What is the Best Dog Breed?
That’s an almost impossible question to answer quickly!
 Just about every breed has its good points and bad points Then, there are breed characteristics and these will provide a good indication of how a puppy will behave when an adult, a lot depends on the individual dog’s bloodlines and on how it’s brought up, handled, and trained.
One of the first considerations when you ask yourself what is the best dog breed, in order to decide upon the breed of dog you'll take home, is to prefer a dog breed that you have personal experience with.
Choosing a dog breed is an important long term decision, so I do recommend that you put in some good research to discover which breed of dog is right for you, and your family, if your pet will be living with others.
Maybe the first consideration should be to eliminate dogs which would not be the best dog breed for you, by size. This is an important consideration and the type and size of your home is important here.
Size of Dog
Overall, smaller breeds are recommended for apartments. Dog breeds classed as small miniature and toy will be suitable for small residences. Dog breeds like pugs, Boston terriers and Chihuahuas are suggested on the web. But that's not an unbreakable principle, and if you yourself spend a lot of time outdoors and will have the dog with you for extensive exercise, clearly size of dwelling will not matter greatly. For example, New Yorkers are famous for keeping large breeds like Great Danes in high-rise apartment buildings. So long as the dog is a calm breed (not a working breed like a Border Collie) and gets all the exercise it wants, you can often ignore this rule.
Grooming
Your choice of dog breed should be one with which the time you have to spend on attending to them matches your lifestyle. Some dogs have coats which require a great deal of attention in grooming. Some breeds are heavy shedders and even good grooming practice won’t prevent the presence of hair on house furnishings. Heavy shedders can shed small amounts of hair throughout the year, and some produce so much unwanted hair during their spring and fall shedding seasons that the chunks need to be stripped out with a special shedding brush.
By contrast with some dog breeds, you need only brush dirt and loose hair from their short coat occasionally. Other dog breeds require really careful brushing and combing at least twice weekly to prevent mats and tangles.
If you are short on time, don't buy a Standard Poodle or a Maltese, unless, of course, you plan to take your dog to a groom. Breeds like Boston Terriers or Whippets are good choices for people who don't have time to do a lot of grooming.
Also, some dog breeds with long coats require a dedicated routine of 10-20 minutes every other day or so, or else their coat will be an ugly, matted mess which once allowed to develop will be hard to untangle.
Alternatively, you may choose a best dog breed for you with along coat, but take your pet to a grooming studio where they will be sheared short every few months and as long as you keep returning for shearing at the set interval, they're coat will be low-maintenance and always easy to brush.
Now at this point of the article I am aware that this article about “What is the Best Dog Breed” has gone a long way with yet mentioning the all important personality traits of a single dog breed. However, I think that is only once you have decided upon the best dog breed for you for size, and grooming, start thinking specifically about the breeds themselves.
Dog Breed Personality Traits
The selection of a best dog breed for you should then move to consider what the breeds were bred for, and starting there will give you a good indication of dog character.
You should be aware that any type of bird dog, hunting dog or terrier will have a genetically programmed wish to after other critters. This can be dangerous if not handled correctly and at its worst results in their chasing sheep, or other stock in fields. Some within this class of dog breeds will be so besotted with their chase that they wander off from their owners, and may become lost.
If your pet will be amongst stock on a farm etc herding dogs which are well disciplined will be a good choice. My friend’s German Shepherd ignores birds completely including chickens. Pyrenese are reputed to be good with livestock of any kind. However, raise a puppy with the chickens and almost any breed would be good with them in later life, we are sure.
If you want a quiet, mellow dog, don't bring home a dog that was bred for hunting. If you don’t want a high-energy dog, steer away from the sporting breeds, the herding breeds, and a lot of the working breeds. Remember that these are dogs that are designed to work outside with working people (farmers, laborers etc) all day. So they're going to have a lot of energy and won’t be good if shut up for large parts of the day while for instance, you go to work. Those dogs, bred to work, usually need both physical and mental exercise or if they're going to be happy. Unhappiness in a dog may then be expressed as destructiveness.
Many people like to go for the highly trainable breeds. These breeds are great with kids because they're usually eager to please and are usually more family oriented, rather than attaching themselves to one person.
The best dog breeds for many people lie in any of the sporting group of dog breeds. These are dogs that were bred to work side by side with man, taking direction from their owner. They also are some of the most popular family dogs.
Larger dogs are often good with children because a child could more easily accidentally hurt a smaller dog so they might feel like they need to defend themselves, whereas big dogs can afford to be calm because a small child wouldn't be strong enough to hurt them.
The dogs which are good with children include Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers and many others. There is another plus point for many people as well, that being that a number of herding breeds are also highly trainable, such as German shepherds and Collies.
The best dog breed for families is a common request. Well we have given some of the answer to this already. Breeds, like Golden Retrievers and Labradors, are fantastic with kids.
The best dog breeds for many people can be answered when they answer the question. Do you need a dog that is well-suited for specialized skills? If so, go for that skill.
Some breeds are excellent for example, as guard dogs, guide dogs, watch dogs, agility competition competing dogs, ratting, sniffing out truffles etc. Not to worry though, nearly any dog will alert you to a fire or an intruder.
Other breeds will naturally tend to get along with your existing menagerie just fine. Others won’t! Do you have other animals? Some dogs will not easily get along with other animals, including cats and other dogs. In fact, it is possible to choose a second dog which will not live harmoniously with the pet you already own. Other breeds will naturally tend to get along with your existing menagerie just fine. Be guided by the breeder on this when you go to see them.
Finally I like the Beagle. The Beagle has been described as a versatile, happy dog, that adapts well to a family life. Because of their smaller size, they aren’t threatening to a smaller child and will happily follow along beside your children as they carry out their play time activities. Their naturally friendly disposition makes them a good breed for children.
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