My Old Tyme Bulldog makes a hell of a racket if he hears someone outside. However, if an intruder ever got in, Toby would be found hiding under our double bed. Lol

My GSDs are very vocal if there's anyone about (and Yiannis is loud regardless). But if anyone did break in, there are signs all over stating that GSDs are running loose and a snapping, snarling GSD is maybe what a burglar may expect.

Tashi on the other hand, with her much softer features, looks exceptionally aggressive when she curls up her lips and shows her teeth. It's not expected from a soft coated, fluffly, soft featured dog. Plus, she curls her lips up really high so you can see alot of her gums.

She, I think, would be far more of a deterrent based on looks. Although all 4 of them would be under the dining table or on the sofa hiding behind Oscar if anyone broke in.

With the GSDs just after WWII their temperaments were absolutely cr*p, my father's first GSD was one of these from the top dogs of the period & was PTS for biting my brother without any reason, if it hadn't been for my German bred GSD intervening my brother would have been badly bitten, my mother wasn't strong enough to get my father's bitch off my brother, but my bitch was.

There is no place in the UK for a dominant/territorial "guard"dog left alone-it's against the law for starters

geese.theyre the best guards there are.

now that i agree with!!! lol

I was going to say that too..lol
I was much more scared of my Grannies geese than her dogs ..

I worked in a stables once where they had a cockerel as a guard. No-one went near his territory without wellies and a pitchfork to fend him off, trust me. Evil little beggar!

Perhaps not here in the UK, especially as sheep are not driven to pasture on a daily basis as they are in Germany, also they are not "strip"grazed here as they are in Germany.

GSDs are not "sheepdogs"as understood here in the UK, even their shepherding trials are totally different to the sheepdog trials seen here in the UK

The UK is not the only country that has sheep & certainly in the Netherlands, Belgium & Germany their native breed sheep are not usually worked in the same way as here in the UK.

Why are GSDs favoured by the Police etc ? because they were bred to be tractable(willing to be trained) They only became popular after WWI before that the armed forces dogs of choice were Airedales, there were no Police dogs before WWI other than Bloodhounds used to track felons.

The Russians developed their own breed for use by the security forces, the Russian Black Terrier & just as other guarding breeds were developed in other countries

If you go back in history dogs that fought alongside the Armies were not the shepherding breeds they were the Mastiff type able to bring down a man or a horse unaided-even the Romans had"Dogs of War"

You have to bear in mind not just the nature of the breed, but also the law & some of the traditional guarding breeds are no longer suitable for purpose-not just because of health issues, but also their distinct lack of tractability & short working life.

If GSDs are a guarding breed why were they the first breed to be used as Guide dogs for the Blind ?? Bad press & poor specimins of the breed here in the UK lead the Labrador/Golden x Labrador etc to become the breed/crossbreed of choice.

My father in law owns a farm n Tenerife. His has free roaming geese on guard. They make a big noise if someone comes onto the land and they can also be vicious too.

My Kerry Blue male would be a good guard dog. Though originally bred as an all-purpose farm dog there aren't many in the UK still doing this job!

He is quite imposing as although not huge he is not a small dog either and has a loud bark.

Parker is quite alert as if we are out and he sees people doing things out of the ordinary he stops and watches them like in the case where there was someone using a metal detector on the park. He doesn't act "self-employed" however as he recalls back to me if I think he is going to bark at the person and possibly scare them but I find it reassuring that he is quite watchful. Having 2 medium-sized dogs with me should put people off mugging me as they don't know that Cherry would just hide behind me!

Cherry on the other hand would be absolutely useless as a guard dog as she rarely barks and would welcome any stranger into the home as a long-lost friend I think!