Watchdogs and Guard Dogs
Will a Watchdog or Guard Dog Provide You with the Security and Peace of Mind You Want?
When you think about home security providers you mostly think about those security companies you see advertised on TV or online. But there are a couple of other types of security providers you should take into consideration. These include not only yourself as a DIY burglar alarm installer but also dogs who can serve two different security functions. This security function served is by being either a watchdog or by being a guard dog.
If you have done any looking online about watchdogs then you probably already know this. These two functions for dogs are broken up by what they actually do. A watchdog alerts the homeowner to the presence of an intruder. A guard, which may or may not alert you, will stop an intruder by attacking or trying to restrain the burglar in some manner.
So before you just go out and buy a dog, you need to consider what you really want it to do.
A good watchdog is going to bark at what you want it to bark at and not just anything that goes by like a bird or the squirrel running along the ground outside the window. Some dog breeds will bark at anything and others hardly bark. You want the one that will perform the watch dog function correctly so you don’t end up with irate neighbors or with a burglar in the house because the dog never alerted you.
In the book The Perfect Puppy (How to Choose Your Dog By Its Behavior), two veterinarians hooked up with almost 100 dog specialists (other vets and obedience judges) to rate the different dog breeds on many different factors. Among these were watchdog barking as defined above being that the dogs barked at what you want them to alert you to like an intruder versus dog breeds that just bark or don’t.
The group that rated the best in this watchdog barking function are as follows:
* Miniature Schnauzer
* West Highland White Terrier
* Scottish Terrier
* Doberman Pinscher
* German Shepherd
* Rottweiler
Now lest you think that all the watchdogs were big dog breeds ( though three of the above really aren’t) the second highest rated group included the following:
* Yorkshire Terrier
* Chihuahua
* Cairn Terrier
Ranging from 2 to 17 pounds as the breed standards, I think you can agree that the second group above contains dogs that are not very large.
However, it is my opinion that if you should choose one of these smaller breeds for your watchdog, let it be a back up to a burglar alarm system you have installed by a home security provider or that you install yourself. Face it. If a burglar hears a little yapping Chihuahua, that alone is not likely to deter him from attempting to break into your home.
If you want to add a guard dog to your home security plan, then you have a choice of several breeds that will fill this spot. These are going to be big dogs. This means if you make this choice, you need to do proper socialization as well as properly train the guard dog to perform its function of stopping an intruder. Basic obedience is a huge plus for these breeds just to have a good member of the family even if they aren’t used as guard dogs.
Now depending upon what list of the top guard dogs you look at you may find breeds that most Americans won’t recognize. Dogs have been bred all over the world as either livestock guardians (and they watched over the farm too) or hunters of some type. These breeds have over the years taken on guard dog duties with police forces or various military organizations around the world. Eventually they make their way into the home as guard dogs or just as great pets.
So this list below will include 10 guard dog breeds that are among the top guard dogs as a sort of compilation of different lists so the breeds are more recognizable to American readers. The list is in no particular order.
* Rottweiler
* Doberman Pinscher
* Bullmastiff
* Giant Schnauzer
* German Shepherd
* Rhodesian Ridgeback
* Staffordshire Terrier
* American Bulldog
* Akita
* Mastiff
If you are interested in some other breeds that have recently come to the U.S. check out wikipedia or even this site, http://guarddogs.bulldoginformation.com/.
As you can see, some of the breeds that are good as watchdogs also fall into the guard dog category giving you a two-fer.
From personal experience, I can tell that some of these breeds create a security factor for your home purely due to rumors and stories that have gone around. Such it was with a couple Doberman Pinschers we owned when we lived in the country. Great dogs! Just learning we had them caused some people to stay away which is information you might want to get around. The dogs certainly made people think twice about getting out of the car when they drove up.
Before you choose any of the dog breeds above to serve as either watchdog or guard dog be sure to research the breed further. Make sure it will fit in with your family situation. Some are not good for families with young children. Some need someone who will take a firm hand so the dog doesn’t take over. Others have higher levels of energy requiring lots of exercise. Make sure you know what you are getting into.
Whichever way you go, watchdog or guard dog, you will find that a dog can be a good home security provider or a great addition to your home burglar alarm system.
