Greyhound, Irish Wolfhound

Generally if you are going to be away more than you or a responsible member of the family are planning to be home it may not be the right time in your life to own a dog.

The wonderful thing about dogs is that if they are properly socialised and trained almost all breeds can learn to get along well with other dogs as well as other pets. Some breeds, however, are less tolerant of other pets and dogs than others. Generally dogs in the gundog group are fairly receptive to all types of animals and pets, as are dogs in the pastoral group. These breeds have not been trained to hunt, rather they have been trained to guard other animals or locate birds or animals, not to actually kill or hunt them.

Often larger dogs in the working group also get along wonderfully with cats, birds and even larger pets such as sheep, goats or horses. As with all dogs introductions to new or existing pets should be done slowly and with lots of supervision and monitoring by the owners.

Dogs in the Terrier group have been bred for their hunting ability. They are often the hardest to work with in teaching them to tolerate other pets, and if the dog is fully grown before other pets are introduced it may not be a good idea to leave them along together unsupervised, even if they appear to be adjusting well. Often Terriers and other hunting breeds will be fine with other pets when calm, but if they become agitated they can fall back on their natural instincts to kill prey. This will often happy if a cat and a dog are playing and the cat scratches or hurts the dog. The dog's natural instincts are to protect his or herself from the rats and other vermin that it was bred to hunt. These instincts usually lead to serious injury or even death to the cat, or at the very least an end to the companion relationship they may have had.

The final issue that may be of importance is to determine the type of dog that would suit your lifestyle is how much time and possibly even money you are prepared to spend on the upkeep of the dog's coat. Long-haired dogs do have additional time requirements to keep their coats shiny and healthy looking and may require grooming on a daily basis. Some of the breeds may also require clipping or stripping, which is a specialised method of removing hair to shape the coat. Each group has both long and short-haired dogs in the group so it is possible to find a variety of coat types within any group.

It is important to know also that some dogs, especially those with double coats will "blow" or completely shed the inner, soft coat usually once or twice a year. This can be a fairly messy time, and if you are planning on having an inside dog you should be aware that even an average shedding dog will increase the number of times the furniture and rugs need to be cleaned during the shed.

After you have narrowed down you're the choices to a group or a few breeds, you can then start to do some intensive research to find the right match. There is no right or wrong dog for anyone, provided they are able to provide the right physical environment for the dog, keep the dog properly cared for, trained, exercised and fed, as well as involving the dog in their lives. Since deciding to get a dog or a puppy is a commitment that will last 12 to 15 years or more, it really is crucial to take the time and consider all aspects of owning a dog. Remember that a little puppy that looks so cute and small may one day be a huge dog so try to keep in mind how the full-sized version will fit into your lifestyle.

In addition to just doing research online or in books consider calling a few breeders or talking to owners of the breed that you are interested in. Ask about the positives as well as the challenges to owning the breed. Try to stay open-minded and ask questions to determine if the breed will work for you and your family.

Often the dog or breed that you really dreamed about owning may not be a suitable dog for your lifestyle. Be realistic and look for a dog that would match your lifestyle but still has the characteristics that you are looking for in a pet and companion. You may be amazed at the breeds that you find that will fit perfectly with your family.