"I need a companion dog for people who live in urban areas"

So, many people buy work dogs, retrievers, and other breeds with totally different genetically controlled behaviors, and then try to force the behaviors to be those of a companion dog for people who live in urban areas. Or they buy chimpanzees, or alligators, or tigers, or any one of a huge number of inappropriate undomesticated animals, and they try to force them to behave.

The researchers found that gun dogs and sheep dogs were better than hunting hounds, earth dogs (dogs used for underground hunting), livestock guard dogs and sled dogs at following a pointing finger. They also out-performed mongrels. Moreover, breeds with short noses and centrally placed eyes were better at interpreting the gesture than those with long noses and widely spaced eyes, which can probably be connected to a more optimal retinal location of greatest visual acuity, that might help focus their attention. According to Gácsi, "Although these results may appear to be unsurprising, there is a common tendency to make assumptions about genetic explanations for differences in comprehension between 'dogs' and wolves. Our results show that researchers must be careful to control for animal breed when carrying out behavioral experiments."

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-07/bc-hc072209.php