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My husband and I have been talking about getting a couple of dogs for a while and weren't planning on getting them for another year or two. After a somewhat scary yet ultimately uneventful night last night, we are considering getting them sooner both for companionship and as an "early warning" system should anyone enter the home while we are asleep.

We initially looked at German Shepherds but because of the shedding issue we would like to look at dogs either with shorter, fine hair or those that don't shed constantly. My husband expressed concerns about the size of the dogs - he wants something medium-sized, not small and not excessively large. We want dogs with deeper barks - no sissy yipping. The dogs would be family dogs, not guard dogs, so the temperament needs to be friendly towards children and such.
My husband had Corgis growing up and loved them, but both because of their short statue and heavy shedding we do not want to get that breed. The temperament is perfect though. :)

Any suggestions on breeds that fit this criteria? Especially if you own a breed like this, I would love to hear from you.
Obviously I am also doing my own research but like hearing from those who own the breeds gives me a better idea of what might be a good fit.

We have an Australian Shepherd mix. I would highly recommend an Australian cattle dog. Sheila is THE smartest and best dog I've ever had. She's well behaved, sheds minimally and is an outstanding watch dog. The down side is, they really need a lot of room to run. They get kind of down in the dumps if they don't get to "work." Between my son and my twin nieces, she had plenty of work and would shepherd the kids all around the back yard.

My brother is currently fostering an 8 month old blood hound and looking for a good home for him. He's VERY big and insanely smart. His stature alone would scare someone.

T.

Schnauzer
They are a Terrier (Loyal, Protective, will bark at stuff) and you can pick some up from Mr. Cotton.

Also Dogs shed, btw.
Even "designer" (AKA MUTTS) breeds.

AndyC - Beautiful dogs and I looked up a bit about them...they look like a good fit for the most part but unfortunately I think their size would be a turn-off for hubby. :( I'll keep it on the table though as the temperament is a big factor and it seems to be a good fit in that aspect.

TLynnHughes - That size is much closer to what I think hubby wants. We have a large yard (more square footage than our home) so they would have lots of room. Only thing that concerned me is that I read they tend to nip at heels (understandable as they were bred to herd) and when we have children I wouldn't want to worry about the dogs nipping at them while they're still wobbly on their legs.

marksiwel - Yes, but some breeds shed more than others. :) I like what I've read about the Schnauzer in all areas and especially temperament. The part about a nice deep bark also pleases me.

These are all great suggestions and are going on the list of breeds to research. Honestly I had never heard of a Rhodesian Ridgeback until it was posted, but looks to be a decent match for what we want...so keep suggestions coming, please! I'm sure there are more breeds out there my hubby and I have not yet considered simply because it hasn't crossed our minds or we aren't aware they exist. :)

May I suggest you get a couple of MinPins. Miniature Pinscher. They are really good watch dogs and even though they are small they don't sound yippy. No sheading either. Very affectionate and loyal to their owners. I have 6 MinPins and 2 German Sheps. So if something gets by the Min's (which never happens as they will let you know if something is coming a block away) the Sheps take over. No one has ever been able to sneak up on my house. No one ever has to ring the doorbell. When I hear the barking I stop what I am doing and look out the window. Good luck in your quest for your new family member.

Not to big, not to small, short hair, one great companion and a pretty deep voice: The Beagle. It's in the hound group.

Had one when I was a kid growing up out in the country. It followed me everywhere. A good choice imo.

http://www.akc.org/breeds/beagle/index.cfm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We recently (about three weeks ago) adopted a dog from the Dallas Animal Shelter. My wife picked her out (or was it the other way around?) and went by for several days before asking me to take a look at her. My wife wanted my approval (like I really had a choice, huh?) The only condition I set on the deal was to that my wife agreed to name her Phydeaux. She's some sort of mini-Schnauzer/Yorkie mix but has an underbite like a Shih Tzu. Many years ago I had a Yorkie and didn't really like the yappy bark she had. But this dog has been a pleasant surprise. For one thing, she is extremely calm for a year-old dog (vet's estimate) and didn't bark at all for the first four days. The first time she barked, she was on our front porch and barked at a tree trimmer in a hooded sweatshirt next door. And it's a surprisingly deep bark. A couple of early mornings ago, she woke us up by coming to the side of the bed (didn't bark) when a scavenger was going through some scrap wood set out for bulk trash pickup next door. My wife said she wouldn't shed. I didn't believe it. But she sheds less than I do. Her hair doesn't even come out when she is brushed or bathed. But she does seem to fart a lot. And it is a tad unpleasant. Perhaps an adjustment to her diet would help than situation. I don't know.

Hey ninemm. I blame mine on the dog too!
There has always been a dog or two (or three) in our household. If I didn't have a dog, I couldn't sleep at night. There have been many times they have provided early warning of approaching strangers.
And FWIW ninemm, I changed my diet and it seemed to help. :)

joe817 wrote:Not to big, not to small, short hair, one great companion and a pretty deep voice: The Beagle. It's in the hound group.

Had one when I was a kid growing up out in the country. It followed me everywhere. A good choice imo.

http://www.akc.org/breeds/beagle/index.cfm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's a good possibility Joe. I had one growing up too. Talk about LOYAL! and well behaved.

Random, you're right about Australian Shepherds and heel nipping. The only time Sheila did it was if hubby and son were rough-housing and she thought son was being hurt. She would nip at hubby's heels and grab his pants legs to try and pull him away. Never broke the skin, but it could be strong enough to knock down a wee one when they're learning to walk.

T.

ninemm wrote:But she does seem to fart a lot. And it is a tad unpleasant

Sorry to tell you this but I don't think a change in diet will help. I,too, have a STINKER! Hopefully your dogs "windy's" don't burn your eyes. My dog creates a green cloud that puts tear gas to shame. I have tried every GOOD brand of dry dog food, still the stinkers come. I have just decided to leave the room when the green cloud appears. And I might add there are no table scraps in his diet. Guess I am lucky that only 1 out of 6 have this problem. If they all had it I would have to leave home or get myself a doghouse.

Miniature Schnauzer; great dogs and virtually no shedding. Have a look at some rescue dogs here http://www.msrh.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chas.

German Shepard. While ours has shed enough to start our own pillow and mattress factory, there's nothing quite like them IMHO. Trainable and personable, possessive but not territorial, great with children as long as they are socialized in a family environment. We will never know how many times our family and belongings have been passed over by BGs who saw or heard our Caesar and decided it was not worth the trouble - same for door-to-door sales people .

If you go with a GSD, get the working breed, not the American show breed, again IMHO.

mctowalot wrote:Hey ninemm. I blame mine on the dog too!.....
And FWIW ninemm, I changed my diet and it seemed to help. :)

I should have seen that coming.

Our lab is a high dB alarm system, the other 4 dogs then light off and participate. Our Mini long hair Doxie has the next louder voice and it is amazingly deep for one so small.

The lab has major gas when she has had a rawhide, which is every evening. She sleeps in our room, along with the doxie, and it can get pretty ripe.

Senior, try wetting down the dry food. Just a little water seems to help, it cuts down on the amount of air ingested with the food.

We also have a couple with next to nuclear belches.

We had a beautiful ridgeback for a while, but she did not get along well with the rest of the dogs, so we very sorrowfully and reluctantly passed her along to another owner. She thought she was a lapdog which, at seventy pounds, was kind of interesting. She was also a mighty squirrel hunter, but only ever caught the tail of one, and the look on her face when she tried to spit out the resulting mouthful of fur was one of the most comical things I have ever seen.