guard dogs

This is directed to the people that have guard dogs or experience in this matter. I have a yard of bulldogs but now I am looking around for a couple good guard dogs to guard my yard when I am at work and I am curious to know what works well for yall. Obviously they cant be DA. I have considered a few breeds but dont think they will really work good for me. Here are a few I have considered: Doberman, Rottweiler, Rodesian Ridgeback, German Shepard, Belgian Mallinois, and the Akita. Please let me know what yall have tried and works for yall. Thanks for your time.

 

I have a Dobermann i got from the Pound and wouldn't trade her for the world.... I've also had two Great Pyresses (sp) but IMO they were TOO good at their job...lol they would BARK and BARK and BARK at ANY little thing that moved and would not stop barking... We've also had Rotts (IMO they were too aloof) and Auise Sheppard's (just plain stupid)

For me Dobermanns work best, They are smart, quick, they let you know when something is not right..... and they pack a nice punch if someone is silly enough to cross over.... when they do Bark THE BARK you'd better go take a look w/ the 12guage....

 

My boyfriend's Dad has always had Dobermans. They were all amazing dogs and great guard dogs. Also, he could train them to do many things, so they seem to be an all round good breed.

 

I will agree. As far as a guardian breed, IMO, the dobie is the way to go. GSD's arent half bad either.

 

I have no experience on this but what makes a dobie such a good guard dog? I always thought heavier boned dogs would make better guard dogs such as ab, gs, and rotties. The few dobies i have seemed real "light on their feet"

 

Well the dobie i have weights 80 to 90lbs....

 

From my limited experience dobies seem to be fearless, agile, and very capable protectors. I like Rottweilers as much if not more as I have owned one but I believe they are to DA for a protector of a yard they also run a little big for my taste. If I was to have another I would like it to be no larger than 95# or so. AB's are good guard dogs but again I believe they are to DA for what I am looking for. To give yall a better idea of what I want I will describe what I am looking for. Thanks for your time.
Looks dont matter much to me but I would like something in the weight range of say 55 to 95 lbs, fast, fearless, with a good bite. I also want something that will do well in hot weather. Health, and smarts is also a big concern with me. I am open to all experienced suggestions and am not biased to any breed for guarding purposes. Thanks for the replies.

 

Anyone have any knowledge about how a Malinois would do with this king of work?

 

Very well .. they are alert, agile, used alot in policework. . The Belgium Sheepdog is also pretty good choice, fur a bit longer than the Malinois, protective of property, people, highly intelligent .. close to a GSD in abilities, .

Akitas are usually known for being aggerssive with other dogs

you amy also want to look at Kuvasz, Boer Boer, and perhaps Rhodesian Ridgeback allthough Im not sure what they are like with other dogs..

 

I would say a Malinois myself. Thay arent known for being very DA and they are about the second most amazing animal behind an APBT. I have heard that they hit like a freight train for their size and are becoming more popular in international police work as German Sheppards are starting to decline.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=DLqZTXzpExg

 

my friend has 5 Rhodesian Ridgebacks eat Ch Mr Serious, the dog didnt stand a chance.

spent a lot of money on dogs to protect his bulldogs and they ended up killing his Champion, they ate through the barrier fence and wiped out a handful of bulldogs

120lb guard dogs can cause more havic then theyre worth IMO

http://www.apbt.online-pedigrees.com/public/printPedigree.php?dog_id=77496

 

Most dogs mentioned will do the trick to protect your home, but , what i am curious is how are you going to set up your yard with your pitbulls, most dogs have some DA to an extent, especially guard dogs, and even if the guard dogs you choose, are not DA, im sure your pitbulls are, so how will you set up your yard with the different breeds, I have a male pitbull, female mastiff mix and a female neapolitan mastiff, they all sleep inside the house (pitbull in crate) the mastiffs patrol the house from inside, I know people that have more than 3 pitbulls and have guard dogs as well to guard their dogs and property, what works for them is, in the day time the pitbulls are in their chain setups and guard dogs in the kennel and vice versa at night, of course the pitbulls are in their own kennel runs.

 

of course you bring up an excellent point.. what about the bulldogs lol. Most of the dogs mentioned so far have all been used in guarding and herding livestock.. and most will learn what they are protecting and generally ignor what they know belongs there. And most are used in off leash situations ,so their dependabilty with other dogs including strange dogs is a must (Malinios and sheepdogs are becoming popular as working dogs for people with disabilities)

have heard this situation used, too.. where they fence in the bulldogs then put another fence so many feet out from that for the guard dogs..

I too would be leary and would be cautious about leaving loose dogs around while one wasnt out to watch them.. which would defeat the whole purpose of having guard dogs if you werent home!

 

dang.. thank you for sharing, I wasn't sure about their reliablity around other dogs.. Ive personally only seen a few rhodesians and they generally were pets kept in the house.

 

My set up will be my bulldogs behind the house on chains with a 6 foot chainlink fence around them and my house then I have another 6ft chainlink fence around the perimeter of my property (5 acres). Dont know if the land size matters thats why I put it up.

 

You are looking for a dog to protect your dog, yes? I really have no suggestions and find that to be a dicey situation.

All the dogs mentioned are excellent. The Malinois are really amazing and I am also partial to Rotties. However, in all the protection work I have done (maybe worked w/ half a dozen people or so and around 60 dogs) the dogs were always potentially DA. No one ever let the dogs get near one another because we always assumed that they would scrap if they did.

The best PP dog I ever had was a female game bred APBT. She was 100% safe w/ friends and children but always 100% right when it came to recognizing and chasing off bad guys.

She had the most amazing sense for ferreting out crack heads, thiefs and scumbags and man she hated them.

 

A dutch sheppard is another good option, bigger but they arent as agile as a malinois. I love how the malinois literally fly with such aggresion and hit the mark with a purpose.

 

In my experiences, the best yard dog I've had was a straight up ol mutt cur dog. She didn't cost anything was worth her keep in feed. Good gaurd dog. Smart as they come, kept the vermon back and this bitch was feirce!could stay out of trouble and didnt cause any with the bulldogs.... Most importantly she was my eldest sons companion. She would walk him to the bus stop and meet him in the afternoon.

I wish that ol dog was still around!

 

I've read that story somewhere....

 

Do you have a pedigree of this dog? I would like to see...