Over the years I've had:
Bassett/Beagle Mix---Pretty good dog but lots of health problems.
Terrier/Mut---Male dog who was a runner. Ran away after only a few months. Never found.
Corgi---Best dog ever. Great with kids, inteligent, easy to train(except as a puppy she did nip at everyones heels a lot(herding her human flock); but she grew out of that), rarely barked(except every day at 3pm, when the Nunnery down the street rang their big bell)and perfect lengthed hair(not so short that it embeddes itslef in everything but not long either). Lived a very long life(almost 18 years).
Chow Chow---Like NA said, best dog to have around cats....ours actually meowed. Very protective(she always positioned herself at night in between our bedroom and the front door--watching the front door). Lots of hair...everywhere(but at least it wasnt that short hair dashunds have that gets embedded). We had a black one and when we went camping with her once she was mistaken, from a distance, for a small bear
Dashund/Basset mix---Only my second male dog. He doesn't get along with strangers at all, but his shyness may be due to his former owners husband who we think abused him. He's not my favorite dog but he does obey most commands, and a couple of years ago even found a mouse in our house
Beagle---Just aquired this dog(puppy) a few months ago. She is very, very spirited. Barks a lot but responds pretty well to reward/praise training. Somewhat destructive due to both naughty chewing and plain clumsiness. She is great with kids(loves the attention in fact). I actually made a mistake in getting her. Someone I knew said he had a litter of beagles, and asked if I would like one. I thought he said bassets(my hearing isn't very good sometimes), and knowing my wife loves that breed told him to set aside a female for us. Once the mistake was discoverd it was too late....we already had told our Son a new puppy was coming