Get one of these: the brains of a man but the teeth of a dog.
you’re right the Belgian Malinois is like a quick and very lean shepherd; think of a shark w/ four legs.
here is my boy a few years ago, age 7 i think.
he’s only bitten one person w/out a protection sleeve on (schutzhund class). he bit the one of the three fuckers who jumped me in downtown Albany, NY years ago.
i pulled the leash and forgot to tell him to aus, which is “let go.” he peeled the guys arm like a banana, and later the police report explained upon X-Ray he broke his lower arm in three places.
i was fortunate to be friends w/ the Albany police, they were drunk college fuckers.
don’t know why the photo didn’t post?
This was/is my Belgian Malinois “Monster” super cool dog but we moved into town and he liked the farm better so he went to our friends Farm.
The best gaurd dog is one that is trained. Your dog could be bread to kill but if you train him like a slob he will know nothing but his food bowl.
I’m a big fan of American Bulldogs, the ones I’ve had have been great family dogs and very intimidating to see. We also have an American Pit Bull that is great with my kids. She watches over them and gets pretty worked up if they are playing where she can hear them but can’t get to where they are at.
She’s not a big dog, but she really does love a fight. She doesn’t know she’s small when she jumps between me ( I weigh 1.213 Oprah, she is .02 Oprah) and some other dog.
My Maltese, Rosalinda.
Looks like Rosalinda killed that thread!
Yea, I agree with some of you guys. Rotts and Shepherds make great security.
Oh yea and don’t forget about the ferocious poms, they got a mean bite… lol jk
German Shepherd
[quote]triple-10sets wrote:
The best gaurd dog is one that is trained. Your dog could be bread to kill but if you train him like a slob he will know nothing but his food bowl. [/quote]
I disagree with this completely. A dog instinctively will protect his pack, whether they be canine or human.
If you train a dog “like a slob” (meaning no proper training whatsoever) he/she will be even more aggressive due to the fact that they see themselves as the alpha, because the home lacks structure within which they know their place, so they see themselves as more responsible for the order and protection. This is somewhat breed specific, but is true for the majority of breeds.
Dogs are not “bred to kill.” They are trained to kill.
Some breeds are more prone to aggression than others. Fighting lines and feral dogs (wolf hybrids) are not to be trusted. But these are a very small percentage of the companion dog population.
[quote]aznt0rk wrote:
Yea, I agree with some of you guys. Rotts and Shepherds make great security.
Oh yea and don’t forget about the ferocious poms, they got a mean bite… lol jk[/quote]
Good heavens, shih tsus are the nastiest dogs I’ve ever encountered. No exceptions. Large breeds are unexceptionably reasonable and willing to submit after a bit of a struggle, even if they’re initially stubborn, but those little shit-dogs are complete unreasonable assholes.
[quote]Travacolypse wrote:
sluicy wrote:
American bulldogs are wonderful family dogs with a great, happy personality. However, my AB mix is more of a sort of intimidation factor when it comes to his role in security… I suspect that he may just sleep right through anyone breaking in, but people are always intimidated when they meet him.
My wife and I have an american bull, and all I can say is ^ this woman knows.
The wife is completely convinced the dog would protect the house if someone breaks in. I’m completely convinced that I’d need to wake the dog up then point it in the right direction first. I’d put odds on the dog just going back to sleep.
Nice dog, good with kids, people are scared of it, but the thing is dumb as a rock. [/quote]
Fixed on the gender specificity… 
Yeah… he’s so laid back, it’s completely laughable. But you know, I wouldn’t discount even the most laid back dogs’ protective instincts. They all see themselves as a part of a pack which needs to be protected, at least in their own self interest.
And we’ve had a few instances where he has proved that while he’s quite lazy, he is willing to warn us when he feels it’s quite necessary. If a dog has a good sense of identity within your family “pack,” I wouldn’t worry about it when it comes down to it.
I think that ABs are fairly submissive dogs and they will not display protective responses if there is no tension from the rest of their superior pack members (you and your wife, for example), but all dogs will naturally warn the pack when there is something out of the ordinary which they perceive as possibly threatening.
Our dog has actually woken us up in the middle of the night before when he heard a noise unfamiliar to our usual surroundings. He’s growled and come to me when a person was up on a ladder working on our window frame, and has been uncharacteristically cold when meeting a neighbor who later turned out to be untrustworthy.
I wouldn’t discount the instinct to protect the pack, even if they’re laid back.
That said, it’s still really weird to me not to have a high strung breed that jumps at every noise. And in a whole ton of other ways, yes, he is freaking dumb as a rock, and you could probably bounce one off his head and he would just look at you like, “doh?”
But I love him so much…
Find a local Schutzhund, Mondio or French Ring club and find a dog you really like. Ask the owner where the dog came from. Ask yourself if you would enjoy the training enough to commit to it, too.
It has less to do with the breed than the breeding, and less to do with the breeding than the training.
[quote]cyruseven75 wrote:
my German shepherd is nearly 11 now and slowed a bit but the best dog in the world.
i did Shutzhund w/ him for over five years so he’s attack trained, does search and rescue, and is obedient x10.
i work w/ children w/ mental illness as well, they tug his ears get in his face etc, he’s super cool, mellow, he reads situations impeccably well.
Shepherds will kill for there humans but they’re great family dogs too. Clowns at times, noble at other times.
That’s my shepherd in my avatar w/ my irish cap on. He’s 135lb an 31 in at the shoulders a monster of a dog.
he’s old and chill now though, birds and squirrels run right up on him in the yard and he’s like fuck it. [/quote]
whhhhaaaaa !!! i used to have a all white german shepard 
[quote]DragnCarry wrote:
It has less to do with the breed than the breeding, and less to do with the breeding than the training.[/quote]
Well said.
People have no idea what it takes to train a dog in Schutzhund, Koehler or sheep herding for that matter. Hell, even basic commands take a lot of patience and practice.
Most dogs have been bred for certain “jobs”. Those jobs have have inherent instincts - such as herding. Even though an untraianed herding dog will instinctivly herd - there is no guard dog who will instinctivly guard your shit.
He will instictivly guard his pack, but will probably let someone take your guns and in-home theatre system. Dogs must be trained (well) to protect property.
Just sayin’
[quote]Geminspector wrote:
DragnCarry wrote:
It has less to do with the breed than the breeding, and less to do with the breeding than the training.
there is no guard dog who will instinctivly guard your shit. He will instinctivly guard his pack, but will probably let someone take your guns and in-home theatre system.
[/quote]
I agree very much with DragonCarry’s statement.
But, in my experience, guarding the pack includes guarding the pack’s established territory. Dogs aren’t very cool with letting people enter the home/territory when the pack’s not around. Trained or not.
Proper training (in context of a dog that is just going to be a part of a family, not a police dog or such) has less to do with specifically making a dog a “guard” dog, and much more with making him aware of what people and property belong to his “pack.” The protection is instinctive.
Some dogs will let anyone in your house, even bring them your slippers. Others will be ripping the palings off the fence to get passers-by.
I think most people are better off to start with a very stable dog who doesn’t show a whole lot of aggression when threatened. It’s less work to bring them up than to tone them down, safer too, and you have more options.
BTW, least amount of work for the most amount of intimidation I don’t think you can go past a well-bred Bull Mastiff.
If the breeder has stuck to their roots, they are very territorial but see biting as a last resort.
They don’t require anywhere near as much exercise as a good “working line” German Shepherd, Dobe, Rott or Malinois. Very low grooming requirements. They look like they were taken straight from the gates of hell.
Finding a good one is nearly impossible. Avoid any breeder who clearly has “winning conformation shows” as their main consideration (that goes for any breed). Similarly, you should probably be very careful of anyone who breeds specifically for protection.
Any “scary” breed would work. Dogs, even non scary breeds, can be pretty scary with their teeth bared and growling. If a dog is going to work for security it is going to scare an intruder off before it even has a chance to attack. Or it will get shot and you are both screwed.
German Shepard is another breed I would add to the list. They are great for protection, smart and extremely loyal.
There is good reason why police forces, the military and the Nazi’s used German Shepards for sticky situations.