Sorry, another "what dog?" thread

[Hereward]

Does such a dog exist?

- strong watchdog/guarding/defending instinct
- safe around two young boys (aged 2 and 4), our cat and chickens
- not too big (approx. labrador size maximum)

The dog will have human company virtually all day and home will be in a rural area with plenty of outdoor space.

Family is moving to a remote house soon and think it's time to get a dog. We are dog novices but appreciate the pack concept/basic dog psychology/pecking order stuff (and have raised two children so surely it can't be harder than that?!).

It has to be a female (my wife wants female company in the house!). I think we will get a puppy rather than a rescue dog.

I would love a Doberman - too risky with the boys?

Thanks for any advice.

[Rollcage]

Dobermans are meant to be good family pets - the rather iffy reputation they can have is down to nurture, not nature!

It would be a small Doberman that would be about the size of a Lab though!

GSD's are going to be too big (shame) - what about a Belgian Shepherd?

[cslgirl]

Bernese Mountain Dogs are good with children so I am told. My neighbours had a couple, they were lovely. If I was to have a dog, that would be my choice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernese_Mountain_Dog

Edited by cslgirl on Thursday 19th November 22:42

[Mobile Chicane]

Wire-haired vizsla, no question about it. A very intelligent and well-mannered dog which most people aren't familiar with, and are therefore inclined to be wary of.

[JohnnyJones]

Terrier.

Lakeland type.



This is Ted. He's 16" tall, good with kids, always on alert but not yappy.

ETA - Will gladly take on, only if invited, any animal known to man.



GF concerned I hadn't told the full story.

Edited by JohnnyJones on Friday 20th November 01:51

[cazzer]

Neopolitan mastiff.*

• I may have ignored one of your criteria there

[deviant]

Ex race Greyhound.

Most people think they are vicious which cant be further from the truth but that reputaion and the size can make people wary of them. Infact they are very timid and you have to be carefull not to get to frustrated trying to train them and raising your voice, they can just freeze and stand there with their head cocked over and the tail between their legs.
As a race dog they were always man handled and often not by the owner so this is what makes them so easy going.

They dont need lots and lots of exercise beyond a normal dog walk, very happy to be lazy or to run around like a loon.

They are also a very clean dog, dont shed much and like to groom themselves.

The advantage of an ex-race dog is that they are normally only about 2 years old and go through a foster program to make sure they are fully house trained, get them used to kids and cats and they also assess the type of temprement the dog has so it can be placed in a suitable house.

You do need to be carefull walking them on open land, they are a hunting dog and their eye sight is incredible. I read that they would be able to spot a rabbit over 2 kilometers away, good luck chasing after the dog if it decides its hungry for rabbit!

[macp]

I would recommend a mini schnauzer.Stocky buggers with a brilliant temperament our daughter used to hang off him when she was 5 or 6.This our fella Archie.

[Uhura_Fighter]

A Boxer.

[Jasandjules]

Hereward said:

not too big (approx. labrador size maximum)

This is the issue. When you say you want it to have a guarding instinct, do you mean it has to be able to actually do anything?

Because a Lhasa Apso will guard/bark etc. but not exactly defend effectively....

Oh, and most dogs should be fine with children and chickens if raised with them.

[SpringerMan]

Hereward said:

Does such a dog exist?

- strong watchdog/guarding/defending instinct
- safe around two young boys (aged 2 and 4), our cat and chickens
- not too big (approx. labrador size maximum)

The dog will have human company virtually all day and home will be in a rural area with plenty of outdoor space.

Family is moving to a remote house soon and think it's time to get a dog. We are dog novices but appreciate the pack concept/basic dog psychology/pecking order stuff (and have raised two children so surely it can't be harder than that?!).

It has to be a female (my wife wants female company in the house!). I think we will get a puppy rather than a rescue dog.

I would love a Doberman - too risky with the boys?

Thanks for any advice.

It is a tricky one. With two young ones, you would want to make sure the dog was extremely well socialised. With most breeds, this makes them very friendly towards strangers which apparently you do not want.

If you get a dog, and do not socialise it well (any breed), you essentially have a loaded gun around your two boys. Obviously you do not want that.

Probably the best breed for you, would be the Rough Collie (aka, Lassie). Sounds odd at first, but the rough collie is one of the most protective breeds of dog. Plenty of stories from owners on the net of the dogs jumping to the defense of them and their children

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rough_Collie

Why do you need a protective dog anyway? Are you away from home a lot?

[XJSJohn]

Border Collies (or at least ours) are very good at this ... very sociable when out and about but great at alerting you to people coming to the gate (no doorbell needed) and will defend the home too, yet are as soft as anything with us and mates / mates kids.

edit - seems to be praise for the collie family!

Edited by XJSJohn on Friday 20th November 09:04

[Hereward]

Thanks for the replies, lots to Google. I like the look of the Vizsla.

The house we are moving to is fairly isolated so I'd like a dog that, primarily, would be a barking deterrant and ideally, should the worst happen, be willing to defend the pack rather than running away or licking any intruders to death.

[DJFish]

http://www1.dogbreedinfo.com/search.htm
Sounds like one of the sheepdog breeds would be good for your situation.

[SpringerMan]

Hereward said:

Thanks for the replies, lots to Google. I like the look of the Vizsla.

The house we are moving to is fairly isolated so I'd like a dog that, primarily, would be a barking deterrant and ideally, should the worst happen, be willing to defend the pack rather than running away or licking any intruders to death.

I Love Vizlas, however as puppies - apx 1.5 years, they can be very very bouncy.

Not ideal with two little kids running about.

[g3rrd]

King of the Terriers. Airedale. Ticks ALL the boxes.

[bazking69]

I would recommend a Border Terrier but their guard dog abilities are non existant.

[the_lone_wolf]

Hereward said:

The house we are moving to is fairly isolated so I'd like a dog that, primarily, would be a barking deterrant and ideally, should the worst happen, be willing to defend the pack rather than running away or licking any intruders to death.

A guard dog is a working dog, personally I'd be wary of trying to introduce that kind of mentality driven dog in a house with kids - most dogs will naturally bark at intruders and protect their "pack" through instinct, you shouldn't need to get a dog that was bred to do it or train a dog to be defensive

One thing to be aware of with Border Collies as someone above mentioned is they have an extremely strong herding instinct, small high pitched critters like sheep or kids may find themselves getting swept up or nipped if they don't get a move on - absolutely love ours though, by far and away the most alert and intelligent dog we've owned, need a lot of attention and exercise, there's a reason they're so frequently left to rescue centres when the owners can't cope...

I like the lassie idea, collie smarts without the quirky behaviour of a full blown BC

[cazzer]

Nothing more intimidating than the sound of a Mastiff barking at you
They defend the house well too. Thats if they can be bothered to get off their arse and do it

I'm not really selling this idea am I?

[Lefty Two Drams]

Labradoodle.

She is a very gentle dog and gets on brilliantly with my 3-year-old and week-old baby. She's about 16 months old now and is 27kg, unlikely to get over 30kg.