What Breed For A House Guard Dog?

[buddhafly]

don't know much about breeds.

but i think rotweillers would be too big for me.

but any breed does a good job at guarding a home and land? does the standard thai dog, mutt do ok?

[Mossfinn]

What are you looking for specifically?

If you are looking for a dog that will chase off all known combatants and a Rotti is too big, then I do not know the answer.

If you are looking for dog that hears the slightest untoward noise and will make a racket that will make the Devil think twice, just to warn you of potential intruders inside or out, then a Chihuahua is your man.

A great house dog that will warn of all strangers outside too, but they will not scare off anything by presence but the noise will make any stealth intrusion unprofitable.

Good Luck

Moss

[billd766]

We have 3 dogs now down from a total of 15 dogs and puppies 1 1/2 years ( the survival of the fittest and fastest) ago that came free from the local Wat. The are cheap to feed as they live on rice and any leftover food and are fairy loyal.

They do know who comes regularly and who are strangers and bark loudly at them. The main problem is they like to "sing" to the local pork delivery pickup truck who comes along around 6 am every day but as I am usually up then they quieten down as I open the door carrying a big stick. The buggers run too fast for me to catch them but they have to eat some time.

One has fallen in love with shoes and eats them so we take the shoes in at night.

Other than that I am happy with them but I may need to get some more as one is from the first batch we had, one from the first litter and one from the second litter, all dogs and no bitches now. We had 3 bitches before and ended up with 10 puppies.

[MTW]

Being a good guard dog depends on what you expect/want your dog to do for you. If making noise to warn you of something is enough, than almost any dog will do this, and actually some small breeds are best at this. However, if someone wants to come into your house, and sees a toy breed dog barking, this may not be enough to frighten them off.

If you want intimidation, or actual serious action, a larger dog, and of course certain breeds will do a better job of this. A poodle, for example is one of the smartest dog breeds, is usually completely fearless, makes noise, and won't hesitate to fight. But how much damage can a small dog like that do to a human, not much.

Some larger dogs are very relaxed and even if they could be intimidating, will roll over for a belly scratch for any people they see. For example many goldens and labs. On the other hand, if you pick a dog known for aggressive tendancies, and you don't know a lot about how to socialize, train this dog, he may end up eating the face off your kid, or another local kid, or the person you hire to take care of him while on vacation. Or even you when he decides he is dominant and you are a wimp.

There are special ways to socialize aggressive breed dogs and if you don't know much about this, or are not much of a "dog" person I would suggest you DO NOT get one of those breeds. If you have young children, let's say under 10, I would NOT suggest you get any of those breeds. Some breeds I would suggest nobody with children get under any circumstances.

I am however curious why you think a Rotty is too big? Most dogs that could seriously scare someone off are at least around the same size. If you are worried about food costs and things like this, than surely, don't get a big dog because they can need a lot of expensive care. Although in Thailand, even expensive care is rather cheap, vet wise, not food wise if you take good care of him.

I would like to tell you though, that I have owned a couple of dogs that are the largest breed in the world, and known to be quite aggressive. One never had the opportunity, that I am aware of, to save me or my house. The second one did. When someone climbed the wall in the back of my house, they were able to open the gate to my "Thai kitchen" which was fenced floor to ceiling (because my maid left the lock undone accidentally), and then the intruder/s broke out a window next to the back door, unlocked the back door and entered. They surely thought they were 100% safe because they were in the house and my dog was outside. They also put some long metal rods along my fence ... like a large broomsitck or something, but in metal, in order to beat off my dog if necessary, I guess.

Well, my front door was glass, similar to a retail store. I found footprints along all the windows where my dog had (and never had done before) been looking at them in various rooms of the house, and he finally bashed his body through the glass front door. He almost died because he was cut so badly. My house looked like Charles Manson had come and done a mass murder, because of the pools of blood, the sprayed blood on the walls, but I could not find anything stolen from my house. There was so much blood on both floors of my house, that one of the workers who came to measure new glass, and make repairs, threw up upon seeing it.

After something like this happens, you will know that nothing is too good for your dogs, although I treated all dogs like my children before this happened, I have some kind of different respect now for this dog. So if you really feel you need a guard dog, go ahead and get one, but take good care of him, and learn about him, protect his health and don't worry about the money you spend, because he might save your life one day.

[The Dan Sai Kid]

what about a goose -silent, but deadly - and if it doesn't work out then you can barbeque it...

[MTW]

Oh, I forgot to say, to "billd766" a diet of rice and a few scraps is not very nutrionally complete for dogs. While you do say that these are stray dogs, the fact that only 3 survived out of 15 or so, is not something I would be proud of.

I am happy you fed them but I don't understand why you would be looking for more "bitches" to breed when you could not take care of them ones you had. You obviously did not get them neutered, maybe did not provide vaccinations, and were not successful in keeping many alive ... so now you want to breed more?

Yes, okay, survival of the fittest, but you are the one responsible for the pets you take in, just like children. Would you deprive your human children of all food except for rice, not vaccinate them, whatever, and as the majority died off, would you then look to your wife to just keep producing more?

I mean, even it you don't want to take too much care of soi dogs you adopt, but just give them the minimum, why would you not look for other stray dogs to take in as their replacements, rather than breeding even more?

[lotus eater]

mtw - what was the breed of large dog figuring in your story of the gruesome housebreaking incident?

[Jet Gorgon]

Geese are good security.

I had two Thai ridgebacks (male and female; females are smarter). Just showed up at my bungalow. Smart, loyal and excellent guard dogs. Easy to care for, short hair, largely immune to ticks and fleas, but can get mange. Also affectionate. Key word tho is LOYAL. Probably available at your local temple for free. Best dogs I ever had, although I loved all the throwaways I adopted; but, the ridgebacks were the smartest.

[DrFisher]

I had a German Shepard he was loyal and loving to me but he would attack any one at any time mostly for no reason which caused me a lot of problems and I couldn't take him any where public. I also had 2 ferrets they gave old Hans (the German Shepard) a run fro his money he couldn't quite attack them when they would latch on to his back.

[AlexLah]

I think you should be looking for something else than a dog.

Consider a crocodile.........

Anyway dogs that bark do not bite so you wanna have some kind of dog that just shows his teeth when there is an intruder is much better.

I had a dog once trained to guard and defend. I took it home and told her to guard while I went to bed.

I only forgot to tell my brother that I just purchased this dog.

My brother came home at night and stick his key in the lock, the dog without warning almost bit off the doorknob.

This dog saved me once while I was in the city when a gang wanted to attack me, it took out three members, then they backed off.

The point is that if you want to have a dog to protect you and your family you need at least a well trained medium sized one.

Have it trained to attack and guard on command.

A pittbull comes into mind, they are not very big but are real slaughters when you train them well.

But you need to be a strong person and the leader, 24/7.

Why not go for an IR and/or movement sensor detection solution with a direct connection to the police?

Many ways you can secure your property and family, did you think about other options?

[Luckydog]

don't know much about breeds.

but i think rotweillers would be too big for me.

but any breed does a good job at guarding a home and land? does the standard thai dog, mutt do ok?

My Thai Mutt is a fan bluddy tastic guard Dog. Get one. You wont regret it.

[November Rain]

Thai dogs. 100%. Fantastic dogs. I've a Ban Kaew mix in the Center who was in the house recuperating when someone got a bit violent towards me. My own dogs did nothing. She jumped in & attacked, despite having a broken leg. Ridgebacks (d'you mean Lang Ans JG?) are also brilliant. Thai mutts (mix or pure) are the most faithful, loving, smart, dogs in the world IMO

[Nienke]

Thai dogs. 100%. Fantastic dogs. I've a Ban Kaew mix in the Center who was in the house recuperating when someone got a bit violent towards me. My own dogs did nothing. She jumped in & attacked, despite having a broken leg. Ridgebacks (d'you mean Lang Ans JG?) are also brilliant. Thai mutts (mix or pure) are the most faithful, loving, smart, dogs in the world IMO

Absolutely .... BUT .... they remain always one step behind the BOXER

Sorry, just couldn't resist

[MTW]

A poster here asked what kind of dog smashed through my glass ... it was an English Mastiff. And both of the giant breed dogs I talked about owning are English Mastiffs.

To Alexlah, please don't suggest Pitbulls. I know many people like them and I love all dogs. But Pitbulls are one of the breeds that 99.9% of people should not have. The potential damage they can do is just to great a risk for most people to reasonably take on, and advising that a person further trains them to be aggressive is a recipe for disaster. Most very aggressive breeds, you need to train them/socialize them/play in every non-aggressive way possible, to even out their tendancies.

And even when Pitbulls are wonderful with the family, and have never bitten any people, they still will most likey kill every cat in your neighborhood, as well as many of the dogs. This is not good for the people who live near you and love their animals. In my actual life experience, I know of Pitbulls who jumped the fence of their yard, into the next home's yard, and killed several large dogs, all at one time. I have also seen some responsible pet owners come into my clinic (covered in blood and weeping) because their Pitbull attacked now the third local dog, and ask me to put it to sleep. These people are torn because they love their dogs but know they can not inflict this damage onto others, time and time again.

It is traumatic for the owner to have to put it to sleep, it is traumatic for the owner to see other amimals that people love getting killed, or having to pay huge vet bills for the damage done. It is not nice for the vet who has to put down a two year old dog that is perfectly healthy, and of course I am sure the dog does not enjoy getting killed either.

I would just like to say that the majority of people who have dogs, don't seem to know very much about dog breeds and what they are getting into. They pick the dog based on emotions at the moment, or because they mistakenly think certain things about the breed, or because they want blue eyes. I have seen people even put dogs up for adoption, and immediately try to get another, because the old dog doesn't match their new furniture colors. This is not BS, this actually happened to ME when I worked at a Humane Society in the US. And I could tell you a million more equally stupid things that happened to ME, not just that I heard about.

I happen to adore poodles and have owned many. They however, are high on list of dogs that bite. There are lists with statistics which show these things. But the difference is this: if my poodle goes nuts and attacks your 5 year old kid, how much damage can he really do? But what damage will be done in the same situation from a Pitbull? And how will you manage getting the dog to stop the attack, considering as a good dog owner, you were supervising the situation? If the owner doesn't know much about Pitbulls many he will assume beating it over the head with a heavy object would do the trick. But it will not.

And also, many Pitbulls become homeless, because owners start to realize their mistake. These dogs cannot be let out to roam the streets, most places who shelter and adopt out dogs will not take them, some cities have banned them, and the only option is euthanizing them.

Since I am putting in more than my 2 cents, I would also like to add that Chow Chows are also I dog I would advise against, as in American emergency room reports, they do ridiculous damage to the people they attack, and have a high rate of attack. In my previous life where I worked with dogs for many years, I would never touch a Chow, or let any employees touch a Chow, until the owner had muzzled it himself.

I thought I would add this info because I see a fair amount of Chows in Thailand. Please, for Chow owners, or Pitbull owners, do not write me a bunch of negative stuff or call me a "Chow, Pitbull basher" as I simply hope that people who get dogs such as these, know what they are doing, don't take unreasonable risks, and don't hurt others through their lack of understanding. Okay, thanks and hope this advise helps someone.

[endure]

Thai dogs. 100%. Fantastic dogs. I've a Ban Kaew mix in the Center who was in the house recuperating when someone got a bit violent towards me. My own dogs did nothing. She jumped in & attacked, despite having a broken leg. Ridgebacks (d'you mean Lang Ans JG?) are also brilliant. Thai mutts (mix or pure) are the most faithful, loving, smart, dogs in the world IMO

Absolutely .... BUT .... they remain always one step behind the BOXER

Sorry, just couldn't resist

I could repost my picture if you want

[britmaveric]

German Shepherd - smart/loyal to the family unit without question. I had a few growing up and I couldnt say more about them. Great dogs - last one was 18yrs old when she passed away.

[jdinasia]

I'll stick with the watchdog variety ModDam is a great dog 2.1 kilos but thinks she is 40

[Nignoy]

There is only one type of of guard dog, get yourself a Killer Whippet I took this photo of my dog on guard yesterday Nignoy

[sbk]

Well, nignoy, at least the person in bed is safe

[Jet Gorgon]

Thai dogs. 100%. Fantastic dogs. I've a Ban Kaew mix in the Center who was in the house recuperating when someone got a bit violent towards me. My own dogs did nothing. She jumped in & attacked, despite having a broken leg. Ridgebacks (d'you mean Lang Ans JG?) are also brilliant. Thai mutts (mix or pure) are the most faithful, loving, smart, dogs in the world IMO

Ya, Ban Kaews are awesome.

Thai ridgebacks are sort of a deer colour, with a backward ridge of fur down the spine (if a pure ridge) or sometimes a darker colour fur down the spine. Med size, short hair, straight tail, upward ears. Don't know the Thai name. The females are prettier with a longer nose and big doe eyes; the males have more of a boxer face. The females are the smarter of the pair (as usual).

A lone female I had (beach stray) feared nothing and was the most loyal dog I ever had. Never had more than a sarong over my door at night when I had her. She used to go for guys if they tried to hug me (no wonder I never found a mate in Thailand). If I could only have one dog in a Mad Max end of world scenario, it would be a Thai Ridgeback bitch. One drawback: mine hated all Thais except artists and musicians. Figure that one out.

[Thaddeus]

Meet "I am Bob"

So called because as long as it is daylight and mummy and daddy are around he simply presents himself to any visitor and states "I am Bob, got any food?" ..... if it's dark and we are sleeping he will rip your throat out.

This is Bow, his mum.

She originally belonged to the in-laws but moved in with us when she discovered that the food was better...... if she doesn't know you, she is seriously scary at any time.

Now Rocky.

He's a Borderline Collie ...... he couldn't bite his way out of a wet paper bag, but would make a lot of noise trying.

The most useless one of the bunch is Billy.

As when faced with danger he just falls asleep.

The most fearless, faithfull and intelligent doggie is Meemee.

The one on the right obviously, but I wouldn't pick a fight with my daughter either (Granddad has a gun )

For an in-house dog, you can't go wrong with a Poodle, they are frightened of nothing (Meemee even went for the horses on the beach at Hua Hin) not capable of causing any harm to an intruder, but boy will they make sure you wake up.

For an outside dog, pick any of the above (apart from Billy)

They usually start out looking like this.

P.S. whoever said Pit-bull, crazy ...... it's like suggesting a ferret to someone that couldn't handle a hamster !!!

[Nienke]

A poster here asked what kind of dog smashed through my glass ... it was an English Mastiff. And both of the giant breed dogs I talked about owning are English Mastiffs.

To Alexlah, please don't suggest Pitbulls. I know many people like them and I love all dogs. But Pitbulls are one of the breeds that 99.9% of people should not have. The potential damage they can do is just to great a risk for most people to reasonably take on, and advising that a person further trains them to be aggressive is a recipe for disaster. Most very aggressive breeds, you need to train them/socialize them/play in every non-aggressive way possible, to even out their tendancies.

And even when Pitbulls are wonderful with the family, and have never bitten any people, they still will most likey kill every cat in your neighborhood, as well as many of the dogs. This is not good for the people who live near you and love their animals. In my actual life experience, I know of Pitbulls who jumped the fence of their yard, into the next home's yard, and killed several large dogs, all at one time. I have also seen some responsible pet owners come into my clinic (covered in blood and weeping) because their Pitbull attacked now the third local dog, and ask me to put it to sleep. These people are torn because they love their dogs but know they can not inflict this damage onto others, time and time again.

It is traumatic for the owner to have to put it to sleep, it is traumatic for the owner to see other amimals that people love getting killed, or having to pay huge vet bills for the damage done. It is not nice for the vet who has to put down a two year old dog that is perfectly healthy, and of course I am sure the dog does not enjoy getting killed either.

I would just like to say that the majority of people who have dogs, don't seem to know very much about dog breeds and what they are getting into. They pick the dog based on emotions at the moment, or because they mistakenly think certain things about the breed, or because they want blue eyes. I have seen people even put dogs up for adoption, and immediately try to get another, because the old dog doesn't match their new furniture colors. This is not BS, this actually happened to ME when I worked at a Humane Society in the US. And I could tell you a million more equally stupid things that happened to ME, not just that I heard about.

I happen to adore poodles and have owned many. They however, are high on list of dogs that bite. There are lists with statistics which show these things. But the difference is this: if my poodle goes nuts and attacks your 5 year old kid, how much damage can he really do? But what damage will be done in the same situation from a Pitbull? And how will you manage getting the dog to stop the attack, considering as a good dog owner, you were supervising the situation? If the owner doesn't know much about Pitbulls many he will assume beating it over the head with a heavy object would do the trick. But it will not.

And also, many Pitbulls become homeless, because owners start to realize their mistake. These dogs cannot be let out to roam the streets, most places who shelter and adopt out dogs will not take them, some cities have banned them, and the only option is euthanizing them.

Since I am putting in more than my 2 cents, I would also like to add that Chow Chows are also I dog I would advise against, as in American emergency room reports, they do ridiculous damage to the people they attack, and have a high rate of attack. In my previous life where I worked with dogs for many years, I would never touch a Chow, or let any employees touch a Chow, until the owner had muzzled it himself.

I thought I would add this info because I see a fair amount of Chows in Thailand. Please, for Chow owners, or Pitbull owners, do not write me a bunch of negative stuff or call me a "Chow, Pitbull basher" as I simply hope that people who get dogs such as these, know what they are doing, don't take unreasonable risks, and don't hurt others through their lack of understanding. Okay, thanks and hope this advise helps someone.

Excellent post. MTW, thanks!

Nienke

[Nienke]

Thai dogs. 100%. Fantastic dogs. I've a Ban Kaew mix in the Center who was in the house recuperating when someone got a bit violent towards me. My own dogs did nothing. She jumped in & attacked, despite having a broken leg. Ridgebacks (d'you mean Lang Ans JG?) are also brilliant. Thai mutts (mix or pure) are the most faithful, loving, smart, dogs in the world IMO

Absolutely .... BUT .... they remain always one step behind the BOXER

Sorry, just couldn't resist

I could repost my picture if you want

Edited May 21, 2007 by Nienke

[Etrigan]

MTW - That's a brilliant post.

Thaddeus - yours was funny!

[Jet Gorgon]

Awww. Thaddy, I looked at your dog family snaps and sure miss Thai dogs. Big sigh.

[Old Man River]

For an in-house dog, you can't go wrong with a Poodle, they are frightened of nothing (Meemee even went for the horses on the beach at Hua Hin) not capable of causing any harm to an intruder, but boy will they make sure you wake up.

I have a poodle which stays indoors and is exactly as you describe. While not guard dogs, they are wonderful alarm dogs.

[AlexLah]

Quote MDW: The potential damage they can do

Yes exactly what I would be looking for when I wanted to protect my house and belongings.

(And your statement about pitbuls is based on what MDW)?

To the OP, what are you looking for?

Are you looking for some animal that alarms you when there are intruders or are you looking for an animal that can take them out?

If you choose for an animal that alarms you, are you willing to take out that intruder?

Think about it OP.

[Nienke]

Quote MDW: The potential damage they can do

Yes exactly what I would be looking for when I wanted to protect my house and belongings.

(And your statement about pitbuls is based on what MDW)?

To the OP, what are you looking for?

Are you looking for some animal that alarms you when there are intruders or are you looking for an animal that can take them out?

If you choose for an animal that alarms you, are you willing to take out that intruder?

Think about it OP.

The difference between a pitbull and another guard dog is that a pitbull bites, locks shakes and thread to pieces. They have a very low pain level, plus they will not recognize submissive or surrender signals of the other being once aggression has been triggered, but go on till death. Personally, I find that a little far stretched for being a guard dog.

MTW's statements are very first hand from her own (emergency) clinic back home, which she has owned for many years. She mentioned this in her post!

As mentioned before, Pitbulls can be very nice dogs to their families, but they are living time-bombs. Once the bomb goes off, it's pretty much impossible to stop them with enormous damage and often death as a result.

Nienke

[November Rain]

Quite honestly, I think "alarm dogs" as Alex puts it, are all that are needed in over 90% of cases here in Thailand. I've never come across a Thai, or farang, that will enter my garden without me escorting them. It might have something to do with there being 30 dogs, though... No, seriously, a vigilant barker is usually all that's needed here - and a lot easier to deal with & train than something like a pit-bull.

Edit - I work with dogs every day & have done for more than 3 years. I have owned dogs for 15 years (myself) & had them in my family all my life. Although I would take a pit bull into the center, if it was needed, I would not have one in my home with my 5 year old son. And in the center, I would deal with it personally, until I was confident that other staff could handle it sensibly.

Edited May 21, 2007 by November Rain

[thaigerd]

A Boxer would be very good as alarm dog from my experience.

Funny, friendly and a good family dog.............and as mentioned somewhere before, always good for a surprise

My two ladies are working perfect together:

Our "Big Boss"

comes only for support(barking):