I always swore that I would never want a dog. Now, I am not so sure. I loathe it when people own dogs that are annoying, untrained barking machines and do not want to fall into that trap. What I would really want eventually is a big, low-energy dog that would also be good for home defense.
Some breeds that I was considering are German Sheps, Dobermans, and Rotties. It might not be that soon until we would get one, but I am just shooting for ideas about this. My biggest bone of contention; my husband! He swears up and down that while he loves others' dogs, he would never want one. He has bad tastes in his mouth because we know of so many people who either let their dogs walk all over them, or have too many for their space and finances and let them run amok.
But.. Mark owned an English bulldog years ago. He loved that dog.. even though it was so lazy that halfway into a walk, he would just stop and sit panting and had to be carried home But Herman was dog-napped from Mark about a year before we started dating.. and he has not had a dog since. Maybe my leverage would be to look into getting a puppy and seeing what breeds he likes too? I know that we both dislike super-high-energy breeds and smaller dogs, as he would have to double as a home-security provider; otherwise we would just get another cat. My cat would nuzzle and beg an intruder for food! Granted, we have cameras for security; this is not the main reason we would get the dog..
I figure. Our landlord is ok with us having the horses.. so a dog would not be much more of an addition in the grand scheme of things. If we move, we already need to et a place that accomodates horses.. so space is not an issue in that way. There is even an unused dog-run fenced off with the garage attached, where he/she could get some nice exercise in yet still be prevented from running off into the woods. Your thoughts? My dream dog wold be one of those huge Rotties that are trained in Germany to attack and be called-off.. but we are not millionaires yet..
I have dog experience. I taught my mom's Golden how to be housebroken in one week flat, and can teach sitting, staying, lying tricks, etc. So a good mind to learn would be an asset too for a dog we would consider.. but I am not a fan of longer-haired breeds for housecleaning (by no means appearance; they are beautiful) reasons!