best of breed??

[mtjeeper]

What is your opinion of the best breed of family dog?

Our personal choice is labs( unless you ask DW and than she'll say golden retriever  :p )

Labs all the way!!!

matt

[Cheryl]

My Mom was raised with an Australian Border Collie and my brother and I were raised with a miniature Australian Border Collie. Both had the best family temperaments and extreme family loyalty. They were very easy to train, were not needless barkers, and traveled well. My Dh and I had an Irish Setter (Which I had ALWAYS wanted) and he also was a good family dog. He was very good with our daughter when she came along. Everyone is going to be partial to the family dog they grew up with, for the most part. The smartest thing to do when choosing a family pet is to take your time and to have all family members meet and spend some time with the pet before making any commitment. Study the animal's personality and how each family member interacts with the prospective pet. I know that isn't always easy and is even harder the younger the pet or a family member is, but it's worth the effort.
Just my $.02 worth.
Happy pet hunting,
Cheryl

[daldricht]

We have a 19-month old AKC Red Doberman and his personality is great for camping and family stuff. He is big (104 lbs so far) so he has his own bed in the popup. We started off with a round dog bed pillow in the middle of the floor and he is actually getting used to us stepping over him. But I am going to have the side seat cushion covered (removable to wash) and let him have that - now that he is larger than the middle of the floor. Since the 5 kids grew up and moved, we now have a 4-legged kid that loves marshmallows, chocolate bar and graham crackers - a true camper!

[wavery]

We LOVE Yellow Labs and Golden Retrievers. However, they both tend to have health issues (that'll get me some flack :p )......HMMMMMMMMM!!!

When we get our next dog, we plan to get a Lab/Retriever mix. I know a few people that have them. They tend to be less hyper than the Lab and more kid (and bird :p ) friendly than the Retriever. They also are said to be healthier.

So.....I would have to say a Lab/Retriever :sombraro: .

Just for the record........I voted for "Mutt". We love most all dogs <maybe that'll keep me out of trouble>

[AustinBoston]

I feel that German Canardleys are best, but there are similar breeds that can work well - Irish Canardley, Welsh Canardley, etc.

What's a Canardley?  Depends on what goes with it.  For example, a Border Canardley would be part border collie, but you can hardley (Canardley) tell.

Austin

[ForestCreature]

The best breed is which ever I happen to have at the time.  We are currently on our 3rd family pet.

The first was a Briard/Lab mix, she was an awesome  dog and a great camper. She was so strong that once she followed us to the bath house that was close to our site.... with picnic table attached!...(we had her tied to an old log table) I really thought there would never be a better dog. She lived  to be 13, not bad for an 85 - 90 lb 'der
About half yr late we got Shadow, he was a mix of many and he was every bit and then some.. he lived up to and surpassed what we wanted in a dog. He lived a wonderful 16 yrs.  We put him down this past March and I still miss him very much , and will for a long time. Shadow was one of those special dogs in life, a few of you had the pleasure of camping with him.

Sooooo... here we are today, with an Austrailian Shepherd, my first purebred dog.
(I had wanted an Aussie as far back as I can remember)
He came to us a month after Shadow, just after easter.
He was 5 months old and not trained, but housebroke at least.
Koda is now pushing 8 months and is a fast learner. He's gone on 3 campouts and other than the occasional bark at passer byers he is doing better than expected and is comfortable being left alone in the camper (handy if it's raining). He is by far the most entertaining dog we've had with his antics and energy.

I guess today the best family dog is the Aussie, a yr ago it was a Mutt by a long shot. Who know what it'll be in another ? yrs from now.

[flyballcampers]

Pembroke Welsh Corgi--no question about it!!
If you have kids, they are great--they will even round them up when
you want them in for dinner

Zoe our flyball corgi

[battleb]

We are on our 3rd Lab (1 Black an 2 chocolates). There is a difference between chocolate labs...or so Im told. Ours is a "blockhead" and is sorta a show dog although he will never be shown. The last chocolate we had was a "field Grade" lab. The difference between the 2 is that the block head has massive paws and legs and a short wide snout and..... has an IQ of a stump. We love him anyway. The Field grade was supposidly a hunting type Lab  and had much thinner legs and paws and a longer narrower snout. I never hunt but he was a lot smarter than the blockhead. Although the Blockhead (Buddy) can smell food from a mile away and will drool like a open water faucet. He is a much better watchdog and will  bark at people when a stranger starts up the front walk to our door.  Can be a pain in the butt in a campground but maby when he is a lot older.......who knows?  All 3 of the Labs we have had were and are People dogs, they love kids and we had never seen them growel in anger, not even if one were to remove thier food while they ate.  The neighbors dog ( A smaller dog) always takes his stuff away from him and he has never shown anger. Whatta dog......

[TheViQueen]

Ours is a "blockhead"  
 
We also have a "blockhead" black lab. He's a great dog! He turned 13 this year in April. He looks great for as old as he is-only has a little grey on his chin.  Also have a small poodle mix that's very well behaved so I can't vote. I love them all!

[MoJoCamping]

Our vote is for Jack Russells, they love people, ignore other dogs and are very self entertained.  Did I mention they never run out of energy!

[Darrell T]

I would have to say it depends on the dog itself. Not necessarily just a particular breed.
I am a Golden Retriever lover at heart, had them since I was a kid and rescued my last one from the pound.
After my last one had to be put down I was looking to rescue another  dog from the pound.
I ended up with a Rottweiler/German Shepperd mix, 100lbs worth. He has no aggressive tendencies and is great around new people, other dogs and my friends kids. In fact the neighbor kids come knock on my door to ask if they can play with him.
Darrell

[austinado16]

Australian Cattle Dog, aka: Queensland Heeler or Blue Healer.

Dingo looking body, IQ higher than that of it's humans, loyal beyond all reproach.  Trainable to whistling and finger snaps/hand gestures, etc.

We currently own our second one who's almost 3 and we've had her since 12wks.

She whoreships our 7 year old daughter and her friends.

[LimeJeeeep]

austrailian shepard toy

[campdaddy]

We have a mut we rescued from the local pound. He looks to be mostely a LAB / Retriever mix with maybe a little something else mixed in, but he's really a great dog.

[Beerlifter]

I find it hard to answer that poll. I had a dauchshound (bumpers) for 10 years. He was by my side everywhere I went. Probably not the "guy" dog most men would want but we were connected at the heart. I lost Bumpers last January. My DW had picked me up a chocolate lab for my birthday two years ago (Harley). Bump and Harley hit it right off. Pretty comical watching a 80+ lab and a 8 lb weinie dog play around. Harley is a smart dog, maybe too smart for his own good, he is a barker but we are working on that.

I have had many different breeds and I too think it all depends on what you have at the time. Bumpers, I would have to say, was closest and dearest to my heart but Harley is trying his hardest to fill the void. We spend alot of time together and he is learning fast.