So by suitable for first time do people mean 'low maintenance' (e.g. training and exercise)?

A bit of a poser this one! im on my third dog, a northern inuit, he didnt take much training at all, but a friend had years of frustration before her n i reached a satisfactory level of training, so i suppose its down to experience and a little bit of good luck as i didnt know dudleys breeder as he was an adoption, breeding has a lot to do with it, im not saying they have to be pedigree, but if you know the dam and sire, and they both have good temperment, then its got to make a difference, add to this experience and good training, lots of excercise then youre on the right track irrespective of type of breed, so im saying i dont think theres such a thing as an easier first dog, its down to personal choice.

i was once told 'you ruin your first dog'
imo,personalities cannot be predicted no matter what the breed is,(of course it can give you a vague guideline)
you have to start somewhere,and if you have put the research in and dont think 'you can be the one to change them' then its off to a good start,my first dog brought me tears of frustration and of joy ,he taught me so much,and he defo wasnt easy!if i waited till the people of my breed thought i was ready,rather than being honest to myself i wouldn't have them now im sure.

Not in my experience. My first dog was my soul-mate - the most intelligent and gentlest dog I`ve ever had. It was a dreadful shock when I found out they weren`t all like that!
(she was a GSD rehome BTW)

dont get me wrong
by ruin,i meant make most of your mistakes with(generaly)

Yes i agree,we are a bit green, but with all good intentions you go by the book, and maybe you make life a little harder for yourself, with hindsight, we all (with experience) develop our own slant on the rule book, and go along with what works for us!! and we are all different, but all on the right lines, and that is what makes us all individuals, if we were all the same we would be very boring, and that is what is magical, we all love and care for our dogs, but we do it slightly different ways, all to the benefit of our four legged friends!!!

That`s OK - but my first girlie always put me right! We had such a close bond she rarely needed telling what to do.
It was the kids that I practiced on!

This is very true, although Amber was very easy to train in fact she almost trained herself, there are so many little things I would do different if we ever have another dog.

I kind of understand the idea you ruin your first dog but looking around here I think people mess up just as much with their 2nd dog

1st dog is a big learning curve, your make mistakes, make it up, rewrite the rule book

2nd dog isnt exactly like the first but people still try and wedge it into a hole shaped like the first dog
Also I watch people round here going to lots of classes and working really hard with their first dog - the 2nd dog - gets treats just for being cute while the 1st dog is doing tricks, dosnet go to as many classes - because they dont need to cos they know what they are doing
dosent get as much one on one time etc....

My second dog was really difficult - dog-aggressive, arrogant, wilful, hormonal. I now think she probably had a hormone imbalance because she got so much worse after being spayed.
I did the learning curve thing with her, as my first was so easy.
So I don`t think the breed of the first dog is that important - it`s temperament.