What's a good guard dog?

[FMA4ME]

Thank you ladies You brought up really important points, especially with regards to the dog having to be a good match with my wife and young kids and maybe my baby. Liz, l LOVE Shepards and Labs and am totally open to one.
My sister is one of the people I know whos dog.bit the mailwoman. My sister and the lady were friendly with each other. Well they saw each other in the street one day and the mailwoman
ran towards my sister and year old nephew. The mailwoman stooped down to see the baby, and my sister's happy typical yellow lab didnt even growl, but bit the mailwoman right in her face, pretty bad. Luckily she was alright and didn't sue my sister. It had to have happened really fast. I think my sister should have evaluated the situation better and calmed the dog before the mailwoman was that close, even though Spike is always calm.

 

[Crazy mike]

I agree with Liz you don't need a guardian breed specifically because they are not the easiest breeds for people who aren't familiar with such breeds. I say get a middle aged retrieving breed such as a lab,Golden,Chesapeake, flat coated if you can find one. Let this dog bond with your family which will take time and you will have a dog that is good with kids and a good deterrent

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[calichai]

You do not need a quard dog... you just need a good watch dog.. a dog that has a good sounding bark.. and will respond to strangers with caution until the stranger is acceptable to you..... any dog is a deterrent.. usually burglers will go past the house with a dog .. they just rather not deal with a dog and the unknown..... so any good size dog...even a lab will protect by barking .. it sounds like your wife needs a good disposition dog.. i would start with lab or shepard mix... a mixed breed will do the job. As far as the rabbit.. bring a pup home and introduce them and the puppy will grow up loving the rabbit.. bring an older dog in you would need to find out its background or test it with small animal behavior attitude..some would accept it and some would love to chase it.. depends on the personality of the older dog.. any breed is capable of this.. good luck

I agree with you. Over the weekend, I arrive home and found all the pillows kicked off the couch. I was going to go punish the dog until I noticed our screen was cut through and there were footprints in the flower bed. Our dog is not huge but she scared some would be crook away.

35lb pug/pit mix female

Loves the nephew.


Dog freindly, people freindly. But protective when need be.
If we are at the dog beach sleeping on the sand. She won't let any dogs near us. If I'm awake she's fine. Best pound pup...


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[Miguel]

Let me be clear on this.

I deal with large mollosoider breed ( mastifs ), both from the "person guardian type " to the "rural, property/ cattle guardian type ".

They are apples and oranges, but both "types, gorgeous, wonderfull, breeds.

I started by saying to avoid the puppy mill ( a puppy mill is a moeney making puppy creating machine with no regard to in´breeding, to socializing the pups, to etc, etc...they just want a quick buck )

And they exist to cater for the trendy dogs, for the penile extension dogs, which they end up destroying ( pitt, rottweillers, dogo argento ( to a lesser degree ) and several other breeds went down that drain ).

Assuming you buy a pup from a good breeder ( what is a good breeder? a person who loves his dogs, who selects his lines and who involves them in his family life ( kids included ) chances for you to go wrong are way less.

I applly these rules to allmost any breeds, in general.

You pick up a well socialized pup, both in terms of human interaction as dog interaction ( which it will have learned from its mother ) and, assuming you are a "normal", dog savy person, you should be good to go.

Treat the dog as a dog, meaning, keep it, lovingly, in its place, as the lower guy in the pack ( a ***** accepts this, a male will try to step the ladder to be the leader ). No dogs on sofas, no dogs on beds, etc, etc...

Dogs and kids. I raised seven children around these breeds. Mistakes happenned due to overconfidence from me. But let me tell you that the majority of accidents happen with dogs that no one gives a worry about.....

Kids should not play with ANY dog on their knees, so they are not considered pups and pack brethren. Kids should allways deal with dogs standing up, from a higher perspective.

I could go on, and on.

I assumed you wanted a guard breed, not a dog that barks and generally functions as an alarm system witghou any further kind of help if you need it.

There are other routes you can go, which I call second tier guardians, such as the GS, Giant Schnauzer, etc, etc...

Lastly, somoenoe mentioned the Fila Brasileiro. I advise against it, as I advise against any breed that is still "new" to modern human contact ( as the porrtuguese Fila de Sao Miguel ). These are dogs that just now are getting introduced from the farm life to family life ( Filas defend cattle from Jaguars, for chrissake ). These breeds are still somewhat "rough" and need a couple more generations of family life, imho.

Having said that, from a personal stand point ( and kids excluded ) those breeds are a challenge in itself for one to undertake.

 

[ehh]

Treat the dog as a dog, meaning, keep it, lovingly, in its place, as the lower guy in the pack ( a ***** accepts this, a male will try to step the ladder to be the leader ). No dogs on sofas, no dogs on beds, etc, etc...

Kids should not play with ANY dog on their knees, so they are not considered pups and pack brethren. Kids should allways deal with dogs standing up, from a higher perspective.

Oh god...


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[Miguel]

meaning?

 

[Tinaamy]

Hi there. I don't know if you have already bought your puppy but I thought I would weigh in. All my life I have had English Bull Terriers. They are wonderful family dogs they love children and if you get a puppy he will learn to get along with cats, rabbits etc. They don't bark a lot and as long as you can take him for a walk everyday he will do fine in an apartment.

 

[pops]

looks like a good guard dog is a cat.

 

[Red Devil]

I agree with you. Over the weekend, I arrive home and found all the pillows kicked off the couch. I was going to go punish the dog until I noticed our screen was cut through and there were footprints in the flower bed. Our dog is not huge but she scared some would be crook away.

35lb pug/pit mix female
View attachment 1011856
Loves the nephew.
View attachment 1011857

Dog freindly, people freindly. But protective when need be.
If we are at the dog beach sleeping on the sand. She won't let any dogs near us. If I'm awake she's fine. Best pound pup...


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she is awesome..look at those soulful eyes..

 

[EricJ7182]

Ty all for the advice regarding the dog. I'm going to have to cancel my plans to get a dog. The break in caused my wife to develop some problems with the pregnancy due to stress. Doctors put her on full bed rest so getting a dog right now is just out of the question.


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