What are some good dog breeds for inexperienced, first time owners?
I highly recommend a goldendoodle. This hybrid dog is one of the healthiest dogs, and the most intelligent of all dogs. I love mine, she is so sweet. And so intelligent that she is easy to train. There is the kind of intelligent where you are so smart, that you use it to cause problems and be rebellious. That's my mom’s Duke the lab. But my Maggie wants to please you.
We took Maggie on a trip to Tulsa to see my aunt. My mom really needed this special face soap, so on the drive up we stopped at the mall. So she dropped me off at Cheesecake Factory and I sat on the porch with her and a drink. There were many people sitting there eating. The person next to me had a juicy steak. She just sat down, then laid down, and bothered no one. I didn't have to tell her to leave anyone alone or not to beg once.
She’s this good all the time. We got her trained as an inside dog in about a week. She was incredibly easy to house break. When she comes in from the backyard, all she does is lay on her blanket or pillow, or ‘vacuum’ the kitchen crumbs. She sniffs the trash, we say ‘No Maggie.’ And she backs off, with an I'm sorry look.
But she’s just the sweetest dog. She'll stick by your side and give you cuddles but if you want her to go away she will too. She does want to play, and it's always very gentle.
She’s great with kids. My little brother was tugging on a fox with her, and she accidentally poked his arm with her tooth, and she backed off and said sorry with her expression and always played more gentle. There was this random kid in a stroller who was like, “Doggie come here!” But then had second thoughts and freaked out and screamed in Maggie’s face when she got close. Many dogs would have barked, or even been aggressive. Maggie just flattened her ears, stepped away, and continued on her walk. She learns manners quickly and wants to have manners. I highly recommend any size goldendoodle as a beginners dog.