What's your favorite guard breed?

misstrouble

Ratsicles

Pits aren't a guarding breed. 

They may not be, but they're dang good at it.

Not so much   A guarding breed has to "talk the talk and walk the walk."  Pits are all talk.

papillon806

misstrouble

Ratsicles

Pits aren't a guarding breed. 

They may not be, but they're dang good at it.

 

Not so much   A guarding breed has to "talk the talk and walk the walk."  Pits are all talk.

You haven't met my boyfriends brother's dog, James, or his sister's dog, Cheif. I his sister says 'ow, you're hurting me!' cheif will place himself between you and her, and if you don't stop, he will bite. Not all Pit's are all talk and no action....just the ones that don't have a strong, loving bond with they're owner's.....unlike those 'thugs' that think it's 'fun' to fight those beautiful dogs.

Well bred, well trained, and well cared for Pitties will do anything you ask.....but I'm still stickin' with my Border Collies as the best guard dog ever!

A well bred pit will not display any aggression to a human. They were formerly used as baby nannies.....

A well bred pit will allow any one on the property.

 erica1989 is correct. Any pit displaying ANY human aggression for any reason, even in self defense,  is displaying incorrect temperament. Not saying it's wrong for a dog to want to protect you, but as noble as that is, it's simply outside of the standard for the breed.

You're right- a good pit will do ANYTHING it's owner asks of it, because that is what they were designed to do- but as far as the breed standard goes, a well bred pit bull should be almost genetically incapable of displaying aggression towards a human. When they were intially bred for baiting and fighting, whoever was in the pit with them would often have to put their hands on a riled up, focused dog in the middle of a fight and seperate it from another dog without any risk of being bitten. Dogs that redirected and bit whoever was handling them were not tolerated, and were usually dealt with swiftly and mercilessly- they were killed, often on the spot. Therefore, dogs who were not able to show extreme control and NEVER bite a human even under the most frenzied of circumstances did not get to pass along their genes. Pit bulls that show any aggression towards any human are not of correct temperament, period.

misstrouble

 and if you don't stop, he will bite

...that would really disturb me were that my dog...no matter what the breed.

to the original question, I like my Chows.  My dogs are social and loving. I can take them anywhere and they'll happily greet anyone. I can have anyone in my home and they'll suck up for lovins.  But if anyone tried to break in or cause us harm, they'd be sadly mistaken.

In his younger days, Legend thwarted a break in in my apartment when I wasn't home. Even now he'd be a formidable greeter to anyone trying to break in, and he's a frail older guy. It's ok though, the pup does his legwork now, letting him do work only if necessary

I love an alert, intelligent Doberman.  All of the Dobies that I know are very in tune to people.  They seem to be great judges of character, & they always know exactly how to positions themselves between their owners & strangers.

I also really like Presas, & Filas.  I love the fact that they are so loyal to their owners, & their general distrust of strangers.  I also like the fact that they are plenty large enough to handle almost any threat.

I love Dachshunds as alert dogs.  I seriously doubt that either of mine would actually bite, but they will, most definitely, let me know if there is a problem.

 a well bred pit bull should be almost genetically incapable of displaying aggression towards a human.

I'm a firm believer that every dog has the ability to do whatever it feels, including bite a human. No matter the situation.

No, a dog should never bite a human, but it's possible, and it happens. I was bitten accidently by my BC Tucker while playing. It happens. Every dog is capable, and that can't be bred out.

 Yes, every dog is capable of biting a person, no one ever questioned that. This thread though is for the discussion of our favorite guarding breeds- meaning specifically breeds that were created for the purpose of guarding humans and their property. You stated that pits were among your favorite guarding breeds, and it was pointed out that pits are not, nor have they ever been, bred for that purpose, and any dog displaying that behavior is displaying incorrect behavior for the breed, whether you condone it or not.

I should also add that Border Collies should also never be used for guarding.  They have very reactive temperaments (not to mention the physical ability to score and do serious damage where another dog might not be fast enough).  Encouraging any aggression towards people is a huge mistake.

I have no problem with the fact that Border Collies aren't the "bestest" dogs at absolutely every doggy thing on the planet.  In my time on the board of directors for the USBCC I promote the BC for a lot of activities but we leave instinctive household guarding to dogs that were bred for it.

I mainly say this for the sake of people reading this wondering what a great household guardian might be.  A good household guardian, like a good livestock guardian, is actually a dog who will not bite except in the final extremity.  My Maremma male looks very fierce if he sees the need, but has many tools in his toolbox to encourage an intruder to take the wisest course of action and flee.

Here's what I think a guardian of any kind needs:

• Discernment - the ability to judge between real threats and just something strange
• Restraint - the ability to withhold from a reaction until the extent of the threat is determined
• Adaptiveness - the ability to moderate the reaction to a threat depending on the situation (inappropriately directed gameness will get in the way here)
  
• Courage - doesn't lose his cool even under pressure (BCs seriously lack here)
  
• Persistence - doesn't give way after multiple attempts by the same threat
• Intelligence - the type of intelligence a guard breed displays is a very high brand of cognition (associative abilty), recognition, alertness, and extrapolation.  Border Collies, just for instance, fall far short on the last mark as a breed.  Most BCs generalize WAY too fast to be useful as guard dogs.
  

I still have to go for Leonberger for favorite household guardian.  Although if I were looking for such a beast I might also be tempted to take the opportunity to raise a Maremma among the family.  Having Min inside while we socialized her was a really special experience. 

Hmmm, I don't know what are "guard breeds".  I have GSDs but do not consider them "guard" dogs.  They can be use as PP dogs, but they do not guard properties and estates independently very well, that is not how the breed was designed.  They are very handler-dependent.  Also I'm seeing more and more weak temperaments and reactive dogs, dogs that are actually barking and biting out of fear an insecurity, not a confident stable temperament.  They really are not an independent dog; they can be trained to defend and protect but that comes with years of the right training.  To me a good guard dog needs to be more independent than a German shepherd.

 Without hesitation, it would be a Bouvier. I doubt I will ever want to train a dog for personal protection, but if I did, that would be the dog.

In general, they are excellent protectors of family and home, great with children, reliable, fun to train and just great dogs. The coat care, however, is a bit much for my taste -- I spent a few nights list week combing out my parents Bouvs face and have never appreciated my Aussie's coat more!

brookcove

Although if I were looking for such a beast I might also be tempted to take the opportunity to raise a Maremma among the family

And you might. 

To answer the question....Maremmas, which ARE used as household guarding dogs here.  Or perhaps more accurately, they are pets who can rise spectacularly to the occasion when called upon.  

 Australian Shepherds make pretty good guard dogs. "Guardian" is one of their breed traits, in fact. I feel very comfortable with my aussies. They are alert and know when something is not right. Of course, they do not look threatening like a dobe or a rotti but that's ok. I don't want people to be automatically afraid of them when we go out in public.

Pit_Pointer_Aussie

 Without hesitation, it would be a Bouvier. I doubt I will ever want to train a dog for personal protection, but if I did, that would be the dog.

In general, they are excellent protectors of family and home, great with children, reliable, fun to train and just great dogs. The coat care, however, is a bit much for my taste -- I spent a few nights list week combing out my parents Bouvs face and have never appreciated my Aussie's coat more!

I think I agree with this.  The Bouv seems to have the same protective traits as the GSD and a slightly more primitive nature, able to work more independently.  We have a big Bouv in Kenya's agility class and he is very aware and alert.  When the owner brings her niece he is very watchful of her and circles her.  She said that the niece is treated as his "flock" and his job is to be watchful of her.  He is not aggressive or over-protective, but very alert.  He will make decisions without looking to his handler first.

I love 'em all, but I'd have to say that my favorite is the Dobe (working bred, mind you, not show bred).  They make great personal protection dogs if bred right, and I doubt you'd ever actually have to use them.  Just the sight of them generally scares everyone away!  The Dobe I had when I was younger was pretty shy and never would have made it in protection work, but just him standing out in the front yard would keep people in their cars.  The only way he ever would've bitten anyone was if they had him in a corner.  He was a poor example of the breed in some aspects, but a great example in others.

I also have to say that my muttly is an awesome guard dog (who knows what he is, he's been called a mix of boxer, pit, shepherd, dutch shepherd, etc.,etc., and I still have no real clue).  He will bark at the door when anyone knocks or makes a strange noise (we live in an apartment, so he'll bark at people if they're loud and obnoxious) and I swear he sounds like an 100lb dog instead of a 50lb.  One day I think we actually had someone messing with our door, because he started barking at the door and I saw two guys run out into the parking lot and off down the street.  Yay, Rafe!  He will also do a very nice down stay when I open the door and let anyone in or talk to anyone.  And schutzhund has been a breeze for him!