Quote Originally Posted by badger View Post
thanks, Elk. I do look at certain breeds, but even within those breeds there are exceptions. But that being said, I'm not looking at any of the herding breeds, and it's not my choice to look at terriers as they have a pretty strong prey-drive, too, but these dogs from Taiwan tend to mostly be of the basenji/terrier types.

I'm very cautious about the temperament, I would say that is the primary quality I'm looking at. Calm, gentle, friendly, and easy going. My old dog was mostly-rottweiler, and yeah, all he did was pretty much sleep all day and all night.

I really would hate to have a dog come all the way from Taiwan and find that our energies are all wrong. I do need a calm dog indoors but are able to keep up with the occasional runnin, hiking and camping type of lifestyle. Still processing it all and it will be a decision I won't be making lightly.

On another note, I volunteer at the SPCA hospital and I'm fostering a little schnauzer with a broken leg for a few weeks. Hopefully he'll get me in the doggy frame of mind and routine. I won't be keeping him, even though he's cute. He's still very young (about 8 months) and is cute, smart, and small. he'll be adopted just like *that*. I want a dog that most people would pass up. A diamond in the rough, so to speak.
well there you go! you know what to look for. i can;t remember if you said you had cats...yes i think....look at the greyhounds, if you like them....they are so noble and grateful and there are SO many of them who need homes.
(just make sure it's a cat safe one...)
I suppose the right pit/mix might work....but I don;t know that much about them. A friend of mine who runs a county shelter keeps telling me about these fabulous dogs: kid, cat, other dog safe pits that go unadopted because of their breed. But then she's someone who's totally honest and who is VERY dog savvy. I've met lots of people---good people-- who work in rescue and shelters who are NOT dog savvy...they just want to see the dogs adopted.

One other note. Some Shelter/rescue people have really limited practical breed knowledge. Sweet Larissa looks like a "primitive" like many dogs all over the world. Especially feral and 3rd world dogs. Medium sized, upright or curled tail, prick ears, short hair. The Original, or Ur dog. Basenjis are a kind of primitive breed, but Manchesters are not....point being, I suspect they said MT because she's small and black.

I get a laugh out of looking at Petfinder and finding things like part Saluki, part Coon hound....rare breeds who are very unlikely to have met and copulated in unsupervised circumstances...But because the dog has feathers on drop ears is black and tan and runs fast...IOW it's a rather improbable guess.

BUT!
This is the fun part...looking for love in all the right places....;-) Open your heart and the right dogs will find their way towards you....;-)