Thinking about an addition to our family

I've had quite a few different purebreds over my lifetime, German Shepherd, Great Danes, Fox Terrier, Labradors. Other relatives have had other breeds (purebreds too) While they were all great dogs, I have to honestly say that the mutt (mixed breed Heintz 57 variety) were the absolute best. Purebreds seem to have a lot of health problems, more so than mongrels do. All mine have had hip problems, and other medical problems, as they aged. The mutts seemed to be mostly problem free and hardly cost me anything extra than routine yearly vet care & meds. I sure wish I could say the same thing about the purebreds! (But I can't!) Some of the best and most loyal dogs my Dad ever had came from the pound. I think that no matter where you get your older dog from, it's important to interact with it some and ask the people who are taking care of it how it seems to behave. Does it get along with the other animals there? Or does it get upset when another dog or cat goes by? When it's in a shelter, or even a regular home, one thing they can tell is if it's pretty happy, or aggressive, or whatever. I think you also can tell if a dog has an attitude problem. Good luck in finding a nice pooch that will blend in with your family! Let us know what you ended up getting! Oh yeah, here's a couple of links that tell basic personalities of the different breeds of dogs. Maybe that will help if you know some of their tendencies. http://www.k9country.com/perl//dogBreed.pl http://www.petpeoplesplace.com/resources/breed_profiles/dogs/

I think you need to make sure the dog you get does not hate cats. You may want to get an older dog who has lived with cats before. My dog has always lived with cats since he was a puppy. he does chase and harass our cat quite a bit, but my cat is mellow, and when Beau is not in chase mode they are quite chummy. My best advice get a mellow, not overly agressive dog.

Wow Trace, what a great idea and great addition to your family. I amsure it will take the cat a little time to get used to a dof for a new housemate and friend. Can't wait for you to tell us how it is going. We have a cat and many of our friends have both cats and dogs. They can be really good company for each other!

A rat or fox terrier would be a good choice.

Oh! Oh! Oh! Pick me, pick me! lol. I'm not sure how thrilled you'll be with my recommendations, depending on which rumors you want to believe hehe. But there are a couple of breeds I would defeniatly recommend! Boxers or Rottweilers. I work around ALL different kinds of dog; big and small. And in my experience boxers and rottweilers are THE SWEETEST dogs ever! Doberman pinchers are too! omg I love them all lol. But really, I think it would be best for you to go to your local shelter, look at all the dogs. Chances are you'll find one you love that gets along with cats. And adopt it! :) And just to add, personally, I think it's great you're gonna adopt an older dog rather than a puppy, everyone always seems to want the puppies! And I think older dogs need saving more than them =P So I vow only to adopt older dogs too! lol.

Are you trying to avoid shaggy hair because of shedding issues? Or is grooming more of a concern? My short haired dog sheds pretty consistently throughout the year, but my longer haired dog sheds once and then is done. It's so counter intuitive! One of the things you should look into is the breed characteristics of different dogs to get an idea of what kind of dog would best fit your lifestyle. If you're not really active people you probably don't want to get a dog that needs 4 hours of exercise a day. Once you have an idea of what characteristics are important to you you'll be able to check with local breed rescues and/or your local shelters to find a dog that's a good match.