Your big dog as security?

I had a German Shepard before but i've never used her as a guard dog. Dogs can't really help when you're faced with a real burglar. They can only deter small time thieves, professional criminals have a ton of ways to deal with dogs.

 

I would suggest that you choose your pet according its temperament and your lifestyle. As far as size goes, I've had big dogs that would probably go home with the burglar, and I've had small dogs that would kill anything that looked out of place. Some big dogs are so mellow that they are almost like breathing area rugs, lol, and they wouldn't protect anyone if it disrupted their nap time. The dog pound is full of dogs that were rejected because their owners didn't do their homework before picking a pet. Please do a lot of research and pick carefully.

 

Good question! My in-laws have a small dog, but even so he is a great security because he barks real loud and it scares the robbers away. Sure, a stronger dog would go the next level if the robbers insisted on entering the house, but sometimes it's enough for a dog to give alarm that the owners can call the police if necessary.

 

It would be great to adopt a strong and intimidating dog. You never know when such a lovable creature will save your life. As it was already mentioned, a dog should be adopted according to your lifestyle and what suits you the most. If you buy a big dog but ignore the needs of the dog, like how much it needs to eat and you're on a very tight budget, then you will set yourself up for a big problem. So adopt a dog that suits you the most, and if it needs to be big, then go ahead but as long as it fits your lifestyle!

 

Labradors are not good guard dogs, since they are friendly with everyone. We had a German Shepherd and Rottweiler mix before, and he was a good guard dog. I think if you want a noisy dog, then you're better off getting a Jack Russell Terrier instead, they bark at everyone, and they're quite noisy and hyper.

To protect your house further, buy an expensive deadbolt and an Abloy padlock, it can't be picked.

 

Size doesn't always matter and it does seem like a lot of big dogs are just gentle giants. I have a Pomeranian and in a way he would make a good guard dog. The only thing is he tends to bark at almost everything so you'll be experiencing false alarms so if you decide to get a yippy dog just remember that. Breeds like that can definitely bite though when called upon.

 

A big dog comes with a lot of special needs. In my experience there is more work involved than with a medium or small dog. Apart from training your dog well, are you physically strong enough to handle a big dog? Also, have you considered that your big dog might be a gentle giant that just loves people and wouldn't make a guard dog at all?
I think any dog that is bigger than a chihuahua can be trained to protect you. ;-)

 

I think this would do more harm than good.

Dogs bark at everything. Counting on the dog's barking to tell you when someone is on your property will not be effective. Because like i said they bark at everything. After a while you will not pay them any attention. This would also be bad if you do not have a huge fence. If you dont that dog would most likely get out, and attack someone. I have seen it happen many times.

 

I am not a fan f dogs but my brother is. He has some big dog which am not sure about the name. That dog can really make you scared. It is big and really acts as security to the home if there is no one around. It has been around for a couple of years now. I will ask about the name and post an update here. I will try to get also the picture for you people to see what am talking about.

 

Our big dog is a big baby! He's scary and couldn't protect us if our life depended on it. However, our littlest dog would most likely do more damage to burglars if that was the case. To be so little, he's extremely vicious.

 

I'd rather you just got yourself a fierce dog like a Pitbull.

Since they are naturally ferocious they'll not only pose a danger to unwanted intruders but also to anyone whom the dog may consider a threat. You'll need to weigh your options carefully though. If the neighborhood is not that great then you'll need something fierce to deter a would-be burglar but if it's not so bad such a dog would get you in trouble because bite strangers it definitely will.

 

Our dog does a pretty good job as an alert, but she's only a Jack Russell, and a small one at that so she isn't exactly "effective" at scaring anyone off who isn't an 8 year old with a fear of dogs. If she was bigger, then she'd probably do a good job as security but there is the whole thing where you get in trouble if she hurts someone which has its legal problems etc.

 

I have 3 dogs currently, a small, a medium and a large. It's all about personality and not so much size. The dachshund is as good as my doberman EVER was in letting me know anything was going on. Sure, she may not scare anyone, but she has the personality of a dobie. If you looking at size as the factor, you really are looking at size as the factor of how someone ELSE may react to that size. You really can't know how a big dog would react, big dogs ARE gentle souls by and large. As my vet told me regarding my question as to whether I should attack train my dobie, his answer was no, they will naturally bark and protect you because they love you. I know your question was not about attack training per say, but to me, that last half does answer the question pretty well. Bond with a dog and there is the rest of your answer. Best wishes.