Which Breed is Best for Me ?

When choosing a pet dog, especially for the first time, it’s vital to be sure which breed will meet all your lifestyle requirements. Many of todays special breeds have been developed over hundreds of years to undertake specific tasks, be it hunting, retrieving, helping out on the farm etc. and their individual characteristics reflect this.

Babe the pig wanted to be a Border Collie, and the popularity of Border Collies soared.

The evil Cruella deVille kidnapped bright-eyed Dalmatians for evil purposes, and Dalmatians made it into the top 10 breeds registered by the American Kennel Club. Lady and the Tramp made Cocker Spaniels more sought after than ever. Not every dogs however is suitable for everyone and choosing can be difficult.

Here we give you a few tips on certain breeds taken from a wordwide survey of 1,000 practising vets it gives average marks from 1-10 for each characteristic listed with the lowest scores being the least favourable. But remember this is only a guide as individual dogs are as different as individual people!

Breed	Border Collie	Dalmation	Poodle
Size	6-8	4	8
Good First Dog	No	No	Yes
Noise	6	6	6
Trainabilty	10	6	10
Good With Children ?	4	4	10
Breed	Welsh Corgi	Yorkshire Terrier	Boxer
Size	8	2	8
Good First Dog	Perhaps	Perhaps	Perhaps
Noise	6	10	4
Trainabilty	8	2-4	6
Good With Children ?	4	2	8
Breed	Chow Chow	Bulldog	Labrador
Size	8	6-8	8
Good First Dog	No	Perhaps	Yes
Noise	2	4	2
Trainabilty	2	2	10
Good With Children ?	2	8	10
Breed	Shih Tzu	Rottweiler	Beagle
Size	2-4	10	6
Good First Dog	Yes	No	Yes
Noise	6	2	10
Trainabilty	6	6-8	2
Good With Children ?	10	4	8
Breed	Basset Hound	Pug	Saint Bernard
Size	8	4	10
Good First Dog	Perhaps	Yes	No
Noise	4	8	2
Trainabilty	4	2	4
Good With Children ?	10	8	8