Guardian type breeds?

[Laurelin]

Just curious. I am pretty sure I'm getting a BC next but sometimes I just wish I had a 'scarier' looking dog.

I had this thought the other day when I was walking the girls at night. These three guys started following me and harassing me and my dogs. Now, Mia is a GREAT little watch dog. She is very alert, suspicious of people, and vocal. She will alert me faster than any dog I've ever known and will put on a great show. But let's face it, she's 6 lbs and not very scary.

Since I'm a 24 year old girl who lives alone, 400 miles away from any family, a guardian type dog is sometimes very enticing. IF I ever wanted a more serious type dog, what would you guys think would fit me? (Ignore the fact that I currently rent because by the time I got a dog like this I probably wouldn't be renting anymore) This is mostly just hypothetical

- Has to be able to be trained to live with the papillons. Don't need a dog park dog though so same sex aggression would be something I could deal with (only have girls right now so I could get a male).

- I don't want a serious personal protection dog. I more of want a dog that will be a visual deterrent and likely to put on a show.

- would be looking to do obedience, weight pull (depending on breed), agility (maybe), maybe schutzhund with it. Definitely some sort of sports work of some kind.

- preferably not terribly drooly

- I do about 2ish hours of exercise with the dogs a day not counting at home training and training classes (I do 3 hours of obed/agility a week right now)

- grooming is not a big deal but I would prefer no professionally groomed breeds

I like rotties but I'm just not 'sold' on them. Same with dobes and shepherds even though I've grown up with a GSD. Some of my favorite dogs I've met have been GSDs but by and large I don't like the ones I meet around town. Then again most are badly bred.

[Romy]

What size are you looking at? A more compact med size dog? Or something bigger? Because danes can put on a show, and their size alone is pretty intimidating. If you get a dark one with cropped/posted ears then you've got something pretty scary looking. They're typically good with other dogs, and not too wild.

[Laurelin]

Preferably more compact than a dane but I have thought of danes before. I know my cousin's danes were pretty formidable looking. I do worry about the health of the breed though and their life expectancy and the fact that they're so huge.

[Sweet72947]

I think you should look into the Beauceron. They are a breed just as versatile as a GSD, used for herding (Continental type), guarding, police work, shutzhund, about any job you want to give them. They can get big (70-110lbs).

Here's the breed club site: American Beauceron Club - About the Beauceron I couldn't find anything on that site that says how they are with other dogs, the only thing I could find about that was on dogbreedinfo.com (I know, I know), and it said that they tend to be good with dogs they know. I think, since they were used to tend and guard flocks, that they would probably regard any animal they were raised with as family.

[milos_mommy]

Boxer? They're more medium sized than others I've thought of, and although most I've met have adored just about everyone they meet, they are "tough" looking. And I believe they're usually good with other dogs. High energy, but probably not more than you would want to deal with.

[corgipower]

Originally Posted by Laurelin

I don't want a serious personal protection dog. I more of want a dog that will be a visual deterrent and likely to put on a show.

Any big dark dog is usually a visual deterrent. Putting on a show depends more on the individual dog than the breed.

[SizzleDog]

- Has to be able to be trained to live with the papillons. Don't need a dog park dog though so same sex aggression would be something I could deal with (only have girls right now so I could get a male).

Ronin used to live with a Lhasa Apso. Kaylee's sister lives with two Italian Greyhounds. Kaylee's pro handler also has Chihuahuas. A well-known dobe breeder in the Midwest also breeds/shows Chinese Cresteds. My breeder used to have Shelties. NRA's dobe Rocket lives with a teeny tiny Miniature Dachshund. Dobes are, in general, just fine with little dogs.

- I don't want a serious personal protection dog. I more of want a dog that will be a visual deterrent and likely to put on a show.

Any well bred dobe should be able to handle that.

- would be looking to do obedience, weight pull (depending on breed), agility (maybe), maybe schutzhund with it. Definitely some sort of sports work of some kind.

Ahhh, versatility is the Doberman's middle name! Dobes make fantastic obedience dogs, breathtaking agility dogs, and can be good sport dogs if you have a good trainer. They also excel in therapy work, SAR, Freestyle and even Lurecoursing. (one thing they don't always do well with is swimming - so Dock Dog Competitions may not be in a dobe's future. )

- preferably not terribly drooly

Dobes are a dry mouthed, tight lipped breed. I can't stand drool, and I'm lucky to own a breed where drool is a non-issue.

- I do about 2ish hours of exercise with the dogs a day not counting at home training and training classes (I do 3 hours of obed/agility a week right now)

That should be just fine for a dobe - they're very intuitive dogs, and I've always found my dobes to match their energy and activity level to my own. They're not couch potatoes, but they won't harass you for insane amounts of exercise.

- grooming is not a big deal but I would prefer no professionally groomed breeds

Dobes epitoize the term "wash 'n' wear" - they dry quickly, their coats repel dirt, they don't need any trimming unless you want to do whiskers etc... the only part of a dobe that is "high maintenance" are the toenails, which should be kept very short.

[lizzybeth727]

Originally Posted by corgipower

Any big dark dog is usually a visual deterrent. Putting on a show depends more on the individual dog than the breed.

^^^This. You could get a black and tan border collie, maybe even a short-coated BC (the long haired ones are "fluffy" and might be considered cuter?), that would probably scare a lot of people off. I know personally, that BC stare scares me, LOL.

[*blackrose]

I really think any large breed dog - no matter the guarding instinct - would be a good candidate. Even if they aren't a "guard" breed, they can still be an effective deterrent.

We had a salesmen refuse to walk up onto our porch today because we had Rose (brindle 60 pound Lab mutt) standing 30 feet away barking with her hackles up and Chloe (45 pound Aussie/Scotch Collie mix) attempting to bust down a window to get to the guy. He left in quite a hurry, too. And I still remember getting a call from a Fed-ex guy sitting in our driveway because our "wolf" was going to eat him (130+ pound Malamute sitting in the driveway wagging her tail and grinning like an idiot because she was so happy to see the stranger!). And I never felt safer than when we had Blackie, and he was a Labrador. I definitally feel safe with Chloe, but she doesn't have that calm self assurance that Blackie had.

There are a few dogs in at work that if my sister or I am working by ourselves in the evening we'll let run loose in the clinic because some shady people loiter around at times and we've had some instances were people will just walk in a side door. O.o (They are all clients wanting their dogs, but seriously people, we're closed!) One of the dogs I feel most secure with is a Lab mix, as well as Bernese Mountain Dog. While Gus, the Lab mix, is more of a guardy-type dog, Yogi (the Berni) loves everyone. But he has a helluva scary bark, he's huge, and if he doesn't think you are supposed to be there he WILL sound the alarm. And frankly, if someone is going to brave a 120 pound black and tan mass of barking teeth, then they probably aren't too concerned about putting a bullet in the dog and just being done with it.

If you like herding breeds, what about an ACD? Or are they not your thing? They are definitally protective, but not over the top about it.

[Renee750il]

Go to a shelter and pick an adult dog. Any biggish dog that's not hound or Lab looking, especially with prick ears, is a good visual deterrent, and you should be able to find one with the kind of temperament you want