Whats the best guard dog/family dog?

Shepherd1

Fluffpuff wrote: »

OMG what is your life?

As long as the puppy is fully vaccinated I can take the puppy for a walk as much as I like? Not that I have to explain myself to your single braincell but here we go... MOST nights I go running/walking/jogging whatever.....so say Monday, wednesday, friday the dog will come out with me. Tuesday and Thursday we may go to the park with the kids so the dog will again come with us. Weekends as an active family we are out and about and again the dog will come with us. If I decide not to go for a run one night or to the park then the dog will just be taken for a general walk. There you go is that good enough for you??? Seriously GET A LIFE.

You are right you can take the dog out as much as you like but you are being totally irresponsible if your going to take a large breed pup out on a run.

catkins

Mankysteve wrote: »

Also anoy the hell out of the neighbours any family dog that's been socialised properly is going to soft as brush.

If you want a guard dog they need to be trained that way and liable to attack you or a family member.

I have an 11 month old dog who loves people, children, dogs, cats (you name it) but will bark when the doorbell goes or if he hears a loud noise. His bark is deep and loud but he won't just keep barking for the sake of it so certainly does not annoy the neighbours. I am pretty sure if someone were trying to break in and kept making a noise though he would continue barking.

A neighbour walked into my back garden a few days ago and my dog flew out through the open patio door, growling and barking. I quickly called him and he came back to me but the neighbour was white and shaking.

I have not trained him to be a guard dog and the breed is certainly not known as being a good guard dog but he certainly is and my previous 3 dogs (all the same breed) were the same.

Some dogs just seem to guard their home and owners. I live in a pretty safe relatively crime free area but I am happy knowing that if someone were to try and break in my dog would make enough noise to probably frighten them off and, if not, he would go for them

pawsies

Fluffpuff wrote: »

Well if the person was in my house and was bitten, then they entered at their own risk

Unfortunately the dangerous dogs act (1991) has been/is being modified so that if your dog bites on private property, you are held responsible. Sucks

MrsAtobe

My two female springers had really wussy barks (sorry girls), but my male one has the bark of a far larger dog - one of my colleagues who has a rottie even commented on it!

Burglar alarms only cover houses, normally, whereas a dog will bark if they hear a strange noise in the garden, or at least ours does. A springer might not be suitable for your lifestyle though, OP. Up to you to judge though.

Ash_McCloud

pawsies wrote: »

Unfortunately the dangerous dogs act (1991) has been/is being modified so that if your dog bites on private property, you are held responsible. Sucks

I think sucks are ok.. it's just bites that are covered by the act

OP, have you considered a Dogue de Bordeaux?

It says on Wiki they're good at guarding flocks, so if you all pretend to be sheep or seagulls then it should look after you. It also say they are used to protect the castles of Europe's Elite. So if your current residence is Un Chateau, then this is the dog for you.

I've taken the liberty of finding a photo, in case you're not familiar with the breed. I think these ones are Siamese twins, but if you cover one half of the photo with your hand then you should get an idea of what they look like.



As you can see here, they're really cute puppies



They'll love accompanying you to the park



And they also appear to be very good with other small pets. Like Guinea Pigs and stuff. So it might be worth buying one if you haven't already got one.

Poppy_Jane_Parka

Catkins, what do you have?

clarabelle41

We rehomed our 2nd dog from Battersea when our youngest child was 6. It was a springer spaniel who has scared the daylights out of strangers entering our home, any dog who is growling and barking as it approaches wil make you thing twice, but what people don't know is that she is actually terrified, a lasting result of previous abuse. Her bark is very deep too! I also have a cocker spaniel, and both of them are extremely noise sensitive, reacting to the slightest noise, which becomes very annoying. My OH also works away & we live in a rural area. Your best bet is to get your local police crime prevention team's advice & good locks & lighting, a dog is only psychological reassurance after all. However, if you want a large breed, http://largebreeddogrescue.co.uk/

moomin5

My friend was burgled as they slept and their German Shepherd didn't see off the intruder. Sometimes the dogs themselves are stolen.

cannyscot_2

We got a cross staffy from dog home -it does all that you are wanting. Loves the children wraps himself all over them-barks excitedly when they are 50 yds from door. He barks madly at anyone coming to door puts people off but anyone in the door and obv ok by us he stops. My hubbie is away all time and it gives me total peace of mind-the dog would even alert me to one of the children being sick or something. My hubby did have to ensure that right away the dog knew he was in charge as at first her tried to go in between us but we just made sure he was not allowed to take up that position. It does mean sometimes a compromise of a quick toilet walk as you cannot leave the children but the dog knows the routine and doesn't seem in any way bothered -quite happy I would say. The added benefits are that even stroppy DD seems to relax and unwind once wrapped round dog so all round dog works pretty well as companion/burglar alarm/doorbell/child sitter/therapist/ run companion.

lostinrates

pawsies wrote: »

Unfortunately the dangerous dogs act (1991) has been/is being modified so that if your dog bites on private property, you are held responsible. Sucks

It's on this basis we spoke to our local rural crime team and slight advice. While its not practical for every dog owning home I. Town to do so here we found great support from the police for our 'in house security'. They also approved of our extensive dog warning signage. (Including the supposedly illegal 'beware of the dogs' which we have on a couple of gates'.

In practise when I have sadly had cause to call 999 for inteuders I have mentioned that the dogs have been kept in, or on one occasion I have told them the dogs are out but confined to a certain area. Having the rural crime team know our property has been incredible but obviously impractical on a larger basis. It goes to show how important good local policing is though, because local police officers who know the properties and the people have a huge advantage.