My brother and I grew up with Malamutes, a beautiful breed that require a lot of attention. Since then, it's been mostly Labs and Lab mixes (hard to go wrong with that temperament). My grandmother had Yorkies and Maltese, which are the smallest I've known; and the largest I've cared for: Newfoundland. As for caring/training for a puppy, still to this day there's a Black Lab in the Marina that comes when I call him (former roommate's dog). [Most] dogs like me, very often I'm the person a dog will come up to say 'hi' to at the dog park. So from an elderly ol' Lab in her last of days, to an infant-secure Golden Retriever eager only to please, to a pair of Doberman's trained to respond to Alpha, I've been responsible for a great many types of dogs in a great many set of circumstances.