What about a boxer? Gavroche can be downright terrifying, and nothing slips past him. They're a bit on the smaller side, especially if you get a female (which I would recommend, since males can be jerks with other dogs...like Gavroche). Only thing is I don't know if Gavroche's reactions are typical of boxers, since he's my first and I can't even say if he's purebred. He freaking LOVES kids, though, and will protect them with his life if he had to. He hates, hate, HATES water, but jumped in the pool multiple times when my nephew was "in danger" (not really in danger, but Gavroche though he was!). I need to get a video of him barking at church solicitors ones of these days, he's terrifying. And he has GRIP. I would not want to get on this dog's bag side. He's shown an inclination for scenting, too, and I was actually going to start a thread earlier on introducing nosework because he's such a sniffer lol.
I second looking into the Boxer. Coming from good lines, I think your chances of SSA are going to drop DRASTICALLY. Look into the European lines, as they have a "rougher" appearance than the American lines. The European lines resemble more of an American Bulldog and tend to be bigger. Have you looked into American Bulldogs at all? My inlaws have them, and they are definitely intimidating and have protective instincts. Their last American Bull would not let a new person out of their vehicle and would do a bark and hold on them. I haven't done a ton of research on them, but from what I've seen personally, they have been super great with kids and are good with my dogs as well.
As far as Boxers go, I have a female out of a BYB. She is typically good with dogs, but is slightly reactive towards large males. However, she wasn't always, and I blame it on the handful of attacks she has been involved in by large males. I was a little bit worried about SSA with her, which is why I got a male cattle dog; however, we are fostering a female right now and they get along super well. They had a pretty good tuft early on, but now can co-exist well. I will say that when a Boxer gets into a fight, they either scream and run away, or they mean it.
As far as protectiveness and watchfulness, they can be scary. Just last night, Harlow spotted deer in our backyard and charged the window barking. She has also "corrected" Josh when she was younger about getting too rough with me. She is vary wary when we are out and about, and is very watchful about her surroundings. She often checks behind us if we are on a walk, and though greets most people with the wiggle butt, we have met a few people she just doesn't trust. I feel a lot safer with her in the house, especially since Josh is now on third. Lol.
ETA: I've been looking into European line breeders for the future, and have a few I really like. If you are interested, PM me.
