Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, I am currently doing a bit more research about compatable dog breeds for myself and since Pethobbyist always has sound advice from it's users, I'm coming onto this part of the site for information from the 'canine specialists'.

I am currently not looking to get a dog since I am soon going back to college and will not have the time, funds, or energy to spend on any kind of pet other than my reptiles for the next 3-5 years. However, I have a good idea of what I want and I have started a savings fund to be ready once I am prepared to begin my menagerie. My only trouble now is deciding what I want and doing as much (sporadic) research as possible for the next few years. Also, I would like to state that a lot of the things I'm looking for will depend on the training I give the dog, and since I'm asking a lot out of this animal, I am going to need a very intelligent animal that can handle the mental workload.

I will not be having children at any point in my life due to my own personal choices, but the rest of my family are very fond of procreating so I will have nieces and nephews to keep in mind during family events. However, since I plan on moving well over 3 hours away from my family, they will be rare visitors. I also will always have at least one snake, I sometimes keep fish, and I generally have a cat as well. Needless to say, I'm going to need a dog that is not going to harm, disrupt, or potentially kill my other pets. I also plan on living in the city at all times as the country beckons only once in a blue moon. While I plan on staying in a condo/nice apartment comlpex, my fiance would prefer we have our own house so our living conditions at this time are undecided so I'm going to be looking for a dog that, with appropriate work on my end, can cope in both situations.

What I'm looking for, in a nutshell, is a guard dog that doubles as a pillow and a companion to just me and my fiance who will guard our home with his life. Since we're going to be living so far away from our families, if one of us is sick or otherwise confined to the house, the dog will be there to protect us, and if worse comes to worse, buy us time to get to our guns (yay Texas). I plan on putting the dog through service and drug training, if not a german shepherd then something similar to the shutzhund, and my own rigorous training schedule. Along with the lessons these training courses are going to teach him, I am also interested in teaching the dog key word commands so that one word will put the dog on alert and not let anyone in our home, and one word will release him from the command. Since every job I have ever worked requires at least 8 hour shifts and the same for my fiance, the dog will have to have the stamina to stay under the command until the release word is given. I also do not want the dog to be frightened by loud, explosive sounds like gunfire, thunder/lightning storms, etc nor do I want the dog to be friendly to everyone immediately. I would prefer him to be aloof to those who do not live with us, but again, we can give a different command, and the dog will still protect those around me in case of rare visists from nieces and nephews (I don't want him overly friendly b/c my family's children are rough with animals).

While I need a highly intelligent dog, I do not need a dog that is high strung and will bite/turn at the slightest provocation. Nor do I need a dog that will never calm down after duty, as when I return home, I plan on letting the dog relax when protecting the house does not rely solely on his fangs. I would also prefer myself and guests be able to play with him without fear of our throats being ripped out.

So as for breeds... the only dog that has been suggested to me is a German Shepherd. And don't get me wrong, I LOVE those dogs with a passion. I've had nothing but bad experiences from the pound which makes me hesitant to rescue an animal that I have no information on his medical history, what it's been through, etc; however I'd rather not spend $2,000 on a dog if I don't have to. Any advice on other breeds, good advice on choosing a rescue/ an animal from a rescue would be deeply appreciated.

To have any chance of all you want from a dog, you will need to spend big bucks for the right breeding and the right training. German Shepherds have hereditary physical and temperament problems, so you need the dog to be very well bred to avoid as many of those problems as possible. And you will need a lot of professional help with the training.

I think you would be better off with a black Labrador. It would be friendly, but it would have a protective look. That means the vast majority of bad guys would leave you alone, but you'd be unlikely to be sued because your dog had bitten somebody.

Whatever breed you get, for what you have in mind you need a carefully bred dog from a very good breeder, and you need excellent professional help with the training.

I believe in dogs living in the house, and going outside only under supervision. Too many things can happen to a dog alone in a back yard. It is a lot more work to live in an apartment with a dog, because you have to take the dog out several times a day for relief, on leash. If you have your own house and fenced yard, you can supervise the dog when outside while you stand inside the back house door. And remember you'll need to pick up dog poop either way. I recommend doing it daily.

At the link with my signature you will find tons of articles I've written that can greatly help your thinking process about all this. It's the Canine Behavior Series. You might want to start with the article on Protection. The article titles are in alphabetical order, and I tried really hard to make the titles really descriptive of what those articles are about.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

I am not that knowledgeable about the uses you want out of a dog, but a few other breeds come to mind:

Belgian Malinois or Tervuren
Giant or Standard Schnauzer
Bouvier des Flandres
English Mastiff (maybe a little large for an apartment)
Dogue de Bordeaux
Black Russian Terrier
Cane Corso
Perro de Presa Canario

Some of these are a little obscure - there is info on all of them on the AKC website. All have an instinct to guard, along with other purposes which they were originally bred for. The Malinois and Tervuren strike me as the most trainable, but that's just personal opinion.