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.

By all means get a dog if you want one, but don't get one to use as a tool, they are living creatures. Truthfully most dogs would leg it if someone broke in, but they'd let you know they were there at least.

I live very similarly to you. We have a German shepherd that was professionally trained as a family guard dog. He’s a great pet and companion as well but I haven’t lost a minute of sleep over thinking about intruders etc since he joined the family. GSDs love to have a designated job and he’s really good at his! But it wasn’t inexpensive and it wasn’t a result I could’ve achieved alone.

You’ve got to want a dog for all the other stuff too. I’ve got two labs and yes I sleep very soundly when my husband is on nights (sometimes a fox does the rounds in the garden, and the resulting farmyard bark would scare the life out of anyone). But I also have to walk them, hose them down after any rolling in filth, feed them, cuddle them, play with them, all of which besides the hosing I love because I love them.