I’m a little bias, but if you don’t have a Mastiff you’re missing out.
Gentle Giants – kids can pile on the, pull their tails, bug them when their eating.
Protective – They will throw themselves in between any confrontation.
Property guards – They love to patrol the property lines and tend to not wander.
They love to lurk. Always watching you to make sure you’re ok, (and to see if a some sort of chow is available)
I love all dogs.
LOL, my inlaws have 2. They are great with kids. Theirs are dumb as rocks, though.
Our great dane was fantastic. He was a registered therapy dog and was simply an outstanding dog.
Our Spinone Italiano is a darn good dog, too. Great hunter, decent retriever, really good with our kids, lazy around the house but plenty of drive in the field. He’s a little too good of a watch dog–you’re not getting within 100′ of our house without him alerting everyone!
Dogs, man. As long as they have good owners, they’re all good. 
We’ve had Springer Spaniels for 35 years. They are high energy, need exercise (makes me get moving) and really motivated to please.
Our first was 11 years old when our son was born. He tolerated the ear pulling, crawling on and fingers in the nose with nary a grumble. The two dogs that have followed have been fun, quirky and loving.
The Springers also hunt! They are better dogs than I am a bird hunter and I love being in the field with them We only have room in the house for a mid-size dog and only a single dog. The Springers have given us a family dog and a hunter in one package.
I’m a little bias, but if you don’t have a Mastiff you’re missing out.
Gentle Giants – kids can pile on the, pull their tails, bug them when their eating.
Protective – They will throw themselves in between any confrontation.
Property guards – They love to patrol the property lines and tend to not wander.They love to lurk. Always watching you to make sure you’re ok, (and to see if a some sort of chow is available)
My brother in law’s family has one and he is truly a gentle giant, tipping the scales at a legitimate 160#. The deep bark isn’t used often, but when it is it stops everyone in their tracks. They have a 4 year old and a 2 year old that wrestle with that dog constantly. A couple weeks ago they managed to coerce it up onto their backyard playground set somehow to hangout with them. Great dogs as long as you don’t mind paying for food and the potential for monster vet bills.
Well, my wife and I have a Rat Terrier and I would not recommend for most families. She’s great for going on adventures etc., but she doesn’t get along with other dogs etc. and she’s impossible to watch t.v. around. If we lived on a farm or ranch she’d be great. Not much gets past her and she can go all day long.
I’ll be getting something a lot more low key for my next dog in 20 years when this one passes away.
My dad had a Cane Corso growing up. Too protective. Bit few people that were considered threats.
Great dog otherwise but hard to take that instinct out of that breed. Miss him. Big drooly ugly thing but he was a good boy for me.
My giant schnauzer was my favorite dog I have had. Great personality, but the bad thing he was over the top protective of my wife and daughter. Also very protective of the house. Away from the house he didn’t care about strangers with me. He also loved to scare people. My springers like pretty much everyone, they just bark too much. I have had three springers. One was brilliant. One is very smart, and the last well… he is a sweet dog. 
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Years ago I wanted a dog to take on the boat. Since I was casting alot I didn’t want a big dog that would get all excited and knock me overboard. Also didn’t want a little yipper either. Ended up getting some mutt out of a shelter that had been beaten. Took along time for her to get over that but in the end she was a great dog. Loved the boat and just wanted to hang out with me. She would lay down right in the middle of the driveway when I went to hook up the boat. I could either run her over or take her with. 
Nothing like a dogs unconditional love…..she is still missed. 
To each his own EPG 
I’m personally not a huge fan of large breeds, simply because “they’re a lot of dog” I had a 90 lb lab when I was younger that thought he was 20 lbs lol
They take up a lot of space in the cab, the boat, the fish house, lots of food to feed, lots of poops to clean 
I can hardly keep up with the little ones
At home we have two dogs right now, a Beagle and a Boykin Spaniel. We used to have a pack of three beagles, but lost one to cancer and another to the highway. Loved them all
Old Gunner has been a great dog, he’s ran a lot of rabbits and hare to the muzzle of a shotgun. At 14 he’s having a harder time jumping up and has recently gone completely deaf, I’m going to miss him. He still loves basking out in the sun on a warm spring day though.
Anna is our little Boykin. She’s a ton of fun to hunt with and just take for walks. She’s also a smart little $hit, especially compared to owning beagles. I like that she’s also small enough to be a lap dog and sit on the center console of the truck
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We have always had shelter dogs and have never been disappointed. They all have been more than one could hope for in terms of temperment and behavior. None of them never knew what a chain was and were only leashed when required. They were all mixed breeds.
Our last one made it 16 plus years and passed last fall. She was a great great dog and admired by all our friends who had labs, and retrievers and setters who they never seemed to be able to control properly.
Now I’m asking myself do I want to get another one? It was almost unbearable for about a week when we lost our last one. I hate going through that and the wife took it even harder. but I’m at that age now where the next one might out last me!! 
We have a mastiff in the neighborhood that is the sweetest dog ever. Boxers are pretty awesome too. I’m a little biased towards Labs since we’ve had one most of my life, but they are the swiss army knife of dogs imo. Great with the family, great hunters as well that can chase roosters or break ice chasing ducks. Although between our lab and boxer, spring cleanup is a multi day and multi bag process…
I think in general spaniels are hard to beat for a hunting/family dog. I’m an English springer guy, but a case can be made for English cockers as well.
Just something about the always happy, tail wagging, aim to please, goofy personality that’s tough to beat.
My Britney was the most patient and gentle dog with infants and kids. For us, an awesome family member and very loyal pooch.
Never in my life would I have thought that a lab would be nearly my best friend. Ruger and I are nearly inseparable. Smartest and easiest dog I ever trained. Smarter than a lot of humans I deal with
we’ve had nothing but labs and shelties. shelties aim to please there owners, the first one didnt bark much, this one does more. lab………just great all around hounds. hunts. this last chocolate lab, rest her soul, was awesome. slept in the closet, on our bed. both loved the kids. the lab would go goofy when th kids came over.
so yea, its only shelties and labs here.
Golden Doodle!
Well, my wife and I have a Rat Terrier and I would not recommend for most families. She’s great for going on adventures etc., but she doesn’t get along with other dogs etc.
I think we can all agree that anything with “terrier” or “chihuahua” in the breed name is going to more likely be difficult to deal with. My wife had a chorkie (yorkshire terrier-chihuahua crossbreed) before we got married and that dog downright sucked. It was not friendly, it did not get along with most people, it was not socialized with other dogs, and we did not get along. My wife fully admitted that another small breed dog like this was not in our future ever again. I’m not saying that all of these types of breeds of dogs are like that – its just my personal experience that the smaller the breed, the more problematic and difficult they can be to train properly.
Our current dog (yellow british lab female) has never shown any aggression, ever. She barks at the mailman sometimes but she is so calm and relaxed at home, and in the boat too. Hunting machine in the field.
I saw a clip on the news the other day that dogs are loving this right now because their owners are at home with them a lot more.
You have to reserve a spot on the couch at our place.
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Hard to beat a lab. My kids wrestle with and climb on her daily. Nice to be calm in the house, and a maniac in the field.
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Glenn, wanna see the other side of your Sheltie? Pen her up for a while. My step daughter had a Sheltie before her mom & I got married. They had the thing in a 6 x 6 kennel. Bit my wife once. Growled all the time. Once I built the house we were able to let it run vs the kennel. Totally different dog. Just hated being penned up. But the damn thing would bark (it’s herding DNA) at everything. As it aged my mutt took over the guarding and barking duties 
We have a beagle and 2 collie/healer mixes. All great family dogs with our son. The collie mixes are a little territorial of our son which is kind of a good thing ha
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Our beagle
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B-Man –
Where did you get your Boykin? I was intrigued by the breed and looked for one in 2011. There were few available in the upper Midwest at that time and I really didn’t want to go to South Carolina to get one.
My understanding is that they are very much like Springers in a smaller package – good natured, love to hunt and easy to be around.
My current Springer turns 9 on Saturday, he has 3-4 years left of hunting but I am starting to plan for the sad necessity of the next dog.
My neighbor up at the lake has a border collie. One of if not the smartest dogs I’ve seen. He will wander over to my place a couple times a day to visit. Always brings a tennis ball with him and knows how to force you to throw it for him.
He will stick around a couple hours usually. The first sense of you doing something like getting ready to fix dinner or to head out on the lake he hits the road and heads back home.
Glenn, wanna see the other side of your Sheltie? Pen her up for a while. My step daughter had a Sheltie before her mom & I got married. They had the thing in a 6 x 6 kennel. Bit my wife once. Growled all the time. Once I built the house we were able to let it run vs the kennel. Totally different dog. Just hated being penned up. But the damn thing would bark (it’s herding DNA) at everything. As it aged my mutt took over the guarding and barking duties
yea I cant pen up a dog. my first black lab I had stayed outside till we got out 1rst sheltie. she was in the house…lab came in too.
its odd you say that, out first sheltie, she loved her kennel, we had a carrier kennel we kept in the house……it was her safe place, she loved laying in there. only closed the door when she was disciplined, matter of fact if you scolded her, that’s where she headed. we had 2 litters with her dang hardest thing was departing with them little farts.
the current sheltie barks but not real bad. oh and do they love the attention.
There ain’t nuthin’ like a dawg. My Trixie is acomplete mixed breed.
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Pretty dog. Looks like part heeler
B-Man –
Where did you get your Boykin? I was intrigued by the breed and looked for one in 2011. There were few available in the upper Midwest at that time and I really didn’t want to go to South Carolina to get one.
My understanding is that they are very much like Springers in a smaller package – good natured, love to hunt and easy to be around.
My current Springer turns 9 on Saturday, he has 3-4 years left of hunting but I am starting to plan for the sad necessity of the next dog.
We got her from a small breeder in St. Micheal, MN called Land O’Lakes. Her number is 763-443-9448. They don’t really advertise or even have a website right now, it’s usually a waiting list with referrals. I think they only do a litter or two a year.
They are fun little bird dogs, but holy hell she was a monster when she was a puppy lol
Her first year she got into anything she could find and chewed the crap out of it. Nothing was safe; boots, crocs, mail, balls, garbage etc etc
I’d had to block the doggy door to keep her out of the garage when she was young and I wasn’t home
She’s just turning three this spring, and has mellowed down considerably
In the south east US there are a bunch of breeders.
We have a French Mastiff…Major lap dog…Listens (most of the time)…A little timid when first meeting people but warms up quickly….I don’t think I would want to be a stranger walking into my house with no one home….
I think the next go round I’m just gonna go to the pound and pick out the most sleepin dog they got. Maybe middle aged, a little round in the middle, and only wakes up to wag it’s tail.
Rat Dog is a beast when out on the trap line, but she’ll put on 100 miles a night in the boat.
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