by Elizabeth Fearon

Created on: November 12, 2009   Last Updated: November 13, 2009

Do your homework. A singularly important piece of advice to ensure that the dog breed you choose is the best for your circumstances, in turn ensuring the greatest chance of a contented pet and a happy owner. I feel confident about passing on this tip because it has worked so supremely successfully in the case of our wonderful Briard.

Unlike my husband, I'd not grown up with dogs, was a little uncomfortable around them and so had resisted the pleas of both hubby and children to add a canine member to our family. However, when the time came to give in, I knew it was not a decision to be taken lightly and so embarked on a mission to make the most informed choice possible.

Starting point. Look at your options. A book entitled 450 Dog Breeds (I didn't even know there were 450 dog breeds!) opened up a vast array of canine possibilities. Admittedly, the first cut was to single out those breeds that appealed to me from their photographs alone. It turned out that I was attracted to those that have the 'teddy bear' quality.

Criteria. The next task was to whittle down the list to those that fulfilled the following criteria: excellent family dog, good with children, calm nature, possible to train, a guarding instinct, no slobbering or excessive moulting. Then it was back to the book and the breed that ticked all the boxes was the Briard. I'd never even heard of a Briard before - a French sheepdog used by Napoleon and on the battlefields of the First World War for their intelligence and obedience. The lovable face stared at me from the page, dark brown eyes peering through a long black mop of fringe and I connected to the Internet immediately to discover more. My final port of call was The Kennel Club and the information I read confirmed that the Briard seemed to be the right dog for our family.

Meet the Breed. Manchester Dog Show was on at the time we were making our decision and it was worth travelling there as a family on the day that Briards were being shown to confirm that the dog in the flesh would bear out the photographs we had seen and the information we had gleaned. Nothing could have prepared us for the delight of encountering Briards in huge quantities! And for us, making that trip led us to the pet we finally welcomed into our family. My husband struck up an immediate rapport with one Briard waiting patiently in its stall, the two communing in a 'one man and his dog' sort of way. The breeder appeared and told us that 'Eddie' had just sired a litter in Norfolk.

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