We recently had a break-in at our home and I have been doing quite a lot of research about guard/watch dogs. I am still unsure however, what type of dog would be best. I have an 8 year old son who has numerous friends over, as well as there are many children in the neighbourhood. I have at the moment, a black lab and a shih-tzu, and am not considering getting another dog until my lab passes away (he's 12, so probably doesn't have TOO much longer, maybe a couple years at best). I do NOT like Dobermans or German Sheperds, and am not a big fan of Rottweilers. I have been looking at American Bulldogs, or in general, the mastiff family of dogs. Any ideas or suggestions?

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Originally Posted by gpmom2002

We recently had a break-in at our home and I have been doing quite a lot of research about guard/watch dogs. I am still unsure however, what type of dog would be best. I have an 8 year old son who has numerous friends over, as well as there are many children in the neighbourhood. I have at the moment, a black lab and a shih-tzu, and am not considering getting another dog until my lab passes away (he's 12, so probably doesn't have TOO much longer, maybe a couple years at best). I do NOT like Dobermans or German Sheperds, and am not a big fan of Rottweilers. I have been looking at American Bulldogs, or in general, the mastiff family of dogs. Any ideas or suggestions?

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Hey I have recently had the same problem... n I have three pitbull terriers, and I honestly think if it wasn't for then things would have gone a lot further then they did... I think my dogs saved my life that night because if it wasn't for them the "person" wouldn't have ran, a lot of people don't like them and they are kind of stereotyped but from experience with 4 (now 3) its all on how they are raised... my dogs are the biggest babies but when it comes to protecting the ones they love its in there nature to do what they have to do, so I would suggest thinking about a pitbull terrier... n u mentioned you had a son, well they are also great with kids, mine were raised with a 2 year ol sitting on them and pulling on they're ears and tail an all that other good stuff... along with my 4 n 7 year old niece and nephew... n the dogs never made a sound... so once again you should consider pitbull terrier... n another good thing is they don't need no special training... well at least none of mine did, its in them to protect the ones they love when the time comes!! Good luck to you!

I am surprised the 2 dogs you already have didn't make enough noise to run the intruder off. Perhaps the Lab can't hear anymore. I am sure my 14 year old Lab would alert us to anything that woke her up. Your research should have suggested to you that a dog trained to do much more is a specialized area. That is outside my experience and training. I really would suggest professional help if you go with that.

With the 8 year old and friends, I would stay away from the breeds you mention and anything remotely related to Pit Bulls. Look at other large breeds to produce a deep bark suggesting a dog not to be messed with. The kid that gets bitten because it mistreated a Golden likely will faulted for his misdeeds. Let a kid provoke an American Bull Dog to growling or showing it teeth and you will have a great hue and cry about a vicious Pit Bull. No, that isn't fair, but the way our society works.

Your suggestion of a Mastiff might be a good idea along with a standard or giant Schnauzer. All 3 were bred as watch dogs, but don't have the bad image many other breeds do. Unfortunately, you can't count on any dog being true to its heritage. Many of my Labs want nothing to do with swimming. Ordinarily they love any chance to play with other dogs, but wouldn't join them in the lake.

One of the best sources for dogs with a predictable personality is the rescue
Dogs. These are dogs that lost their home, but were taken into a foster home
To be retrained as necessary and placed in the right home for them. You may
Find a rescue near you starting at American Kennel Club - Breed Rescue The rescues charge a fee to help cover their expenses, but is much less than the price of a puppy plus all its medical expenses the first year.

Gpmom, I am so sorry that this has happened to you and your family. I am glad no one was hurt. The whole experience can be very unnerving.

Unfortunately, trained guard/watch dogs don't always make the best household pets. It really depends on the person/company doing the training. It is a very tricky situation because you are asking for a dog that will only go into action when there is an obvious security/protection issue. I know of family dogs that will naturally do this but I know you need to be confident that whatever dog you bring into your home will definitely go into action at the appropriate time. There are trainers out there that do train to the level of protection you are looking for. The good ones are few and far between. Since you aren't going to do anything for a little while, I would suggest now is a very good time for you to start speaking with your local police, vets, trainers, pet shops, friends, neighbors & co-workers. Anyone & everyone that can give you a solid lead to someone in your area. You need to specifically ask if they know and can recommend anyone that specializes in training dogs for both obedience with children and home protection. Your children's safety is the number one priority. Home protection is number two. Most of these dogs that come directly from a specialized service are German Shephards, Rotties, or Dobies. Mastiffs are great, as labman states. They were bred to be watch dogs but they need to have the proper training to do what you require. If you can locate someone within your region who has a good reputation for training a dog as I described above, the smartest thing for you to do would be to take advice from that person and work closely with them. You could buy a Mastiff and have that person completely train the dog for you. It is not going to be cheap but will give you the level of comfort you are looking for.

I am having some trouble with my ISP and my additional info was deleted so instead of editing my post, I will just add this info.

I agree with labman and would not recommend a pitbull for your special situation. Believe it or not, labs can make good home protection dogs as well. You might want to consider getting another one and having that trainer do the training you are looking for. You need a dog with an even temperament at all times and will be quick to go into action when required. Collies, labs, goldens, Australian shephards, all are great family pets and have the capability to do what you are looking for. It is all in the level of training a dog is given. It would be wise to allow the trainer to assess the puppy's temperament and pick out the dog for you once you have both agreed on an acceptable breed.

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Originally Posted by labman

I am surprised the 2 dogs you already have didn't make enough noise to run the intruder off. Perhaps the Lab can't hear anymore. I am sure my 14 year old Lab would alert us to anything that woke her up. Your research should have suggested to you that a dog trained to do much more is a specialized area. That is outside my experience and training. I really would suggest professional help if you go with that.

With the 8 year old and friends, I would stay away from the breeds you mention and anything remotely related to Pit Bulls. Look at other large breeds to produce a deep bark suggesting a dog not to be messed with. The kid that gets bitten because it mistreated a Golden likely will faulted for his misdeeds. Let a kid provoke an American Bull Dog to growling or showing it teeth and you will have a great hue and cry about a vicious Pit Bull. No, that isn't fair, but the way our society works.

Your suggestion of a Mastiff might be a good idea along with a standard or giant Schnauzer. All 3 were bred as watch dogs, but don't have the bad image many other breeds do. Unfortunately, you can't count on any dog being true to its heritage. Many of my Labs want nothing to do with swimming. Ordinarily they love any chance to play with other dogs, but wouldn't join them in the lake.

One of the best sources for dogs with a predictable personality is the rescue
dogs. These are dogs that lost their home, but were taken into a foster home
to be retrained as necessary and placed in the right home for them. You may
find a rescue near you starting at American Kennel Club - Breed Rescue The rescues charge a fee to help cover their expenses, but is much less than the price of a puppy plus all its medical expenses the first year.

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I was also surprised that my lab didn't bark (the shih-tzu is not a barker, unless the lab starts barking first, in which case he will follow suit) but the only thing I can think of is that since the people broke in through our attached garage, and they opened the big garage door, maybe he didn't see this as a threat, since the only people to open the big garage door are me and my husband. True, in this case we were both in the house sleeping, so one would assume he would have realized something was up, but the intuders didn't come any further in than the garge (they never entered the house, thank GOD!), and I really have no doubt he would have barked had someone walked into the house. The unfortunate part is that by that time, it could have been too late.

Nothing like a good dog from the pound.. I have 4 dogs, a rotty mix, two Aussies, and a chocolate lab.. All well behaved and xcellent dogs.. However the best guard/watch dog is my female Aussie Angel... No fear response and goes head on at things that go bump in the night.. I believe it is more about a dogs personality than breed.. In my experience training I have been bit by a number of different breeds and they all hurt.. I don't believe a burgler is going to take much time to size up a dog by breed... They are going to leave regardless if they feel that it is going to bite them or make a lot of racket...

This might be a wild thought, but have you considered going with an alarm system (preferably one of the monitored ones)? You can do that in the near term, at least, while you consider whether you actually want a guard dog and what kind to get.

As wonderful as I think dogs are, sometimes there are alternatives!

Yes, we are getting an alarm system put in, but as humans, we are fallible. Forget to put it on, power failure... just as humans are fallible, so are electronic devices.

I am an Aussie fan too. I first saw them at 4-H in 1992 when I was much lower on the learning curve than now. The did very well in obedience. One true to its breed will have the herding dog suspicion of strangers, but aren't a nippy, great around children. They also lack the baggage of the German Shepherds with the public, and never suffered the poor breeding practices that has so victimized the German Shepherds. They don't shed as bad as a lab.

I picked up more about them when the dog guide school looked at them. I think much of the reason they never did much with them was that they found some good German Shepherd breeding stock first. South East Guide Dogs has done well with them. They aren't real good with young single women sometimes, because they decide they need to do something about all the strange men.

Very intuitive and I give you credit on your knowledge of the breed, and knowing about their natural suspicion of strangers. I have had and worked with numerous Aussies in my career both in herding and in the Agility ring, and am currently working with the most amazing Aussie I have ever seen "Bandit" for the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge, This little dog an athletic freak of nature, but back to the topic of this post.. I believe the one thing that benefits Aussies and makes them problematic is their intellegence, and that fact that it takes a very strong willed owner to control one and give them the guidance that they need to function pro-actively in a household. The are for the most part (the herding stock variety) fearless if they feel that a threat is present, as for (show stock) I have found them to be a little more passive and submissive and less athletic.. I would not recommend this breed for a single female to own as it would more than likely assume the dominant role in the household (ie.. become the man of the house)... It protection instincts have been proven as there was an article in Dog Fancy about a year ago regarding an Aussie that beat a whole slew of German Shepherds in a Schutzhund Competition and there have been numerous Aussies to Achieve Schutzhund III.. *One Note of Caution this is a High Maintenance BREED**** That requires a job, a mission, and a leader in its life to fit into a household... understand that they are extremely bright and catch on quickely and will try to out think you at times.. this is part of the breed and you should do research before getting one.. so that you don't place the dog in a position where you are frustrated or angry at them for doing what they were bred to do..

We have 2 English mastiffs for this very reason. They were bred to guard their homes (castles back in the day) and hold any intruder until their owner returns. Their presence and bark is more intimating than any other dog IMO. I have 2 boys (ages 7 & 5) and the girls have been amazing with them. No complaints except for the hair & slobber. ;)

I had a chow and she was instinctively protective of my four kids and you would swear she had a human personality. I never had to train her. I swear if I believed in reincarnation I would say she was human at some time.