Dog Paw Print
The Place To Help You Choose & Celebrate Your Family Dog!

At Dog Paw Print, choosing the right dog for your family has never been easier or more fun! We are the site for you if you need help figuring out what type of breed would work best with your own unique family lifestyle.

• We have solid research-based information about the best breeds for families, especially families with young children at home.

• We can help active families find a dog that can keep up with them, as well as help families who enjoy a relaxing, peaceful lifestyle find a dog that will not drive them crazy!

• We have fun things for all dog-lovers, from dog web graphics and clip art you can use for your projects, to great name ideas for your new friend. We even have interactive games and dog coloring pages that kids of all ages will enjoy!

At Dog Paw Print, we will answer important questions with you, as you discover what breed characteristics are a good fit for your family lifestyle through questionnaires and helpful information that you can read on the topic.

We are also all about FUN here, celebrating dogs and how they add enjoyment to our lives. In addition to our thorough articles regarding how to choose the best dog for your family, we also have a lot of entertaining information and activities to share with you. Whether it's making some new dog treat recipes together as a family, viewing some videos of funny dogs, or reading some silly dog haiku poems, we have some day-brighteners for all dog lovers!

More About Our Research and How to Navigate Our Site

We have used the American Kennel Club (AKC) categories while evaluating the characteristics of each main group of dogs, and then have looked closer at the individual breeds that belong in that group to find the dogs with the best general characteristics for families with children. The American Kennel Club breaks down their recognized purebred breeds into eight different groups:

• the Sporting Group

• the Hounds Group

• the Working Group

• the Terrier Group

• the Toy Group

• the Non-Sporting Group

• the Miscellaneous Class

More About the Nature of Dogs from the Different Groups

Each of these groups have different characteristics and most were bred with a specific job to do. The job is so crucial to the dog, that if they are kept from doing it (for example, running, herding, etc.) or some good substitute for it, they will become restless, and behavior problems will follow.

It's important to understand the nature of each breed's job and native characteristics, and how they can work for or against your family. Be sure to click on each group's button, located on the Navigation Bar on the left-hand side of the Dog Paw Print Home Page to find out more about the breeds that are in each group and what their traits are. Mixed breeds and cross breeds are a little bit harder to evaluate in these terms, but they can make wonderful family dogs, and we will help you learn what to look for in these dogs as well.

A great way to get started is to answer our Selection Quiz for Choosing a Dog to help determine the lifestyle of your family and what types of breeds would probably work best for finding the BEST dog for your family.

So come on in and look around a bit- we know you will find just what you need here at Dog Paw Print. Also, you may wish to bookmark us or subscribe to our RSS feed, and keep up to date with our news and information. We are always adding exciting, new information to the site that you won't want to miss!