To want a guard dog

[Wherewhatyouwant]

DH works away a lot and we live in the middle of nowhere. I do often feel quite vulnerable and wondering about getting a dog. I’m guessing a guard dog wouldn’t be a good idea for a first time owner? We have young kids. Is there a good breed that would protect and make an intruder think twice? Don’t really like bull breeds.

I live in a rural area and after my dh died, my first thought was about my own security.

I already had a hawthorn hedge, which is a brillant intruder deterrant, but I also installed motion sensitive floodlights around the house, put a camera on the garage roof overlooking the driveway and a installed a video doorbell. Inside, the entire house is alarmed. All of this probably cost less than owning a dog.

The only time I considered getting a guard dog was when I was running alone, came across another runner in the woods and realised how vulnerable I was in there. A pre-trained protection dog costs tens of thousands of pounds so instead, I stopped running in the woods.

What were the reasons given for not using floodlights @Wherewhatyouwant ?

Our working springers were like this as is the sprocker. Not interested in strangers, wary and watchful. Will bark when someone comes to the house. With family on the other hand they're devoted.

My Dad has got a Rottweiler. I've been there before and when people are cold calling they get to the top of the drive, see her at the side gate and don't bother coming to the door lol

Why aren't lights advised? It seems a great deterrent.

Do you actually want a dog though?
The training, walking, feeding, picking up shit, mess, mud, hair, insurance, costs, lack of spontaneity, holidays.

I sleep safe in the knowledge that if a leaf or a shadow passes my windows, my shihtzu 's got me covered.
Any stranger comes in uninvited and they're mince meat.
Relentless yappers.

We have a chihuahua who is the best dog breed we have ever owned. She is such a placid little thing loves to snuggle, so gentle with the kids. However if anyone comes near the house her bark is horrific. We’ve had delivery men laugh when we tell them it’s just a chihuahua as they are expecting some massive breed to come out and jump them 😂 Any strange noises at night time she starts. Thankfully not often but always glad she’s there as DH works nights. Quick check of the cctv and back to sleep.

It really wouldn’t be wise to bring any dog into your household if your main motivation is extra security. Dogs are highly intelligent living beings who can live for more than 15 years, with lots of needs of their own that you’d be responsible for meeting. Every day they’d need your time and investment into training, interaction, exercise, mental stimulation, affection, playing, etc. They create mess and noise and cost lots of money in terms of food, insurance, toys, treats etc. It’s honestly a huge commitment, so please only do it if you all have a genuine desire for a dog to be a valued family member who will truly fit into your lifestyle, as well as the time & dedication to achieve this, because it’s not easy!

Honestly @Wherewhatyouwant just get a really big dog food and water dis… bonus points if you can get a used chewed up one from someone else. And a big chain and tie out. Put all of it outside your house and move it around from time to time.

The goal is to make your house a less desirable target than your neighbors.

Don’t get the actual dog unless you want a pet/family member. They need a lot from you and especially a working breed.

I loved my dog and she had a ferocious bark. She was a Rottweiler/hound mutt. She was also very content to walk behind me as I checked out the scary noise in the middle of the night. She did however lose her shit when a coyote came into our yard. So I guess I was safe from coyotes… rapists and murderers not so much.

One word. Geese.

Geese are great alarms...only where there are no foxes.

Our geese would honk at anything at night, not great if you're nervous anyway.

Get some geese. Much scarier than most dogs, very territorial but always friendly to the person who turns up with the feed every day. Geese saved the Roman Citadel from the invading Gauls by loud shouting and by attacking the Gauls as they came up the ladder.

( also you can eat the eggs)

I've had a Dogue de Bordeaux, a Rottweiler and currently an Akita X malinois and our next door neighbours Cocker spaniel sound so much more aggressive than all mine combined!

My DDB was petrified of feathers and only howled along with fire engines,
my rottweiler would help to empty our house if she realised you were there in the 1st place and
my akita x mali is scared of any delivery person who knocks on the door if she barked at them 1st.

What you really need is a dog that will be good with children, not too big and strong, trainable, but above all ears that can hear noises and will bark - it's the barking that puts the would be burglars off, they'll know you have a dog and even small dogs can bite.

Great Dane wonderful soppy dogs, but very protective of their family. I've had two and they were a brilliant deterant. I always felt completely safe when I had one.

Geese are terrifying! Parents neighbours had a guard goose and its neck was as thick as my thigh. It hated every single person on the other side of its fence with a visceral glow.

We had the most wonderful GSD cross and she was one heck of a watch dog. If I wasn’t sure who was knocking the door I’d take her to answer it grab her collar and ask her to ‘speak’, she’d look like a hell hound barking away and it meant I never had to deal with double glazing sales pitches .

Basset Hounds have a surprisingly loud bark and can be a good deterrent as long as the intruder doesn’t actually catch sight of it.

Agree with others that any dog that barks is a great deterrent. We had a Dalmatian - not particular known for aggression or guarding, but a large dog with a big bark. Would make most people think twice. But again, as others have said, only if you really want a dog for other reasons, not just security. .

I have a cockapoo and he sounds ferocious when I get a knock at the door. He is a big softie but sounds like he would rip your arm off. I think it is the type of bark which is a deterrent. A big deep bark opposed to a yap.

Love that story @NeverDropYourMooncup

Dogs definitely pick up on our moods, feelings, body language. Your doggy was so right!

Mine barks as soon as anyone crosses into the territory but is silent otherwise. Apart from the neighbours Herbert kids and mates, they don't have to be close but he hates them. They get a bark and growl across the road.

The post man has, after many years, been accepted as a non threat and can now even knock without a bark but that means I don't think he is knocking on our door. He lives in the bay window next to the front door. Watching. Waiting.

I definitely wouldn't recommend a guard dog as a first dog. They need a lot of training, and can present a risk to others, including children. A good security system would be a safer investment.

I've got 2 Lhasa Apso and they were bred to guard the Japanese palaces. They bark if anyone passes the house. If anyone dare stand on our drive, including the postman, they have a frenzy of barking. I've had the same cleaner for 2 years and they still bark their heads off at her. They don't bark at us, or my son who used to live at home but now lives in his own home, or foster son. They are quite clever dogs and know quite a few tricks including dancing in circles on their hind legs with their front legs in the air to music. They are affectionate and well behaved. Their fur grows quite quickly and they need grooming every 8 weeks especially around the eyes and face. They love my foster son and when he was 15 he was walking them around the block after school and 2 boys started following him and making nasty and stupid comments. Foster son turned around and walked back the way he had come but boys followed and started throwing twigs at him. He turned and shouted for them to stop. The dogs sensed he was upset and when one of the boys came towards him both dogs barked, growled, and lunged forward on their leads and made boys back off and run away.

Akita best dog I ever had. My daughter has an Akita husky cross. Very good guard dog too