Yeah i would say that too my sister has a weim pup and already she does what she like's she is not the easiest of pups to train as i seem to be the one with her everyday as so she's not on her own for to long. She is very strong willed if she wants something she's got to have it if she does'nt get her own way she will sulk or try and eat something she's not supposed to. And already she is trying to be the boss of my dog and he very dominant.
I have to say that it is deffinately a case of negotiating and that she won't do anything unless she gets anything out of it either.

I'd say a lab, retriver or something along those lines would be better for your first biggie but read up on some breeds and see which one sounds like it suits you both and have a visit of the one's you pick just to make sure.

im only 5ft 4" I can cope with two male rotties at just over 50kg each, so a combined weight of just over 100kg

but as others have said, it depends on the training put in,

the question is,

do you feel you can train a challenging breed {more so as the dogs on your list are very challenging}
if you feel confident enough in your ability to train them, then all else is going to be ok,

I think it would be good to spend time round some of these breeds and see what you think first,

I know I would need to take a deep breath before taking on a few of the dogs on that list.

i think the two on the list that are my favourites are the doberman or the pointer. although with everyone saying labs is maybe swaying me a bit. but i heard that ridgebacks can be quite dog agressive, and great danes can be rather timid and jumpy, although this is just personal opnions i suppose, like the lab will eat anything and chis can be snappy i did look into labs a while ago and someone reccomended me a nice breeder, but would like to look into the others first. particularly the doberman, it so hard to just choose one i think the OH has based his choices purely on looks to be honest, where as i look into everything throroughly (why im writing on here) the most important thing to me is this new dog's quality of life so i want to be sure i can control it properly and it can be a normal but big dog lol

Well for it's worth if he would not be able to take charge of a big dog in most cases when it would need exercise, I would ask him if he wouldn't like a .......... fill in the missing word here. Funny you mentioned a Papillon since your nana had , that is what I was thinking might be a nice, super smart small dog. I doubt he'd want one of the fluffy ones that need lots of grooming though.
Good Luck.

i love my little dogs, but he isnt too keen, its the how typical male i want a big dog thing. he wants one he can be all rough n tumble with, although i have already said no matter what the size of dog this wouldnt be happening... because i did suggest min pins, small doberman but he wants a big dog. typical men maybe i should just live on my own and get an army of dogs all great and small lol

I agree about the breed being most important but some large dogs might be too much for her.

Get a min pin but tell him it's a dobe. How will he tell if it's a puppy?

I suggest the two of you go to Discover Dogs if you can, it's on in a few weeks. Really, really, really, good for looking at breeds.

Well you don't want this to harm your relationship so maybe a Lab. If I could have a lg. dog it would be a Lab. but I'd hunt for the best in temperament.

yeah he may not realise when it is a puppy but he might be a bit suspicious in a couple of years and it still hasnt grown past my knee

He'll have fallen in love with him by then I promise!

I'll go now and leave you in peace!