canines

I've pondered today several times if I would like to have a dog at the house. I certainly would feel safer with a living burglar alarm beside me. I'm not sure I want to establish a separate "dog poop space" from garden space, though. Regardless, I'd need to get a fence first, so the dog has a place to run without supervision, especially in winter.

I had pondered getting a Shiba Inu or an old Greyhound, since they're supposed to be "cat like" in their demeanor, with low demands on the human. As I read up on them, however, I see that both breeds tend to aggressively chase smaller animals, which would be bad news for my cat when she darts down the stairs and takes a flying leap onto the floor. It's the sort of activity that might trigger a deadly chase by the dog.

So I went looking for suggestions. Animal Planet had a decent quiz (that I liked better than the more official AKC one). It listed some interesting results for me:

Scottish Deerhound (97% match)	I'd never heard of it before. Low energy, which is good. A little big for my space, though, and they rate it low for guard duty.
Great Pyrenees (96% match)	Beautiful, fluffy, low energy, and good with pets. Those qualities seem great. But "barks a lot"? And other places say it may be a drooler.  Yet other places mention the loud bark, but then also say it's quiet indoors?  Then again, how much time can you keep a giant dog indoors?  So, I don't know.
Bernese Mountain Dog (95% match)	I'd never heard of this one either. Cute face, low energy, and some watchdog ability. Maybe this is the kind of dog I need in the house.  Except apparently it's expensive if you can find one, so no.
Collie (95% match)	Good old-fashioned Collie. Very friendly and good protectors. They'd be easy to find here, I think. But barking is the issue again?
Finnish Spitz (95% match)	Another breed I'd never heard of before. Good with pets and good guard ability, but again with the loud barking.
Greater Swiss Mountain Dog (95% match)	Another one I've never heard of. Exceptionally good with pets, great guard dog, low energy. Sounds terrific, what's the catch? Oh, yeah, a big animal that's destructive when bored and may slobber a lot, while being expensive and short-lived. Ok, not for me.

I could just get a tiny Chihuahua and be done with the question. Then spend hours watching it be terrorized by my cat. Some guard dog, eh?

If I ever get a dog, I'm sure I'll just roam the animal shelters for months until I find a mutt that strikes my fancy, and just hope it's not an annoying barker or digger.