I am a very active and fit 26 year old woman. I work as a receptionist from 8am to 3pm and I own my own home. I have a fiance' and we are planning to have children within a couple of years. I have a 7 month old kitten but would like the extra companionship that a dog gives. My fiance' owned a Rottweiler but passed away a year ago. I have never owned a dog of my own although I was brought up with an Australian Shepherd. I have volunteered at the SPCA and have researched many breeds. I was thinking of either getting a Portuguese Water Dog or Irish Setter but want to know what other dog owners recommend.What I want in my dog:- Must love the water- Must need/want/love exercise, I plan to walk for an hour in the morning and 1 1/2 hours after work- Must get along with cats- Friendly- Bubbly and loving temperament/personality- Must be easy to train and smart- Get along with young childrenThe dog would be a companion only. I would love to get two different breeds.- Must not be overly protective- NO SMALL DOGSSo yeah, we have decided to get two dogs and we would prefer to get pups. We aren't going to get them at the same time, maybe 5-6 months in between them both. Would that be a good idea? My fiance' lives with me and he works 9am to 5pm. We have a medium sized home (double story) and a large backyard. These dogs would be mainly INSIDE dogs. PS. Please don't suggest Labrador or Beagle, we have considered these and have decided against them, despite both breeds being excellent with children.Please don't suggest not to get a dog as we both work. I come home at 12pm for lunch and my husband comes home at 2:30pm for lunch.

Our Australian Shepherd is AWESOME. So sweet, athletic, loving, devoted, playful...

Golden retriever would fit a lot of the requirements that you have posted. My best friend have a Golden retriever/Great Pyrenees mix and it is EVERYTHING that you described. Loves kids and cats and LOVES the water. a New foundland would also be good. These big dogs are soo loveable. I Myself have a German Shepard/ Lab mix and she is very sweet.

anyone who responds to this will be biased if they already own a dog..everyone thinks theirs is the best.the best advice i can give u is to go to the pedigree website and u will get all the info u need there from professionals and it's free!!also it would be best to chose a female as they are better with children..more patient by nature.it would be best to get just one dog first,no matter how cute they are..easier to train without it being distracted by the other dog.if u get two dogs at once they are more disobedient as they will both be competing for your attentiongood luck!

The PERFECT DOG for you and your future family is a GERMAN SHEPHERD!!! There is a wonderful breeder in Colorado called GUNBIL german shepherds! tHEY RAISE THEM FOR LOVE. tHEY ARE NICE PEOPLE AND WILL TEACH YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE BREED! We've had them in our family for over 75yrs !!! Go rent some RIN TIN TIN MOVIES!!! German shepherds are the SMARTEST DOGS ALIVE !!! I've had Dobs = dumb, Rots a bit smarter, but GSs have it all!!! Rots are good dogs, but not as well rounded as GSs. (Your boyfriend might be mad at me for saying that, but I think if he's honest with himself he'll admit GSs are TOPs -- unless he's never experienced a fine one!!! GUNBIL isnt cheap, but you get what you pay for! GSs are loyal, love children, will protect them with their own lives and you too!!! they are extremely SMART!!! Our Boy only had to be shown a new thing (Trick -- I hate to call them that, but for lack of another word) once or twice and he knew it from then on!!! Like the time my Dear Dad told my son his GS used to climb a ladder, I came home to find my Boy on the roof!!! He had to teach himself to climb down, took him about 15minutes -- I thought that was amazing!!! He knew 200+ English & German words 7 commands, he was so smart we often had to spell in front of him !!! We also had a cat when we got him and they became best pals!!! He was a better "ratter" than the cat ever dared to be too!!! My nieces used to crawl all over him and he loved it, and if he got tired of it he'd just get up and go find a quiet place for himself! My Dob and Rot were never that tolerant of kids, esp the Dob!!! Our Boy had 3 litters of Beautiful pups he fathered and he loved them and protected them -- even tho the mom wouldnt let him near them till they were 6wks old or so. But there was a hawk that used to sit on the nearby fence just waiting for a chance to make a meal of our pups and papa dog would sit there and guard them day and night!!! My husband then built a whelping/pup room with a wire roof so the hawk couldnt get them and give our poor papa dog a break!!! He also saved me from walking on top of a rattlesnake one night on my way out to the barn to see the pups! I never saw the thing, but he did and jumped in front of me and killed it!!! He saved my son from a water-moccasin on his way too the bus stop one morning too! Risking his life to protect all of us always!!! His grandfather was a world champion named CARALON'S PHANTOM (type that into your search engine and see what a Beautiful, Brave line he comes from and you can have one too!!!). Hope you'll decide on a GS for your family -- they're the BEST !!!!!!! Also, GSs love the water too !!! Mine used to love to look back at me and ask permission (with his eyes) as to when it was ok for him to dive off the bow of the boat into the Gulf whenever we'd go boating. We live in FLA(Naples). They are excellent swimmers and will watch your little ones and not let them get in trouble! Golden Retrievers are mainly hunting/bird dogs and are not bred to be highly intelligent, I've got neighbors who have them and on an IQ test , well, .........

i would suggest you should get a golden retriever or a japanese spitz,and a shih-tzu to get along with children,or just get a bunny.joke!!!

We have 2 bigger dogs-a mix (Border Collie mostly) and a Siberian Huskie. They are both very playful, love to swim in our pool, and love to jog with my husband. The Border Collie loves to play ball with my kids and actually bounces the ball off of her nose like a seal. They get along great with cats (I gave mine to my mother due to daughter's allergies) and love our new puppy, a Japanese Chin. But then again, it is the luck of the draw, isn't it? Best of luck to you, we've been lucky! PS-Had a Beagle...what a pain in the ***-very needy, very chewy, very oily fur...ugh.