Best guard dog breeds?

[Fucksandflowers]

Hypothetical, I’m unlikely to get another dog.

I just heard a strange noise from upstairs and starting shitting myself imagining all sorts, robbers, being beaten and murdered with the kids here etc, that’s anxiety disorder for you...

Dog is a useless protector!

Three times I asked the lazy bastard to get off the sofa and come upstairs to check out the noise with me.
Then she insisted on walking on behind me up the stairs...

If anyone has a dog that is properly territorial and will genuinely defend you, what do you have?

Lhasa Apso is a protection breed that is still good with children.
If you accept mixed breeds, a Shetland Sheepdog/Corgi cross is also
good with children but very protective.
Neither of these are large enough to attack and maim an intruder, but they will alert you to intruders and defend you as best they can.

Our neighbour has a wolfhound and it is gigantic, with an enormous and terrifying bark, any time someone walks past his fence. Even my Ddog who loves all dogs is terrified of it when it barks. If I was a burglar, just the sound of it would be enough to put me off.

Dont rely on a lab to be a watchdog - mine would invite an intruder to tickle his tummy then kick him to death
My parents had a collie who was an excellent watch dog and an excellent family pet. Also a lurcher but she was daffy .

• lick, although he does pack a hell of a kick if he wants to make room on the couch

Our collie is a decent guard dog (unless it's thundering, then he hides) quite protective of us in and out of the house especially the females of the house when we walk him at night (think growls under breath just to warn passers by). But he's trained and on command goes to his bed. They are easy to train but do require their brains to be exercised as youngsters (ours is older and chooses to sleep between his naps rather than bother with toys!)

My springer sounds very loud when he barks, but then greets all visitors with pathetic enthusiasm. So he would bark right up until an intruder entered the property and then roll over for a belly rub. In fact he would probably reveal the code to the safe if offered a biscuit

Police dogs are trained by professionals. And many security or police dogs don’t actually live in a family home.

There are several different types of guard/security dog. Most dogs used by dog handlers will live at home with their handler and family. Yard dogs that are left to run loose within a perimeter are different.

For the sort of reassurance or deterrence the OP describes most medium/large dogs are suitable. The trick is to start with a well socialised and family friendly dog and teach it the Barking Game.

Most (non-Police, non-Military) security dogs that you see with a dog handler are not trained to be aggressive or chase the bad guy. They're trained to act aggressive - barking, straining at the leash, etc. It's a game they've been taught.

A lot of people are scared of German shepherds. Certainly a lot of people who came to visit us would be scared. This was simply based on the fact that she was a German shepherd and she barked a lot. I know it put a lot of people off. She was protective. So I'd say German shepherds

Most (non-Police, non-Military) security dogs that you see with a dog handler are not trained to be aggressive or chase the bad guy. They're trained to act aggressive - barking, straining at the leash, etc. It's a game they've been taught.

My rescue GSD X does this. Will bark and growl and look ferocious if people appear threatening, but never touch or chase them. We were walking in the woods one day and two drunk men walked towards us swearing and shouting at each other, dog was offlead and stood next to me barking. As they got closer he lunged and growled but didn't touch them. Men turned and ran away.
Dog resumed sniffing and looking for squirrels .

By the way, if anyone fancies a career change I know someone who is actively looking for people with family-socialised dogs of "guard breeds" interested in getting into security. Due to the nature of the work (London, residential streets) he'd rather take on someone with a friendly dog and train it to act fierce on command than a typical guard dog used to running loose in a building site overnight while the handler kips in the canteen.

My Collie X goes crazy barking and jumping when anyone passes the house or if he hears the smallest sound outside. This escalates when my husband is away. It really stresses me out to be honest, I worry it irritates the neighbours, or frightens people when they walk past. Also, he does it a night so keeps waking the kids. It's awful and I don't know how to get him to stop

I really really want a rottie to look guardy on our farm. My GAunt had several over her life, looked as hard as nails but were as soft as shit with family and friends. I had a friend wanted a rescue dog and I went to help her look and completely fell in love with a rottie (unfortunately named Hercules) who nobody would even go near let alone adopt, just because he was big and "scary looking". He spent the hour she was looking round with his head in my lap getting his tummy tickled. If I hadn't been pregnant with Dd1 and only moved in with now Dh he'd have been mine. I think about him all the time 9 years on.

Y'up. Our two are soft as anything and have made friends with the local children (on a lead, all nice and steady). I wouldn't suggest anyone walk into the house without us though. There's every chance they'd get woofed at then have to give tummy tickles and head rubs, but I wouldn't want to put it to the test.

Pyrenean mountain dog, we had one when growing up, he was a fantastic watch dog with a loud bark and protective over my dad especially but he was also great with us kids.
Took a lot of training from my dad and shed a ton of hair though!

Breeds that are used for protection/guarding aren’t actually naturally particularly territorial... they’re just large, people think they’re intimidating looking and trainable.

My rottie lay in his bed and watched us being burgled while we slept upstairs... lol

So realistically unless you’re planning on doing a lot of specific training, the best dog to have is one that’ll bark - terriers tend to be good for that.

My standard schnauzer is pretty good. All noise and no action.

Greyhound - brilliant guard dog and watch dog - guards the sofa and would watch someone come in and out of the house whilst leaving with all our possessions.

I've got a lurcher. Apart from looking like a comic book pup, he's also greeted at least two people he'd never met but who arrived, unannounced through the back door with wild, joyful excitement. He doesn't''t bark at anything either except random household items and only them on an occasional basis. So all in all I'd not recommend the breed for any sort of guarding. My old Jack Russell, on the other hand, used to sound as if he'd tear intruders from limb to limb. If they weren't already deafened from the constant barking, that is. So it's terriers you want.

Bella is a pain in the backside she barks at any noise, anyone on the pavement outside the house and goes bonkers if somebody knocks ion the door. If I let them in though she is very happy to see them. Our gardener laughed when he saw her because he had assumed she was a large fierce dog but she is tiny and friendly just likes to bark a warning. I actually think the bark is all you need because nobody is going to enter a house with a dog barking behind the door because they wouldn't know whether they would be licked or bitten.

Bella is a lhasa apso should have added.

I'm finding this an interesting read! Particularly as it seems to be down to individual temperament and not just breed/size/aptitude.
My dog is a great watch dog. She's never barked at a key turning the front door. Barks at knocks, not at neighbour noises. She seems very perceptive to mood, particularly mine. If I'm comfortable when I open the door, she settles. If im not, she keeps barking. She's not been trained to do this.
This has backfired: my PILs arrived one day and she went crazy, barely let them in. Realised likely because I was stressed about their visit! We were all surprised by her guarding behaviour.
She has also lunged at a guy in the street while walking with a friend and his toddler son. A stranger grabbed the toddler suddenly as a joke, and dog attacked him. Luckily dog on lead.
So....while I'm comfortable with my dog's reactions 80% of the time, I have to be careful of my mood etc etc.... and be mindful of things spooking her.
Maybe barking with no guarding works best, but doesn't seem like you can predict which dog can do this, without training etc.

And yes, breed: shes a breedless former street dog of tall, skinny collie size. Good bark and growl

I wound up with a real guard dog by accident. We adopted what we thought was a gsd lurcher and got a Caucasian Shepherd lurcher (a littermate had a DNA test). We are now spending lots of money and time working with vets and behaviourists trying to make him "safe."

It's actually quite sad, because we really wanted a family pet that we could take out and be sociable with. We have to muzzle him on walks and we can never let him off lead. He's lovely in the house and with children, but outside and with visitors he deems a threat, he's actually terrifying. We're all attached to him now so he's not going anywhere, but it just causes so much stress.

I’ve got a doberman/gsd crossbreed- looks and sounds scary but he is useless!