Advice from doggie-lovers sought

So here's the deal.

Brian tends to be a lonely kid. He is not very active. When he was a pre-schooler he was the most friendly child I had ever met. He was sweet to little kids. When Hubby's parents took everyone to a dude ranch for a week to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, Brian was three and after just a couple of days everyone there knew him. I anticipated him going to school and making friends with everyone.

But something happened, I know not what. He never made a lot of friends. He makes a few, but they don't seem to hang a lot. He tends to be sad.

A couple of years ago he asked for a dog and I finally decided that it might be a good idea. We are a cat family, but he really wanted a dog. I understood -- a dog will come when you call and will give you attention when you want it. Though I have always preferred cats, and we always had cats, I confess that the dog that I had as a child (it was either a Lhasa or a Shih-Tzu) was my best pet ever.

So we looked for dogs at the shelter. We got a dog. She is a Good Dog. Hubby thinks she is fantastic. She is smart, wanting to please, and obedient. She understands and quickly follows the commands: sit; stay; down; off; drop it; come; "where's your ball?"; go to bed; and go away (used mostly in the kitchen). She is learning "bring your ball" (meaning pick it up and leave it by the back door so we can find it next time). She understands "wanna go out?"; and "walk? do you want to go for a walk?" She however is not cuddly. If you are a boy feeling sad and you call her she will sit in front of you, trembling with anticipation, waiting to be told what you want her to do. If you pet her, she will continue to wait to find out what's going to happen. You can tell her "down" and she will lie down, but she won't cuddle. She will continue to look at you waiting to find out if you are just drilling her on her skills or if you are about to ask her to round up a herd of cattle.

So, it was the wrong dog for Brian. He told us he wanted a lap dog, a cuddly dog. I remember when we visited found her in the shelter that she did not seem to be very affectionate and that I was not certain this was really the right one. He was though and I let myself believe that he knew what he wanted. I took a dog obedience class with him. I did most of the work outside of the class, but he took turns during the class. At the end of the class she could heal off leash -- unless a squirrel ran across her path. (After Hubby started walking her that is gone.) Brian bonded to her a fair amount that summer, but she was never really meeting his needs.

So, now, two years later, he is asking for another dog.

Here's my issue. On one hand I am willing to get him a dog. However, I am concerned that I won't be able to find the dog that he wants. I am not worried that the dog won't get fed, because I am prepared to feed it. I have very realistic expectations about his skills in that area. The dog will get plenty of attention, and we have a decent-sized back yard. My concern is that the dog won't attach to Brian the way he wants. I am afraid that Brian's feelings will be hurt if the dog doesn't think that he is the most wonderful person in the house. I am nervous that the sort of devotion he wants is the sort of thing that exists only in dog movies.

There is of course the additional consideration of the needs of the current dog and cats. The cats already get along with the dog, so we just need one who will return the favor. The Cattle Dog can be quite aggressive to other dogs she has met when walking on a leash, but has got along very well well with male dogs she has been able to play with loose in yards. Female dogs however are another story. Our dog once spent two weeks of our summer vacation at a doggie kennel that had private kennels (10x10' rooms with 10x15' runs) and a large common kennel. The owner reported that our dog did fine in the common area, although she and the other female Cattle Dog had to take turns because they would not get along with each other.

Every cat or dog we have ever had has been a rescue. The shelter for this county and the one near The City are both pretty good. The local shelter now has some sort of animal behaviorist. Before you can even visit the dogs you have to fill out a questionnaire and they are very good at telling you that they don't think any of their current dogs fit your needs. (This Hubby and Brian learned last week. Whether they are equally good at telling you that some dog WILL fit your needs is yet to be seen). The shelter at The City will let you fill out a special request sheet. Brian has filled one out that I have not yet mailed in requesting a male, cuddly lap dog of any breed or mixed-breed.

I've done some on-line research and found this article on testing the temperament of dogs in shelters. The author is controversial but I am wondering if the testing method would be helpful in our case. The Cattle Dog would not have passed the test, and she is a wonderful dog. I am thinking though that a dog who would pass the test would be a good dog for Brian.

So...those of you who have had lots of experience with dogs, what do you think? Is the test in that article a good one? Is there a better way to test dogs? Is it likely that if we are careful we can find the lap-dog that Brian wants so very much or are we going to end up with another family dog and a boy who still wants us to find the right dog?