We actually choose the Bunny breed. We had a cat and 3 birds but my 15 yr old daughter at the time, wanted her very own pet. She chose a bunny.
I'm a nervous caged pet owner. I always worry about any caged pet because they can't get out and ask for food and water when they need it. Should anyone in the house forget them, they are doomed.
I was not a dog person as I felt they were too much work. Having raised 5 kids, I didn't want more work than I needed. My husband always wanted a Golden ever since he had met one in his early adult years. No way were we getting messy, needy dogs! Uh uh! Never! But here I was with another dilemma of a caged animal.
While camping one day, still thinking about that poor bunny that I would have to worry about all the time, I told hubster that I'd prefer a dog to a bunny. His eyes lit up and a big smile came on his face. We were to get a SMALL dog. A dog that would not destroy our wood floors with their claws. We called DD and announced my decision. She was beside herself, screaming and whoopin' on the other end of the line.
I wanted a mini poodle or something small like that. Something that would snuggle and be a lap dog. Nobody wanted one of those... they wanted a boy dog. What the heck is a boy dog?? With 5 males in the house, nobody wanted a small fluffy dog! So we decided on a Shiba Inu. Those are "masculine" yet they're small enough that they wouldn't wreck my floors right?
We went to see a litter and this person had a great kennel. She had her dogs in shows and in agility, health checks etc. When we got into the house she had 8 dogs in the kitchen, and 2 litters available. We know that these dogs were well cared for and lived in the house with the owners due to all the hair! They were happy dogs but we felt that she had too many litters at once.
The funny thing is, we decided to go check out a golden breeder that same evening. The puppies weren't available yet as the mom was still pregnant. This was just for fun and just because hubster and daughter wanted to check them out. I surely didn't want a large-ish dog with tons of hair and huge claws!
When we got there, there was a joyful pregnant Golden to greet us at the door. We found out that our breeder only breeds once or twice a year, shows her dogs, and is also a show judge.
Seeing as we had a cat and birds, and Shiba Inus have a huge prey drive, we had alot of thinking to do. We also knew that Shibas can be stubborn and our cat would have to be alpha animal since she had never had dogs in her life... she could not be made to hide the rest of her life.
As soon as we got out of there, our decision was made. That golden retriever had convinced us that her breed would be the best for our family. She lived with 2 cats, loved people, was gentle and joyful, even in her pregnant condition.
We have had Sophie for almost 4 months now, and now I know that I'll never be without a Golden Retriever again. She's proven to be everything that a well bred golden is supposed to be. We still call her our "bunny" because when she finds something she knows she's not supposed to have, she hops around the yard and house just like a bunny. When she's playing out in the yard with hubster, she does the same thing.... she's our Golden Bunny.