Watch dog yes guard dog no....

You answered the bit in bold yourself

If he has aggressive tendencies because he is nervous, then it would not be wise to rely on him to protect you should something happen.
A PP trained dog that is confident and self assured...that is the only type of dog that I would rely on to look after me!

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I wouldnt get a Border Collie bitch called Jessie for a watchdog as she barks at nothing, runs into the kitchen if somebody comes to the gate and hides behind my legs if something is scary![/QUOTE]

this is phoebe, she will bark untill the visitor is in the house but then hides, if they have high vis on then she will sit and watch them from the top of the stairs

I live on my own in a house that's quite isolated and when I decided to get two dogs I wanted a small one to act as a watch dog and a larger breed as my guard dog.

I'm now the proud owner of a Tibetan Spaniel who's a wonderful watch dog, but not without hours of training her not to bark at everything she saw or every noise she heard.

My "guard dog" is my Shar-Pei which is a breed that get very attached to their owner but without proper training can become over protective and even aggresive towards other people. I've worked hard with her to teach her (for lack of a better expression) to discriminate between "friend and foe".

It's hard to evaluate how successful you've been until the situation arises ... which it did a few weeks ago on our way back home from a walk. A car drew up with two men in it and one got out and started to ask me personal questions and I began to feel uneasy and decided to ignore him and carry on walking. but before we could move the second man then got out of the vehicle and tried to block our getting past ... but .. when he got to within 2 feet my Pei who'd been standing quietly by my side, started to growl and lunged at him. I've never seen two men move so fast ... they got back into the car and did a disappearing act!

I never said he was a guard/PP dog, he's just a gobby pain the backside who might happen to take out an attacker

Loui is definitely "different" at night. He has stopped an attempted (thanks to him) burglary and also chased off a "uninvited visitor" to the garden. Two separate occasions.


Well, I don't want my dog to "get his mouth full" but if Loui is really protective of me, there isn't sound! He has barked at drunks etc and they then leave us alone...but I have seen him when he really wants to "look after me" and the sound stops! It's almost eerie, he looks different..there's a 'stillness'....you can see every muscle.. That to me tbh says a lot more than if he were mouthing off! If he is gobby he is just saying stay away in the way he knows how.

I have guarding dogs. The instinct is to make a lot of noise. Dan is the really noisy one who would hide if it came to it. Rio would protect me. I know this because she has done. She is the more stable character of the two and isn't nervous or silly like Dan. She won't let people in the house if we are out, except for my mum and a couple of my friends. We once asked my FIL to go round to let her out for a wee when I was running late and she wouldn't let him in! All this is instinct. She wouldn't bite a stranger who was trying to get into the house, she barks and pins people. She would only bite if she was really pushed to it.

a good guard is not aggressive. I personally don't care if my dogs are not friendly to strangers. They just ignore them which suits me fine.

I think it depends on the breed.

Presa's are known for their guarding nature, and certainly this was true with Rocky - who had no guarding training at all.

Any noise and he just *had* to investigate, it was like a switch. He would not allow strangers into the house until he knew they were allowed in, at which point he would turn into a right old soppy dog.

Even when Rocky was relatively young he showed these characteristics - we had an electrician in once, who had been working upstairs rewiring the room, anyway we went up to see him and offer him some tea and he went off to the loo, 10 minutes later he returns and Rocky must have forgotten he was there and switched on his 'growl' and made the electrician back up to the wall. He didn't get too close to him but just pinned him there - until I said it was ok then he was fine with him. It was very interesting.

When I was at my mums we were in the Kitchen and my sister's husband was coming in through the back door, and as he stepped in I said 'whos that Rocky?' and he did the exact same - made him back up through the back door!

The thing I liked most about Rocky's guarding nature wasn't to protect me, but peace of mind when leaving him home alone when out shopping etc - I'm glad he was a dog that wouldn't have easily been stolen - I don't care about the materials/possessions I'd have been more gutted if he was stolen than my computer or TV.

There aren't too many other breeds that have such a strong guarding instinct. Fila's, and some of the other large breeds perhaps like Mastiffs etc

Thanks for all the replies.

I think perhaps it is true that people get a watch dog and a guard dog confused.

I just hear people quite a lot (infact I could even quote some posts on here) from people that say; I'm looking for a dog as a family pet but want a dog/breed that will protect my house / family. Therefore I purchased a GSD, rottie, dobe etc.

For all I know they may think the looks alone will deter intruders, however I think many people genuinely believe their guarding breed dog can do all the things I mentioned innately.

To me it seems a bit crazy to think a dog can behave great with all strangers, no barking growling, happy face etc to every single person that enters the house. However when someone rocks up with the intention of emptying your house of all belongings, the dog will know and rip their arm off and call the police.

To me, either a dog is unsure of strangers and barks/growls (like Kestral), will give a warning/alert bark and settle when told, or will greet everyone. I am aware dogs may take a like or dislike to certain people, but it seems to me you would need to train a dog specifically to bite/bark on command reliably.

Interesting hearing stories of those who have dogs who have warded of intruders though.