How Do I Know What Dog Breed Is Right for Me?

By David Harris, Founder & Master Trainer, Protection Dog Sales

Years ago, I thought I had found an easy answer to the question, “How do I know what breed of dog I should select?”

I was going to cheat.

Instead of writing an entire article about breed selection, I figured I would simply send everyone to one of those online breed-selection quizzes. Answer a few questions about your lifestyle, family, activity level and preferences, and—presto—the computer tells you which breed is perfect for you.

There was only one problem.

Before recommending one, I decided I had better take a few of the quizzes myself.

I went to four different sites, carefully answered the questions, and waited to see what breeds they would recommend.

Not one of them came close.

More interestingly, none recommended a German Shepherd or a Doberman.

That was a little hard for me to swallow.

I have owned German Shepherds virtually my entire life. I spent decades breeding German Shepherds and have built much of my professional career around understanding their genetics, temperament, development and training. Over the years, I have also worked extensively with Dobermans and developed our own working Doberman breeding program.

Yet according to these quizzes, apparently I should have been living with something else.

Maybe the quizzes know something I don't.

I doubt it.

Start With the Dog You Actually Want to Live With

If you're old enough and experienced enough to seriously consider what kind of dog fits your life, you probably already know more about your preferences than you realize.

Start with the obvious questions.

Do you want a large, medium or small dog?

Do you want a dog that requires regular professional grooming, or would you rather have a wash-and-wear coat?

How much shedding are you willing to tolerate?

Do you want high energy or laid-back?

Protective or naturally social with everyone?

Cuddly or independent?

How much barking can you tolerate?

What about digging?

How easily does the breed typically housebreak?

How trainable is it?

How much mental stimulation does it require?

How much exercise?

Can the breed settle in the house, or does it constantly need something to do?

What happens when that cute eight-week-old puppy becomes a physically mature two-year-old adult?

Those questions matter far more than whether you like the way a breed looks in a photograph.

But there is another question I consider even more important.

What Was This Breed Bred to Do?

If you want to understand a breed, study its history.

What did humans originally create this dog to do?

That purpose is written into the genetics of the breed.

We can modify behavior through training. We can develop desirable characteristics and establish rules and boundaries. Good breeding can also dramatically influence temperament within a breed.

But genetics still matter.

A breed developed to pursue game independently is going to approach the world differently from a breed developed to work in constant cooperation with a shepherd.

A livestock guardian bred to make independent decisions has a different mental operating system from a retriever bred to work closely with a hunter.

A terrier bred to go underground after vermin is going to bring certain characteristics to your living room whether you asked for them or not.

That doesn't make one breed better than another.

It makes them different.

Consider the Coonhound

Suppose you want a dog that constantly looks to you for direction, checks in frequently and naturally wants to work as a team.

A Coonhound probably wouldn't be my first suggestion.

Why?

Look at the job.

These dogs were developed to pursue game, often at considerable distances from the hunter. They needed enough independence to continue working without constantly asking a human what to do next.

And when they found something?

They barked.

A lot.

That voice allowed the hunter to locate the dog.

So if you purchase a Coonhound and later complain that your dog wants to follow its nose, make independent decisions and bark, the dog may not be malfunctioning at all.

It may be doing exactly what generations of selective breeding designed it to do.

Why I Have Always Loved German Shepherds

Personally, I like dogs that check in.

I want a dog that looks to me for direction. I want communication between dog and handler. I want enough drive to perform serious work, but I also want a dog capable of functioning as part of a team.

This is one reason I've spent so much of my life with German Shepherds.

The name tells you a great deal about their original purpose: German sheep-herding dogs.

A good shepherd dog needed tremendous versatility.

It had to pay attention to the shepherd while simultaneously monitoring livestock and the surrounding environment. It needed enough sensitivity to respond to subtle direction, enough confidence to solve problems, enough independence to act when necessary, and enough cooperation to remain part of the team.

Working livestock takes finesse.

Those characteristics help explain why the German Shepherd later became successful in so many other jobs.

Police work. Military applications. Search and rescue. Service work. Detection. Competitive dog sports. Family companionship. And, of course, personal protection.

When you understand what a breed was created to do, many of its modern behaviors suddenly make much more sense.

Be Careful Where You Get Your Breed Information

So where should you learn about a breed?

Breeders and breed-specific organizations can be excellent sources of information.

But there is a catch.

A very, very big catch.

People who love a breed are naturally biased toward that breed.

That's human nature.

If someone has spent 30 years breeding, showing and living with a particular breed, they probably aren't going to describe those dogs with complete emotional detachment.

Some excellent breeders will tell you the truth—the good, the bad and the ugly.

Those are the breeders I respect.

In fact, a really good breeder may spend more time explaining why you shouldn't own one of their puppies than trying to convince you to buy one.

Don't be offended by that.

Pay attention.

A breeder willing to lose a sale because they don't believe their breed—or a particular puppy—is appropriate for your family is probably someone worth listening to.

Want Another Opinion? Ask a Dog Trainer.

Here is what I really think people should do when they're seriously considering an unfamiliar breed:

Ask an experienced professional dog trainer.

Preferably one who has been training dogs full-time for at least ten years and has worked with a wide variety of breeds.

Why?

Because trainers see what happens after the puppy goes home.

Breeders can carefully select homes for their puppies. Trainers usually don't have that luxury.

We get the phone call afterward.

"My dog won't stop barking."

"My dog is destroying the house."

"My dog won't come when called."

"My dog is chasing everything that moves."

"My dog doesn't care what I want."

"My dog needs something to do every waking minute."

"My dog is much more protective than I expected."

And sometimes:

"I had no idea this dog was going to get this big, this strong or this intense."

The trainer is tasked with helping that family make the relationship work.

After decades of doing that, you develop a very practical understanding of breeds—not just what they look like at their best, but what they're capable of at their worst.

An experienced trainer may tell you something you don't want to hear.

That's exactly why you should ask.

Go Watch the Breed in the Real World

Another great way to learn about a breed is remarkably simple:

Go watch them.

Dog shows, training clubs, obedience classes, sporting events and other places where you can observe dogs and their owners can teach you a tremendous amount.

Don't just watch the polished performance.

Watch what happens between performances.

How does the dog interact with its owner?

How does it react to strangers?

Other dogs?

Noise?

Excitement?

Frustration?

Waiting?

Nothing happening?

That last one is important.

Most family dogs spend considerably more time not working than working. The ability to relax and simply live with a family matters.

Talk to People Who Actually Own Them

Find people who have lived with the breed for years.

Then ask questions beyond, “Do you like your dog?”

Of course they like their dog.

Ask:

"What drives you crazy about this breed?"

"What do you wish someone had told you before you bought one?"

"Would you own another?"

"What kind of person should NOT own this breed?"

Those answers are usually much more revealing.

I also think there is value in observing the people attracted to a particular breed.

Do their lifestyles look anything like yours?

Do you have similar expectations of your dogs?

Would you enjoy living the way they live with their dogs?

People often gravitate toward breeds that complement their personalities and lifestyles. It's certainly not a scientific test, but it can be another useful piece of information.

Don't Choose a Breed. Choose a Lifestyle.

Ultimately, breed selection isn't about picking the dog you think looks coolest.

You're selecting an animal that may share your home and your life for the next 10 to 15 years.

So don't ask only:

“What breed do I like?”

Ask:

“What characteristics do I want to live with every single day?”

Then work backward.

Study the breed's original purpose.

Study its genetics.

Talk to reputable breeders.

Talk to experienced trainers.

Talk to longtime owners.

Most importantly, observe the dogs themselves.

And be honest about yourself.

Not the person you intend to become after getting the dog.

The person you are today.

If you're a couch potato, buying a high-drive working dog probably isn't going to magically turn you into an outdoorsman.

If you hate dog hair, don't convince yourself that you'll suddenly stop caring about shedding.

If you don't enjoy training dogs, don't select a breed that needs a job simply because you admire what highly trained examples of that breed can do.

There are hundreds of dog breeds because humans spent generations developing dogs for very different jobs, environments and lifestyles.

That's not something we should try to erase.

It's something we should understand.

After more than four decades of working professionally with dogs, I still believe observation, education and a healthy dose of common sense will tell you more about the breed that's right for you than any online quiz ever will.

Understand what the dog was bred to do. Understand who you are. Then decide whether those two things belong in the same house.

— David Harris
Founder & Master Trainer
Protection Dog Sales