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A Protective Guard Dog??
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Hello All,
My husband and I are looking to buy a good guard dog to keep in the house. We were recently robbed and robberies in our neighboor and county is soaring! We haven’t been able to visit our local park much because of some safety issues, so my husband suggested we need to find a good guard dog for the children and myself. Does anyone have a dog they consider a guard dog for their family in the house? Thanks so much!
Well, I don’t have a dog but I can recommend a breed that I have had before as a teen and that I would get again in a heartbeat for this purpose. Rottwieler (sp?). They have a false reputation for being mean, IMHO. But in reality, and from personal experience, they are good family dogs. They are VERY loyal, which I think is why they tend to make good gaurd dogs. If you get one as a puppy and train properly, it may be just what you would want. The one we had was very gentle with us kids (I had two younger siblings as well), played well, and seemed to be pretty smart also. She was also pretty to look at and easy to keep that way because of the short hair.
Something to look into at least! HTH.
-Miranda
We had a Belgian sheepdog who was a wonderful guard dog. Be forewarned, they are very high energy. We called him sharkdog and joked that if he stopped moving he couldn’t breath. He was wonderful with our kids and watched them like a hawk! I think really appearance is a big factor in crime deterrent. A big dog is going to be more intimidating then a small dog, pointy ears are generally scarier then floppy ears (not always–think rottie). Also, growing up we had a samoyed/corgi mix that saved me from someone trying to break in my bedroom window in the middle of the night. Anyway, I’d take a trip to your local shelter and look around….mix breeds can often make the best mix of a family dog and guard dog….. just my opinion.
Lindsey
(former shelter worker and dog trainer)
I got a rotti/husky mix from my shelter once and she was wonderful with the kids and very protective and smart. Another dog we had was a german shepherd on our farm when I was young. She saved mom from a running bull and a car of men who pulled up in the driveway that we did not know. Mom asked them to leave and they started to get out of the car. So Lady walked around my mom and got between them and growled. They left in a big hurry, Mom said she was sure that Lady had protected us from harm. Anyway…. =)
We have a European bred dachshund who is a standard size. He weighs 32 ls now which is how they are in England, he has a very gruff bark and that in itself is a good deterrent -he is only 7 months old right now, but is already protective of us. Our last dachsie was the same, and he saw off some bad people when we were living in England. Sadly over here they are not bred solid and large, they are bred with weak backs and are very small – so not much use. Our mailman thought we had a huge dog, because of his bark – he was surprised when he saw him. I wish you luck, being robbed is no fun, as you know, I have had that experience – so it sounds like a good idea. Our neighbor has a shepherd and he is a pussycat, but very protective if needed – it is all in the training as to how they will be when they are around family. Linda
We have a wonderful family dog who is also an excellent guard dog. She’s part german shepherd and part black lab and there could be other parts in there that we don’t know about. She’s 50 lbs, has big pointy ears, HUGE canine teeth and is solid black. She is trained to growl hello and it freaks people out until we explain she’s being friendly. However, if something is awry she makes this horrible gutteral growl that is very scary. She’s only done it twice and both times it was warranted. Once she was scaring off an intruder as I sat on the couch, nursing the baby and reading to the big kids. The man could see us through the glass door as he very insistently knocked when the dog woke and rushed to the door making the sound. That man hightailed it out of our yard lickety split. I reported it to a neighbor friend who is a policeman and turns out a man matching his description had broken into a neighbor’s house that day. I’ve no doubt she would have attacked if the man tried to come in.
Black dogs are often quite scary looking just because of their color.
Christie
Well, It all depends on if you want protection in the park or at the house. If you have a window that robbers can see in a smaller dog is out. If you want a small dog then put a large dog bowl outside the door and a security beware of dog sticker on the doors and windows. Little dogs have an annoying bark that bothers robbers. They are afraid that they can be heard. We also had a rot. He was a very good dog. He was a trained police dog with hand commands. One time the neighbor tried to shoot at him. My sister told him. Hey, did you know you can be arrested for shooting at a police officer? It’s a federal offense. He never messed with the dog after that. He ended up protecting my neice from the neighbor man that walked into the yard. However, in the end he had cancer and bit the furnace installer and had to be put down. Other than that he was a great dog.He even won awards with my daughter in 4-H. I would not recommend a Boxer. People think they are mean but they are not. They also have hip problems. Nor would I recommend a long haired dog unless you like cleaning up fur. German Shepards are great. They are loyal companions and very smart. That is if you like big dogs. I would definately see if you can get a trained police dog or have the dog trained by a police dog trainer. Go the extra distance to have it trained professionally. 🙂
I should add that our dog was professionally trained, too. Not as a guard dog, but she obeys all commands well.
The above suggestions are great, but I would caution you to check with your insurance company if you are a homeowner and with your landlord if you rent. My husband had two rottweilers when we met and after we married we were renting a house. The Landlord had an insurance appraiser come out to do a routine inspection for renewal and he saw the dogs. These were the sweetest dogs you could know, but apparently they are considered “vicious dogs” in our state and many insurance companies won’t insure your house if you own them. We had to find another home for the dogs and my husband was heart broken. So, please check to see which are considered “vicious” in your state and then go from there.
I highly recommend that you research the different dog breeds before deciding what dog to get. Because it is part of being a dog, most dogs are good watch/guard dogs. Even the friendliest dogs will protect you to the best of their ability if they think you are being threatened. The important thing when selecting a dog is to know what each breed is like and whether or not a particular breed fits your family’s lifestyle.
The American Kennel Club has a listing of all the breeds they recognize. They give you details on the personalities of each breed as well as what is involved in caring for each one. Even if you decide on getting a mixed breed from a shelter the information the AKC gives is helpful to know.
You can find the list of AKC recognized breeds here:
Two thoughts to add in here:
1. In considering a big dog, don’t they eat a lot of food? Does anyone know how much dog food one can expect to buy in a month?
2. Have you considered a security sytem like adt?
Good point sarah! 🙂 we spend around $30 a month on our dog. Our dog is a bird dog though and we hunt with her. If a small dog is in order probably a dacshound would be a good choice for a small food bill. 🙂 LOL
Good point. We recently had a small dog that required haircuts. Between her food, grooming, and her vet care she cost us about $700.00 a year, plus all the time for care invested in her at home (taking her for walks, potty outings in frigid/hot conditions).
ADT is $35.00 a month where I live. It requires less care 😉 and there is someone monitoring the alarm 24/7.
Sarah made some good points. Both options have their pros and cons.
We have ADT and I would not want to be without it, combined with our dachshund and good locks on the doors and a solid door frame we have done as much as we can afford – I still don’t feel all that secure in this crazy world, but it is an effort we have made, and I am glad of that. Linda
I can sympathize with you. We had a meth addict break into our home while we were all sleeping…threatened to kill us all…go to court about it in a couple weeks actually… anyway, my husband used to be a police officer in this city (memphis, tn) and I asked him if you had to choose between having ADT or having a big dog which one should a person get? He said without a doubt the dog…because a dog can bite. Get a big dog…rottweiler (sp?), german shephard, boxers are very protective too. I wish we could get a dog…but we are living in a church’s mission house and they aren’t allowed.
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