[lil mutt]

I had a friend who had a shi tzu for a pet and we always play with his dog whenever we have time or during weekends. Somehow i find them really cute... So when we decided to get a new dog I told them that i want to have a shi tzu also.

How did you choose your dog? The min pins we knew we wanted a smaller dog and we researched a few breeds. We had it narrowed down to min pins or Italian greyhounds. Some friends of my husbands had two min pins but I'd never met them. Then a coworker of mine was going out of tow and she had a min pin and I asked if I could dog sit for her to see what having a min pin was like. After that I was hooked!

Now with the boxers we were wanting to get a bigger dog and had a few breeds in mind because I was used to having bigger dogs (the min pins were my first little dogs) Boxers wernt even one we were considering and we went into the shelter and saw Heidi in the lobby as one of their pets of the week. We looked at a few other dogs that I had seen on petfinder but none of them were good with our min pins. So my hubby asked to look at the boxer and we were hooked! So when we adopted a 2nd boxer we waited until we saw a purebred come up in a rescue. I had been around them before though because a friend of mines parents bred boxers, so I knew that I liked the breed and knew how crazy they were!

Did you research the breed beforehand, or know about the breed from past experience? Or, like me, did you read up on the breed afterwards? I had a dog encyclopedia and I read up on a few little breeds that I thought would fit our lifestyle. But babysitting a min pin was what really helped me decide. But then afterwards I read up more on them, but mostly to learn their history.

Was it more the particular dog you chose and, if so, why? With the min pins we got them as puppies so it was hard to tell what type of personality they'd have. Bella we chose because she was the only girl. Luna we chose because she was the only chocolate girl. With the boxers we wanted to choose a dog that would get along with our min pins and understand that they arnt chew toys!

Is breed important to you? Would you always choose a pedigree and, if so, why? Yes breed is important to me. BUT with the boxers, I wanted two purebred boxers that came from a rescue. People always comment on how cute they are and then ask what breeder they came from, and I love saying "they came from a rescue!" It really gets people aware that there are more than just mutts in a rescue.

What factors are important to you, in choosing a dog? Social, playful, hyper. Basically I like a dog that is going to want lots of lovins and wants to be with their people. I dont like independent dogs.

Did you make the right choice? Would you choose differently next time? Yes we made the right choice. As far as a bigger dog years from now when the boxers pass away, I would like to get a dobie or a rottie. I love the min pins attitude so I dont think I'd ever choose a different small breed.

haha well i had always wanted a british bulldog i've always thought they're the sweetest most ugliest but cutest breed ever and I had done endless research on them and looked at a few to buy. But somehow i ended up with a bullmastiff x staffy!!! I rescued her from a lady who had found her more or less left for dead and as soon as i saw her very sad very scared puppy eyes and held her constantly shaking body (she didn't stop shaking for 2 weeks) in my arms my heart went out to her there was no way this pup was going anywhere but home with me.

so i guess you could say the reason i got her was her eyes.