I have been trying to find an adult dog from a shelter that will not only get along with my elderly greyhound and 3yr. old cattle dog but also with a cat, several in-door mini-lop rabbits and an African grey parrot. Should I just go ahead and get a pup from a breeder and forget about shelters or can someone help me. I had to return one dog because of high prey instinct and don't want to do that again. Please help me as I really want another dog but am fearful of the little pets safety. Maureen

As a general rule of thumb, although it is not hard and fast I would exclude most of the terriers. Sounds like you have a lot of fun friends at your place. I suppose in many instances it comes down to what you put in you will get back, mostly in this case I'M talking about puppies. It is wonderful that you are considering a shelter dog...bless you. Look at some of the hounds...Bassett, Blood they are aloof but loving and accepting to a fault. Some of the big un's are great too do not let their size intimidate your choice. Again that being said bring your lops to the shelter and have a trial run. I wouldn't worry too much about your African Grey, they are smarter than most individuals at my place of employment.

Thank youObisbo44, I stillam not sure what to do but I probabley would be looking at herding breeds, like , Australian shepherd, collies corgis, etc. I would really like a german shepherd mix because I lost one last spring, but maybe a germanshepherd is too risky! I could take the bunny to the shelter as she is quite bold, but I would guess that it would be stressfull to her anyway. My African grey is a genius bird with a HUGE vocabulary. He could give a nasty bite but I think that a dog could overcome him; He sits outside his cage. Maureen

The several breeds you mentioned are without a doubt intelligent and capable of making up their mind by themselves. For the humane society/shelter canines their pasts are nature versus nurture. A 20 min visit MAY only show so much, but I would would trust the judgement of the people working there, they wouldn't steer you wrong. The nature versus nature argument...my recently departed Bullmastiff best friends were a turkey...didn't have the heart to do you know what, and Fang a pugnacious Border terrier who tormented my buddy for 5 plus years. When getting a puppy you start with a fresh slate so to speak. Sorry I'm rambling. Erik aka obispo44

Being partial to collies I would go that way. Find a local rescue groupl. They come into the house, sniff around, eat a cookie and become buddies with all. It's been my experience and I've had a lot of them. We used todo rescue and even the ones that have been badly abused become pals with all. One of my worst abused colies became my elderly cats best friend to the point that they slept curled up together.

Hi collie mom, I was thinking about collies because a vet techmnician , who has 7 rabbits, said that her 70 lbs.cillie nuzzles her rabbits!!! Then someon told me they barked alot and I was not sure . Thanks a lot. Maureen...also do you think that they bark a lot?