finding a dog breed

Question
I think the standard schnauzer is a very good idea for me. I giant schnauzer would be very good in our house. My mom has lots of pottery.

If I could I would get a German shepard but my parents don't want to have one. My mom used to have one and she said they they need constant training to keep them in line. That wouldn't be a big deal with me because I go through all of my dogs tricks everyday to make sure he doesn't forget them. Any medium to large dog that doesn't shed to much will do for me though.

I havn't looked at our local dog shelter but most of the time it isn't worth going. They never have any tame dogs. Our state dog shelter for Wisconsin in Milwaukee is very nice though. I don't live near Milwaukee so it is a drive but when we are there I will be sure to look there.

We have had bad experences with rescue dogs. When we went to getour new dog from a breeder, she brought down a small shih tzu. I used to be a show dog but it came from one of those places where they turn older, injoured or stray animals into food and glue. From what I have heard from them they are absolutely terrible places for a animal. I can't even believe the government lets those places work.
This shih tzu was very abused when we bought it for our grandma. All it wanted was to sit on my grandmas lap all day. My grandma spoiled that dog. She spoon fed it oatmeal and yourget for meals and down right pampered it but it was still scared of everything. Even when you turned the light switch on. She had to bring it back to the breeder because she couldn't train it. I don't know if we want to risk going through that again.
Thank you
Nick  

Answer
Nick
I think I have mentioned this before but German Shepherds DO shed alot. The "rescue" you are talking about is not the same I am thinking about. Typically it is not through breeders, although some do rescue. Most of the time the dogs the go through rescue will be partially trained and placed in a home that suits them. I will give you the name of a few rescues close to you. You may find that this type of rescue is MUCH better. Oh and have you thought about a greyhound. They love to run but they can be couch potatoes when your gone. They do well on farms and they ARE smart. Give it a chance, they are awsome dogs. Try these sites:
http://www.puppysites.com/rescue_wi.html
(Greyhound site): http://expage.com/savethegreyhounds
Let me know what you think.

Emily
P.S.Greyhounds are careful dogs and most are very good around pottery. And think, some dogs retired from racing are fed to sharks. These dogs are only between 2-6 yrs old. Good luck on your search.