Grammy doesn't want to send her kids to corners !! I can understand the reasonings behind every post. Unless any dog is poorly bred , under socialized, trained to defend, mistreated etc etc MOST are good house dogs. Take a well bred Dobe or GS , add A LOT of good obedience and you have what you're looking for. Size alone is intimidating. Believe me, even with my gentle giant Bubba..... if I put him in a sit and stay ... people wouldn't wait until I gave the next command. They never knew if it might be " Attack " or "come for a cookie" . When Bubba went to work with me everyday , at our store , there were many who either wanted to hit the register or shop lift . I added " watch " to his "sit and stay ". He sure didn't know what I meant .... but others thought they knew !! ,,,,and this was a Golden Retriever !