I have five dogs and four cats----all rescues and all were on death row. The dogs are Australian Shepherd mix (my avatar), a Beagle, a German Shepherd mix and two Pit Bulls. All are very sweet and loving and the Pit puppy is NOT a watchdog---he's 86 lbs but scared of strangers. The German Shepherd mix is very smart and can read my mind at times---she's my favorite. I had a GS mix while I was raising the kids and she was a sensitive delight as well. When these five are gone I will have two dogs at a time since I'll be about 60 by then. I'll definitely look for a female German Shepherd mix....