Guard dog that is good with people?

Question

I need a good guard dog that can keep burglars out but is still friendly to kids.

and cats.,and they won't chew up my carpet.

Answer 1

< < < < The intelligent, protective & affectionate Doberman Pinscher!!!!

Answer 2

It all depends on what you mean by "guard dog." Do you want a dog that's going to bark at noises outside, bark when someone comes to the door, or actually go after someone???

I have a Great Pyrenees who throws a fit when someone walks down our street, but he stops as soon as I acknowledge that he's done a good job. He's big and intimidating, but he doesn't go after anyone, he just wants to keep them away. He is leery of strangers, but warms up to them after I've welcomed them into the house and he's quicker about it if I shake their hands or give them a hug. He is a truly gentle giant, but he's still a very large and powerful dog. My daughter can lay on him like he's a pillow, he's so sweet, but he is still a dog and not a babysitter, so I always keep that in the back of my mind.

I have to say that statistics show that most people who want to break into a home are going to do so whether there is a dog in the house or not. On the other hand, ANY barking dog causing a commotion is going to deter a petty thief who is looking to swipe your surround-sound stereo system :)

Remember that any guardian breed needs an experienced owner, or a new owner with the time and ambition to properly train and socialize the dog.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Good guard dogs aren't born that way. It takes a lot of knowledge and expertise to select a dog that has what it takes to become an assertive protection dog without becoming a danger to society, and even more expertise to properly train it.

Your best bet is to choose a large dog that is known to be gentle with kids, and don't worry about the "guard" part. Large size and a loud bark are more than enough to deter burglars: a burglar considering breaking into your house isn't dying to find out just how mean your dog really is. They'll just move down the street & find another house to raid.

Consider the English Mastiff or Great Dane. They're very imposing, but generally calm, sweet and gentle (though only you need to know that).

Good luck!

Answer 4

I think that you are referring to a personal protection dog. Guard dogs are bred specifically to guard property and belongings. Personal protection dogs are bred to protect not only property, but people as well. To answer your question, yes, a well-trained personal protection dog will protect its owner (with its life). People purchase personal protection dogs for safety/security reasons. Do you live in an area where homes are often burglarized? Do you live in a town where women are often beaten and/or raped? Do you have a stalker who will not leave your alone? Do you have children? Are you single women that lives alone? Do you dislike the idea of carrying around a handgun? Do you have a home or vehicle that you feel needs protection? If you answered yes to any of these, then you have a reason to purchase a personal protection dog. Edit: Regarding personal protection dogs and guns, personal protection dogs are specifically trained to target hands that are holding weapons. Advanced training can be done to teach dogs to attack when someone moves/motions their weapon hand (i.e.: a gunman raises his handgun to fire). Additionally, personal protection dogs are confronted with scenarios that could happen in real life (burglaries, car theft, etc.). They know when and how to attack. If a burglar went up again a personal protection dog, my bet would be on the personal protection dog. The burglar, like most people, would probably be startled by the dog. Therefore, he would not shoot right away. If he did go to shoot, the dog would most likely attack. Plus, even if the dog was hit, if it was not a lethal shot, the dog would still attack.

Answer 5

I can guarantee that you will receive an abundance of responses that will name "pit bulls" as excellent guard dogs. While most pit bulls (or any breed that falls under this umbrella term) will protect their handlers within reasonable limits, they are NOT a dog that will defend property. The innate instinct to defend and protect property is not present in the pit bull breeds. Pit bulls act as more of a deterrent than anything else. They have the "mean" look, and I would venture to say that someone who is ingorant enough to rob someone else's home probably buys into the stereotypes about pit bulls (a plus in that case for you!). Pit bulls will bark at any strange activity happening on the property, but will not denfend the property from strangers using force. Despite belief to the contrary, pit bulls are just too friendly with people, even strangers, to make effective guard dogs of property.

Just an FYI.

Answer 6

I think Rottweilers make the best guard dogs. However, I would not trust them with a cat and they are not a good choice for small kids.
Dobies bark too much and again would kill the cat. They would need to be closely supervised with the kids. But then I hope you know that kids should never be left unsupervised with a dog.
You might want to look at an Aussie or a Cattle Dog.

Answer 7

Forget the guard dog.. Buy a security system with a camera.. A burglar could still get past your dog, could kill your dog.. A security system will get along with kids and your cat and you have no problems..

Answer 8

german shepherds are very good about that, provided that you dont have ones like mine. Everyone that I know that has them have very good "gaurd dogs/watch dogs" that are german shepherds. Mine are alright I suppose, they dont really keep anybody out but we really dont have anybody to keep out. They bark when someone is in the drive and go see who it is. Some are alittle more aggressive about watching then mine are but thats probably because they actually have a real job to do, mine have sorta a fake job because all the people that come near our house either know our dogs are wusses and are their to drop something off or don't know anything about our dogs and are afraid of them because of his size. P.S. we live in the country.

We also have had two rotts and both are completely useless for protection and gaurding but they aslo have the whole "I'm a rott and big, so be afraid" thing going on for them.

Answer 9

You never want to train a dog to hurt a human. What if your child gets hurt and the EMTs need to come in and can't. Any dog will deter a thief, but even a guard dog can be killed by a bad person, and you don't want anything to happen to your family because of your dog.

Answer 10

My guess would be a German Shephard. The one I know just loves to play and is about 4 years old. Does not seem very wary of strangers though. My friend has a rotweiller ( I don know how to spell it) that she said was great with kids, but when I went over with my three year old and the kids ran His hair went up and he started running after them like they were prey. I made her put the dog away. I think I would get a newfoundland. They are protective of their kids and would scare away a burgular. They say just having a dog helps keep burgulars at bay. Also boston terriers are very protective of their family and very watchful of stranger. Unfortunately a true guard dog cannot have the instinct to protect but yet not be dangerous to company and friends. Attack is what they do. I would have to say get a dog that is very loyal and protective to their family but not a attack dog.

Answer 11

you should check out Boxers. Growing up my family had a couple. While being a little hyper, I have found them, when raised right, to be great with kids. My brother had two and his wife runs an in home day care. As for protection, there is no better dog. They are a very protective breed who can sense when they need to act.