Whats the best guard dog/family dog?

Fluffpuff

My partner and I have decided to get a large breed dog mainly for me to feel more secure when he is working away or not home from work but it would have to be good with children aged 5 and 7.

I have been looking at boxers as I know they are great with kids but the only thing that puts me off is that I've been told they are crazy and bounce off the walls. I love samoyeds but don't think they would be good as a guard dog, plus the hair would probably be a problem. So something low maintence hair wise would be good.

I am willing to spend alot of time training the dog too!

Can anyone suggest a good breed?

I am scared of japanese akitas, bull mastiffs and I think german shepherds are best suited to older kids due to past experiences.

However if anyone has any good advice that would be great

gettingready

Doberman perhaps?

Person_one

If you don't feel safe without your partner around I'd opt for counselling and a burglar alarm rather than a big dog.

Dogs should be family members, if you get one it should be because you love dogs and are committed to having one in your family for the next 15 years. What would you expect a guard dog to do? Just be there as some sort of deterrent or would you want to train it to be aggressive towards strangers who approach you and your children?

Fluffpuff

Person_one wrote: »

If you don't feel safe without your partner around I'd opt for counselling and a burglar alarm rather than a big dog.

Dogs should be family members, if you get one it should be because you love dogs and are committed to having one in your family for the next 15 years. What would you expect a guard dog to do? Just be there as some sort of deterrent or would you want to train it to be aggressive towards strangers who approach you and your children?

It goes without saying that the dog would be a loved member of the family and isn't solely for the purpose of being a guard dog hence why I put FAMILY DOG in the title.

Lots of people have larger breed dogs not only as a family pet but to feel a bit more secure. Doesn't mean the dog isn't loved nor does it mean the owners have mental health problems! I don't need counselling thanks. I doubt counselling is going to protect me and my children from an intruder in the middle of the night. What am I going to do talk him to death with counselling techniques?

The dog would be as a deterrent not be trained to be aggressive.

Go and jump on the bandwagon on someone else thread please.

GBNI

Depends what you want the dog to do as Person_one states.

Rottweilers are brilliant family dogs, but can be intimidating to others outside of the family. Any dog with guarding instinct needs and experienced handler and good training though, are you prepared to put in the work?

I have a lab x rotie and the amount of people put off her once they hear she's part rottie is shocking! She's a big softie though

Fluffpuff

GBNI wrote: »

Depends what you want the dog to do as Person_one states.

Rottweilers are brilliant family dogs, but can be intimidating. Any dog with guarding instinct needs and experienced handler and good training though, are you prepared to put in the work?

If you read my first post it says I am willing to train. As mentioned before the dog would be more a deterrent than be trained to be aggressive towards intruders.

Mr_Incredible

anything that barks gives addittional protection, clearly the bigger the dog the more they cost to maintain

Fluffpuff

Mr_Incredible wrote: »

anything that barks gives addittional protection, clearly the bigger the dog the more they cost to maintain

A dog with a deep bark would deter, not so sure about smaller breeds my sisters westie barks at everyone but youonly have to pick him up and he goes completely still and quiet lol.

gettingready

OP - have you had a dog before? If so, what dog was it and how old were you then?

With 2 young children, a puppy will be a lot of work.

GBNI

Sorry for skim reading I still stand by a Rottweiler. Big, cuddly dogs, good with kids but have trainable temperaments. They do tend to go through a terrible 2's stage though IME!

adouglasmhor

Shout out for the Airedale the Collie, the Boxer, and the Standard Poodle, all are good with kids, but family protective, but you will have to put the work in, both with trianing your kids to get on with the dog and with training the dog and making it a family member.