I've almost always had a least 1 dog. The only time I did not was between 1996-2004 when the kids were born. Dogs can be a bit dirty and having babies on the floor with a dog didn't seem like a good Idea to me
My first dog was a male Collie named lad. We had him when I was 8 months old, until I was about 5. He was given to us by one of my dad's friends because that friend had to go away and could not have a dog. He was simply brilliant and extremely protective. He passed away at the age of 15.
My second dog was a female Shih Tzu. I had her at 6 Until I was 20. She was an absolutely fantastic loving family pet. She use to sleep under my bed and constantly play we me an my friends. She and I would walk for hours in the fields behind my house. I use to love playing fetch with her. My dad pick her out because she was so pretty.
Our third dog was a Lhasa Apso. We had him from the age of 20- to 26. He followed my brother home. He was flea infested and had been abandoned. We cleaned him up and found his owner. They couldn't way to get rid of him so we kept him. He was problematic because he had not been trained properly. We spent about 4 months training him and he became a great dog. He was real loving and playful.
At 27 I met my wife and we shortly ended up getting her parents dog. It was a mutt but she was a wonderful dog. My wife's brother had given his parents the dog but it became too much effort since they are a bit old. She was extremely smart and very protective of my wife. She was the most expressive we ever owned. When I proposed to my wife it was while walking that dog. I'll never forget that Marbles also tough it was an appropriate time to take a dump . She passed away when I was 31.
Now we have Lilly a pure bred shetland sheepdog (my dog) and a border Collie (the families dog). I say my dog because Lilly could not careless about any one else in the house. I feed, water, walk and play with those dogs. She knows where her meals are coming from. Both dogs a probably as smart as a 3-4 year old. I've trained them to do tons of fun things. They know how to play tag, Hide and seek, herd the kids, fetch, chase pests. I work from the house a lot. Lilly is always by my side in her basket. Flash (the male Border Collie) is usually in the basement until he hears me go for the food or leash. I'd estimate that they can understand at least 300 words. I'll see if can post a picture.
Funny store. Lilly is a tri-color Sheltie (black and white with some brown). We were at a park one day and she was playing, She's about a 18 lbs dog. Along comes this aggressive dog that starts chasing Lilly. Now flash is also black and white except he's a 45 pound dog. Lilly came around a bush were flash was standing and that dog ran face to face with him. I could see the shock on his face that said "holly shit you just got a whole lot bigger close up) and then Flash showed him that its best to leave his playmate alone. Both dogs look very similar.
Another Lilly was chasing a wild rabbit in our yard (I don't let Flash do it because he would probably kill it) and she catches it by putting both paws on it. "Ok tag your it, it's your turn to catch me". She was rather disappointed when the rabbit did not take pursue