The Retrievers of Gold
That's what's up.
Yep. They're the best dogs.
Huskies are cool too...but AFAIK they aren't as loving.
Wrong....Huskies are very gentle, loving dogs. The BEST around kids I've ever seen, and are incredibly affectionate. The only thing is they do have a bit of an independent streak in them, which means that if an intruder took over your house, and tossed you out, your husky might miss you for a few days, but he'd be following the other guy around after a while.
This is actually a good thing for their intended purpose. Sledding. In the sled dog world, the dog has to be able to be independent minded enough that if the musher/driver tries to blindly drive the team over a cliff, that they will not go over the edge. This inbred trait usually exhibits itself when it's raining buckets outside, and you are running late to somewhere, and you call the dog to come inside, and he takes a couple of steps, and then pauses....before sitting down and staring at you, and then try as you might to control the tension in your voice, he finally lies down (in the mud usually), and looks away like he can't hear you, thereby forcing you to go to HIM and make him come inside. This bit of stubbornness and their wanderlust are the two biggest things that you need to worry about. I know someone whose husky won the nationals in obedience search and rescue (huskies are one of, if not the smartest breeds), but this same, well trained, obedient, intelligent dog, ran across the street from her one day and was struck and killed by an oncoming truck.