Quote Originally Posted by Freedom View Post
There are breed selectors online, I usually suggest folks do several of those. Then, the breed which comes up the most often is more likely to be a good fit for the family and life style.

You can Google: dog breed selector to find them.

Does she know about potty training? Maybe if you discuss some of the work involved with the puppy stage - very like having a baby - that may break through to her about the work involved. NO breed comes already house trained, she is going to be coping with lots of pee and poop.

Definitely steer her away from the bichon, (if she somehow learns about that breed), as they are notorious for being difficult to house train and often take 12 months of serious dedication for them to 'get' it. They are just very busy dogs and house training does not even make their 'to do list.'

Would you feel comfortable letting your dog stay with her for a weekend or for 24 hours? So she could learn how often she has to let the dog out, let the dog in, feed the dog, exercise the dog? Do NOT put your dog at risk (I know I few people I would never trust with one of my dogs!).

Could this be a passing fad and in a few weeks she will move on to another novel must have? I sure hope so, from what you have written!
Thanks for your help I think I seem to have painted a really evil picture of 'jane' in my initial post. She does know about house training a dog, and she is ok with doing that, as well as teaching her puppy not to chew things. By training, I mean, she is not interested in teaching her dog all the other stuff like not jumping up, loose lead walking and all the other good manners. She sort of "expects" her dog to do it naturally, which of course no dog does, but which is why she would be better with a pretty mild-mannered dog in the first place. The thing is, she really does care about animals, so I would trust her with my dog for a week-end (no more than that, as my dog is used to at least three hour-long walks every day). She also looks after her sister's Tervueren shepherd when she's not there, and is very good with feeding her, playing with her, and walking her. She also has two cats, and she dotes on them, they're very well looked-after. She just wouldn't do well with a dog that needs tons of exercise and attention. She could do well with a dog that's quite cat-like in personnality. For the moment she's still stuck on her Weimaraner idea, but from what I've heard of them (please correct me if I'm wrong, I've never owned one), they're quite a demanding breed and not the best dog for a novice owner.

I tried some of the breed selector websites, and I kept coming up with greyhounds and whippets, would they be a good pick for her? (It's definitely not a passing fad, both her and her boyfriend are intent on getting a puppy, I just hope they can find a breed that's better suited to them.)