I've just heard too many tragic stories.
I understand.
It's so hard to see again and again, birds killed by dogs. It breaks my heart every single time and it seems to have been happening a lot lately.
I try not to judge, because tragic accidents happen to be best of us and so many people are not given the chance to make single mistake... but the cynical part of me reminds me every single one of those deaths were preventable somehow. Maybe only with hindsight.
I look at it this way; our homes have lots of hazards we cannot help but to have. Clear windows, doors leading outside, hot appliances, toxic cleaners, an open toilet... all these things we have to consider when keeping birds, and make safe. How many little birds just get sat on by their owners?
Dogs just add another hazard to that list, one we have to adapt to. 13 of the 15 years I've had Peanut I've had dogs and I've kept her safe by keeping them separate. Just like any other home needing to make sure doors leading outside are safe and the lid to the toilet is down or the door closed, I have to make sure there is at least one closed door between dogs and Peanut at all times (or a baby gate and bird net on the coldest days.)
As for Lauren's question, I agree most strongly with Julie's post. All those breeds are so different, what are you looking for in a dog? What is your lifestyle? That is so much more important than how the dog looks.
I will say though, I recommend avoiding pugs and looking into similarly tempered small breeds. What breeders have done to their health is just abhorrent, they are one of the most unhealthy breeds and most pugs have severe health issues. Not just their smashed skulls but their twisted, stocky bodies cause a lot of bone, spine, and even digestive problems.
A lot of purebreds have issues though, because as long as the dog looks like the books say they are supposed to, who cares if it's life is filled suffering and pain? (And mutts aren't free of problems either, if the parents are unhealthy a mutt pup can inherit issues too.)
I'm personally very lazy and hate being forced out into the cold all winter for long walks. It works now that my dogs are both seniors but I have no idea what I was thinking when I adopted a puppy who was abandoned by a working sled dog kennel.
Never doing that again! Though for the first 8 or so years of Shadow's life I was probably a healthier person due too all the forced exercise.