[Jeff Higgins]

How much do you know about dogs in general? It may pay to do a bit of research on the various catagories of dogs and breeds within those catagories before making up your mind. Any "pure bred" breed of this era has been bred to fulfill a certain role and have a certain temperament. Temperaments will vary with individuals within a breed, but will remain within the general characteristics for which that breed was developed. For example, a "friendly" dog from any of the guard / attack / fighting breeds will always have more potential to be a threat to people than even a less personable dog from one of the retrieving breeds. Get to know the breeds; it sounds like you have already decided what characteristics you are after. In my case, a Lab proved to be the ideal dog when my boys were very little. When he passed away, a Golden Retriever filled his shoes admirably. I'm picking up another couple of Goldens later this spring, so that tells you what I think of them. Their hair can be a hassle, but the trade off in personality is worth it to me.