Alright, I'm back. I appreciated everyone's responses to my first post, but I wanted to give you a semi-update.

I was thinking about what kind of dog I really wanted, and I decided that something predominantly retriever/collie(rough or smooth, not border)/german shepherd (one of those three, not all of those three) would be good for me. But as I was thinking more about it, I realized that all of the dogs I have really truly loved and connected with at shelters in the past few years have been German Shepherd mixes. I visited a shelter over the weekend and met the sweetest 4-month-old German Shepherd mix. Unlike most of the young dogs there, she didn't want to exclusively explore the outside territory, she wanted to get to know ME.

I know I mentioned the Boston Terrier before, but that was because I was really torn between a big or small dog. I felt like a small dog would be easier to travel with, but I really have more of an affinity for big dogs that I can run around with and take on all my outdoor excursions, and I'm willing to deal with the obstacles a bigger dog might entail in travel.

I don't mind the profuse shedding, either. What I really want, and I'm not sure if this was made clear, is a dog that I can spend tons and tons of time with and bring everywhere. I am obsessed with dogs, as I said earlier, and I want to do several levels of obediance training, among other things. I want a dog that is attached to me at the hip, and I want a dog that's MY best friend. The thing about retrievers (or at least the ones I've known) is that they're EVERYONE'S best friend. I want a dog that likes other people (I know, I know, ample socialization is a must), but prefers me.

I know there are so many people who say they want a dog without thinking of the future and either get bored with it, or didn't realize the huge amount of care dogs need, or have to move and can't bring the dog, or whatever their excuse may be. I would NEVER do something like that. If there's a problem with wherever I want to move, I'll work around it. I'm actually planning on moving to Seattle eventually, and I hear that city is very dog-friendly (and notoriously liberal, thank god!).

So anyway, I know it depends on the individual dog, but I'm really looking towards rescuing a GSD or GSD-mix. Any comments?

Thanks again,
Ally