dalmatians?--

[wordgirl]

You could look at Standard Schnauzers.

http://www.akc.org/breeds/standard_schnauzer/index.cfm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Schnauzer

http://www.breederretriever.com/dog-breeds/219/standard-schnauzer.php

http://www.doggies.com/Standard_Schnauzer

Or if you want something bigger, the Giant Schnauzer.

http://www.akc.org/breeds/giant_schnauzer/index.cfm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_schnauzer

http://www.breederretriever.com/dog-breeds/147/giant-schnauzer.php

http://www.doggies.com/Giant_Schnauzer

I do not own either of these breeds – just a suggestion. Just make sure you really learn and read as much as you can about the breed you're interested in and meet several dogs of the breed before committing to bringing one into your family.

 

[dinahmoe]

Quote:
thanks-i had thought of the giant schnauzers-but have never known any personaly.i will look into it.

 

[Brindlebtch]

The trick is going to be getting the dog to bond to your kid enough to want to be with him and keep track of him. I would get a b!tch for that for of duty. Don't let it bond with the other dogs, it needs to be a people dog.

Giant Schnauzer
Rotti
AmStaff
GSD
Bull Mastiff

I'm just throwing out possibilities, here. I'm not promoting any particular breed. I'm sure folks have pros and cons.

 

[vicki2x2]

My daughter wanted a dog several years ago. She needed a new show dog, hers was 12 and it was getting to much for her. I set up some guidelines and let her research and choose. I wanted a medium sized dog, short hair, must be good with kids & other dogs and preferably other small animals. Nothing with high energy, pretty much ruled out sporting and herding dogs because of that. Something fairly easy to train, since she wanted to show it in 4-H (obedience, showmanship, agility) and also AKC & UKC. That ruled out most hounds. What she found was a little bigger than I initially wanted, but sounds like the size you are looking for. We got a doberman, female, and she has been fantastic.

My daughter kept her kennel in her room, did all the feeding, etc so the dog would bond with her. Our other dogs all look for mom and didn't listen to dd as well. My daughter did all the training and when dd was 12 and said pup was 10 months, she finished her UKC Championship with 4 group placements, including a Group 1. She went on to earn her AKC CGC (Canine Good Citizen) certificate and has shown in 4-H every year since. She has her quirks, she is a big baby, the cats beat the crap at her if she even looks at them funny, she absolutely loves everyone, but has a huge bark when people come to the door.

Anyway, might be a breed worth considering. I love her to death, she isn't the breed I would have picked, but she certainly has lived up to everything we have asked of her and then some. Sounds like dobes might fill your wish list too.

Oh side note, of course, do your homework, which you are obviously doing. We chose a breeder who did all the health testing on her dobes, including hips & elbows, cardiac, thyroid & VwD. Also, Mom was an obedience dog and came from a long line of obedience dogs, had her CDX and was bred to a AKC/UKC Champion who also had his CD title. The pups had brains and beauty, plus they were healthy, it was a perfect combination.

 

[dlolato]

In reading all the responses about vicious Dals, it surprised me as I never thought the breed to be vicious. I do know that it is not known to be an intelligent breed, but I guess we were fortunate with our male. He would bark if someone came to the door, but never snapped or attacked anyone. When my husband would play around and pretend he was going to attack me, he would go after him, but all actions were in play. I do believe, that if anyone ever tried to hurt me, he would without fail, have protected me.

He was also gentle with the children and grandchildren, loved the horses and never went after any of the chickens or other animals we have had.

In our area, alot of individuals will buy Dals for their children at Christmas, not realizing that it is a high maintenance pet. They only reflect on the movie (101 Dalmatians) and think everything will be that easy........shortly after the reality kicks in, they have been dumped at the pound, or sent to Dalmation Adoption Organizations. On any Sunday, you can go to Pet's Mart, and they will have them out front attempting to adopt the dogs out. Interesting enough, alot of their history will be that they are chained in backyards without any attention.......I do believe any one could become vicious in those conditions.

We also have a female Boxer who is two years old.......we go her when she was nine months old because the owner said she was hard to manage and attacked children. She has never harmed any of the Grandchildren or anyone coming into our house or yard. Will gather the chickens when they are free ranging and will NEVER put her mouth on any of them. She comes to the barn with me always and has never attacked any human, or animal. So, is the difference in the way she is being raised??????

 

[onthespot]

how to tell as a puppy? Not a sure fire 100% sure way, but I would NEVER buy one that, as a puppy, looked up at you and you see too much white sclera showing on the bottom edge of the eye, just above the bottom eyelid. Like they are looking at you with not "true" posture, looking without totally looking face front toward you, if that makes sense. Those ones are already geared wrong from birth.

Some people will disagree with me too, but after years working for beagle rescue, I would never buy a beagle puppy with high, "tight set" ears, kind of close together toward the top of the head with too many wrinkles bunched up between the ears over their forhead, running longwise from eyes toward the collar. Those dogs ALWAYS had a screw loose and were agressive to people and/or other dogs, to the point of drawing blood repeatedly.

 

[pardygwyn]

Quote:
There are plenty of dogs out there whose former owners had no clue how to own a dog whatsoever - inconsistency in training and tying them out all the time are two biggest causes for naughty dogs that I've run into in my fostering. Dogs are also individuals and will react differently to different living situations. Sensitive or protective dogs act out in abusive homes, naturally assertive dogs will happily lord over an unassertive owner for reasons that may seem strange to us. For instance, I had a collie grump once who would initiate an alpha play by pushing her head under your hand. If you gave in and petted her too many times, she would decide you were submitting and any obedience she may have shown you before would immediately evaporate. Always fun around visitors who didn't know they were being "tested."

I'm glad to hear your boxer was given a legitimate second chance.

 

[dinahmoe]

Quote:
i completly understand.my husband raises horses and when we first met thats what he would tell me when i saw what i thought was a good horse(i had never owned a horse)."you don't want that horse,he has too much white in his eyes"he'd say.now that i we have been married awhile and i deal alot with horses,i get it.