Over the years we have owned a number of breeds of dog. We started with a rather nutty but wonderful Golden Retriever, then had a couple of Akitas who lived up to their reputation for dignity and strength. Then we had an Australian Shepherd, who was an awesome dog, but got hit by a UPS truck.... very sad. We also had a St Bernard...unfortunately a lemon, blind, lame etc....Our daughter has a Bichon Frise....tough little thing. The current favourite breed is English Shepherd. www.englishshepherd.org has all the information and some about this wonderful breed. Our male is less interested in herding, but is really excellent at protecting the family, especially the youngest three. Very loyal and sensitive.
We also own, well in a manner of speaking, several cats. We started with 5, but are down to 3....they just keep disappearing. At least we had the girls spayed so we aren't adding to the cat population. Still frustrating. They are good at keeping the rodent problem in check.