Protection Breed Dogs

[snowsprite]

I've always wanted a pet dog, and one day I will probably get one. I will most likely opt for a protection-type dog...one who is strong, very active (loves to run, hike, climb) and fiercely protective. As I will be leaving suburbialand at the time I get one of these furry friends, I hope to have plenty of space for him/her to run around.

Anyone have one of these Caucasian Shepherd dogs? Seems a bit over-the-top for a dog N00b, but very badass doggie. I like!



So far, I'm inclined toward dobermans, airedale terriers, kangals, and maybe argentinian mastiffs. I prefer the short haired dogs that would shed less and maybe be less allergic.

Anyway, it'll be a while before I have the time and energy for a dog but I'm always jealously reading about people's doggies on this site and looking forward to a day when I might have my very own!

Would love to hear stories, opinions, feedback about various "sporting" dogs and their trainability/suitability as guardian-companions. And also, have you trained your own dog? Anyone here got a pre-trained dog? Interested in thoughts on that too.

Thanks!
Sprite

[Skidog]

you want this

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...ed=0CAkQ9QEwAA

[snowsprite]

Wow, beautiful dog...amazing musculature!

[OldLarry]

get a pit bull from the pound, all drug dealer dogs are really sweet.

[snowsprite]

Mountain dog, Larry. Sporting dog, Larry. Pay attention!!





sprite

[Tye 1on]

Had a blast with the two German Shepherds me and an exgf raised. Incredibly smart, lots of play drive, protective of the ex more than me, but she did most of the training work with them. For a short hair, my sis's weimi is quite the character. Not sure how truly 'protective' she is, unless you count getting barked to death. Quite wacky too, not as neurotic as the last one, but bizarre enough for a lot of chuckles...

[::: :::]

get a pyrenees
they apparently like them some cyclist meat
http://www.examiner.com/x-7204-Tulsa...er-in-Colorado

[basinbeater]

you might consider a german wirehair, great looking, great personalities, and my parents was/is tough as nails, and I swear if anybody threatened my mom with that dog around, they would have problems. The GWP is the larger dog, the black one is agerman wirehair mix with black lab, also a great mix. My brother also has the same mix, and his dog is wonderful as well. Good luck, my dog makes me smile several times a day.

[BeanDip4All]

If we ever get a farm, I really want one of [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komondor"]these[/ame]:


a Komondor. They're livestock protection dogs from Hungary.



Breed Characteristics
A correct Komondor should give an impression of imposing strength, courage, dignity and pleasing conformation. The Komondor is a large, medium-boned, muscular dog with an unusual white (never colored or black) coat which consists of tassels of hair which are called cords. (The coat is hard to imagine, if you have never seen it, but it is somewhat similar to the dreadlocks worn by Rastafarians.) In ancient Hungary, working Komondors were out on the plains during most of the year with their flocks, and the Komondor coat developed to give the dogs protection against both predators and extremes of weather. The coat is also very similar in appearance to that of the Hungarian Racka sheep, which allowed the dog to blend in with his flock. Unlike the herding breeds, the Komondor is a flock guardian. When with his charges in the fields, a mature, experienced Komondor tends to stay with the flock, keeping predators away, but not allowing himself to be drawn away in a chase. In the United States, many Komondors are employed as livestock guardians (with sheep, goats, cattle, exotic birds, etc.), with some success. However, the majority of them are kept as companions and house guards. For these dogs, the family, including both humans and other animals, becomes the flock. Komondors living in households will be reserved with strangers, but demonstrative with those they love. They are selflessly devoted to their families, and will protect them against perceived threats from any quarter. Their devotion to those in their care and their sense of responsibility towards them, produces a courageous, vigilant and faithful guardian.

Komondor Temperament
The Komondor was developed to be an independent, intelligent and sensitive dog capable of making decisions on his own. This makes him a terrific family guardian, but also makes him unsuitable for some types of homes. The adult Komondor is a large, territorial dog, and prospective owners must understand that a Komondor puppy must be well-socialized and taught to behave in a manner acceptable to the owner. Because Komondors traditionally cared for their charges without a human to tell them what to do, they do not automatically look to people for direction the way herding and sporting breeds do. They are very smart dogs, and learn quickly, but a Komondor owner must make it clear from puppyhood (and continuing throughout the dog's life) that no means no, and must consistently correct the dog for behavior that is not acceptable. Having said that, the Komondor is also an extremely loving dog. He loves his family absolutely, and hates to have any of them out of his sight. The typical Komondor will follow his people from room to room, and actively seeks out physical contact with those he loves. The Komondor is a wonderful guardian of home and property, but must have an owner who will see to it that the character traits that made the Komondor valuable as a livestock guardian will not become a liability in the modern world.



the corgis will herd the sheep and the komondors will protect them!
ps- don't mess with granny :P

[snowful]

Protection + Jogging.

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/guarddogs.htm

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/jog.htm

[irul&ublo]

if you have never had or trained a large dog, i would not recommend getting a "protection" dog, that is, one that is bred for or comes from lines for that purpose.

Example...I have owned several german shepards. My current shep is bred from german lines and has the gsd club of Germany (SV) papers. He is protective and territorial as sheparding dogs (and not just gsd) tend to be. Although both his parents were schutzhund certified (tracking, obedience and protection training...a requirement for breeding pairs to be in the SV system), his lines are not "protection" dogs. Those types of dogs (at least for GSDs) tend to be specifically bred for drive and alertness. As a result, they often do not make good companion dogs, they are just too fucking hyper. Those dogs need a lot of training and ongoing practice to be reliable in their roles. Trust me, the last thing you want to is on the ass end of a lawsuit because Killer decided to take a chunk out of someone's ass. Plus teaching to release is a hell of a lot harder than attack.

You can take almost any type of breed through schutzhund type training. The protection portion usually differs from police type training, as it is more defensive as opposed to go and find suspect , bite and hold. When I took initial classes w/ my current gsd, there were lots of gsd, rotties and belgians, but the best dog in the protection part was a Golden Retriever. As soon as he saw the handler put on the bite sleeve he was ready to go and would hit like a fucking missile. Its a lot of fun, the dogs love it, but its a lot of work.

As for buying an already trained protection dog? You can do it, but it will be expensive. Also, may not be a good companion animal...see above. If you want a dog trained in protection, but still from more companion animal lines. look for a gsd breeder and buy a german line SV papered (cannot stress that enough) dog w/ a ScH (schutzhund) rating of I or II. Let the breeder know its to be a companion animal. Full grown, which it will have to be to have a I or II cert, will be ~ 5 grand, depending on breeding potential. There is also a III cert, but a dog having that will be very expensive.

Cosmo:

[allTandA]

I've had great luck of rottwieler's. Super duper lovable/smart/trainable/protective/playful/dopey....all in all great companion dogs. They do shed a bit and have thick, albeit short(er), coats.

Attachment 73275

^^^135 lbs of good boy right there. This guy was actually a pound dog, but pure bred. VERY well trained....from not crossing the street until you stepped into it to household manners and lack of mischiefmaking, you could leave rib-eyes on the counter and he wouldn't even.


he mellowed in his older age......and turned into more of a love ho than a protector.

[myles long]

these are the dogs they use to guard the white house grounds.....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian...Dog_(Malinois)

the K9 agents have the dogs live with them at home...they are good dogs, but i wouldnt want to be on the other end when its time for them to goto "work"

[Skidog]

these are the dogs they use to guard the white house grounds.....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian...Dog_(Malinois)

the K9 agents have the dogs live with them at home...they are good dogs, but i wouldnt want to be on the other end when its time for them to goto "work"

These are more and more becoming police dogs as well.

[leroy jenkins]

If you want a protective dog, get a very smart dog because protective and dumb is not a good combination.

Rotties are great dogs, but may not be able to keep up on long bike rides.

Blue Heelers are smart and tough and loyal and protective, but are a little small to protect against much.

German shepards are great, but the breed has weak hips.

I have a german shepard blue heeler mix that would probably fight a bear for me, even though he's 13 half blind and doesn't have much teeth left, and is a sweetheart, but I'm sure he'd give it a try if he thought it was his job.





He's about 60 lbs, not huge, but very strong and very loyal, and up until
about a year ago or so, he could keep up on mountain bike rides just fine.

He's been the best dog I've ever known, and one of the smartest for sure.



If you want a cool mountain buddy that you can take places with you and will tear it up and have fun, by all means get one of these breeds. If you really want a dog for protection, just get something that will bark when it sees a stranger, and get a gun to take out after the dog barks. That will be much more effective than relying on the dog to fight off intruders, and if you don't want a gun chances are you don't need a dog for protection either.

[KQ]

These are more and more becoming police dogs as well.

yo boy...here we go again. Sprite, if you want to know about Belgians search the board - lots and lots of discussions about all four ( Groenendael, Laekenois, Tervuren and Malinios). Good dogs but need a strong handler and lots of room. Most law enforcement agencies use the Malinios which has the shortest coat.

There are so many dogs out there that would be great for you that most ppl fail to think about. For instance, the Standard Poodle and Standard Schnauzer both make excellent guard dogs with the added benefit of being good family dogs too (and the poodle doesn't shed!). Take a look at the Beauceron too - a lot of dog but an interesting breed and recently admitted to the AKC.

Also..there is the Kerry Blue but they can be aggressive. Get on the AKC site and read about the breeds. Go to breed shows, talk to owners, etc.

[AKbruin]

Pit Bulls, I hear, are very athletic (although possibly suited more to warm-weather activities).

Anyhow, this is the part where I express my love and admiration for my dog and the boxer breed in general because I can't help myself. . . .

Great guard dog:


Great hiking dog:


Great people dog:

[KQ]

Pit Bulls, I hear, are very athletic (although possibly suited more to warm-weather activities).

Anyhow, this is the part where I express my love and admiration for my dog and the boxer breed in general because I can't help myself. . . .

Yes! Boxers, another great dog but man...those boogs they blow. LOL!!!

[dk_alaskan]

The breed that is fiercely loyal, will protect you to the death, aka, the knight in Monty Python, is gentle and loving, and has a take it or leave attitude, yeah i would love to go for a hike but if you just want to sit around, drinking coffee, beer, etc, well, i am cool with that too and absolutely LOVES water, well, look no further than a Newfoundland.

[72Twenty]

get a pyrenees
they apparently like them some cyclist meat
http://www.examiner.com/x-7204-Tulsa...er-in-Colorado

heh - see my latest post in my Wyoming Mountain Lion thread.

[wannabe]

We have an Anatolian shephard/lab mix, he is a great dog.

He has a great disposition, my son has pulled on his eyelashes with out him even moving, but he is protective of us all the same.

[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatolian_Shepherd_Dog[/ame]

[72Twenty]

I want a German Shepard myself though.

[RootSkier]

I am curious about why you feel you need a dog specifically for protection? Just having any sort of alert dog around will do wonders at keeping sketchy people at bay, or at least letting you know they are around.

That said, we have an aussie/german shepherd mix (we think) who is incredibly sweet and gentle but woe to the person that threatens mrs. rootskier if lopez is nearby.

[Woodlandclown]

or perhaps the pound where you can find a great mixed breed!

Its great to want all of these pure breed dogs, but if you arent going to AKC show them, then whats the point? There are SOOOOOOO many dogs put to sleep every day because people keep wanting purebreds.

Its worth it to check out what dogs are available and consider adopting..

www.petfinder.com

[snowsprite]

OMG! I absolutely love these pics...they are making me smile like crazy! Makes me want a dog more &more.

As for wanting a "protection" dog, I can't see having specially bred/trained dog but would probably like take my dog to the training that was mentioned. I figure as long as I'd be getting a companion/mtn dog buddy he may as well be of size and disposition to be fiercely protective. Just an added cool component.

I'm not thinking a snarling/hateful animal intended to rip people to shreds for looking at me wrong. Might be nice if he could chase off a coyote or other ill-intended creature however.

Keep posting cool pix of your big dogs!

Sprite

Edit: I'm a big fan of humane society/pound pets. Both cats I have are from humane society. Hopefully I can find a big-dog-protective puppy @ the pound one day who will not eat my cats. My tenants German Shep attacked my cat very last summer so I know how that prey instinct thing goes...