>Anybody here have any recommendable dog breeds? My wife and I are in the market. I want a lab for hunting/horseplay and she wants a quieter inside dog.
I am not going to recommend a breed to you because I don't know you very well and don't know your wife at all. It's a personal decision based on what you want. And BTW, it is not at all unusual for husbands and wives to want different kinds of dogs. You two are quite typical -- guys tend to like the bigger, more athletic breeds which women consider too big and rambunctions, while the breeds women consider cute and smart are considered poofy by guys. (See "poodle").
FWIW I have always loved labs, especially yellow labs for some reason, but have not had one. To me they need room to run around and explore and I am an urban guy who has never been able to provide that. If Jessup is as rural as I suspect a lab might not be a bad choice at all. Just be aware that if you get a lab puppy rather than a grown dog it will chew the hell out of everything. That's certainly not rare among dog breeds but labs are especially known for it.
The dog I actually have is a cocker spaniel / sheltie mix we got from the pound 9 years ago. She is a cute dog, not too small and not too big, and very friendly. Although we got her mainly for the girls, she wound up with me not long after my marriage broke up. Sydne's (inherited name when we adopted her) #1 pal and ally is my younger daughter Emily, who is the true animal lover in the family. Emily lets Sydne sleep with her even though Sydne is a bed hog and has taken to farting as she has gotten older.
FWIW here is a link to an interesting article that ran in the NY Times Magazine a couple of weeks ago. It's about so-called "designer dogs", which are exotic breed combinations that have become popular the past few years. I don't expect you to be interested in that kind of dog but it's a good article. In fact I think I ripped off a lot of my first paragraph from it. Here's the link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/04/magazine/04dogs.t.html?ei=5070&en=54de11bc65447f05&ex=1172293200&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1172191684-cYuFJ7xDf1MmwkxLuxslkwGood luck with the choice!
Oh, one last thought. Have you heard it said that a dog is sort of a starter baby? It's not on the same scale, of course, but same in the sense of having to spend time with it, feed it, take it to the doctor, take it into account when making travel plans, etc. Suddenly it isn't just the two of you any more. Also in terms of commitment. If you get a dog, do so expecting this dog to be part of your life for the next 10 or 15 years. PLEASE don't be one of those people who get a pet on a whim and then they end up at the pound (or beyond) a short time later.
