Guard Dogs

"Guard dogs, also known as watch dogs, or sentry dogs are dogs employed to guard against, or watch for, unwanted or unexpected animals or people."

Guard dogs and watch dogs bark to alert their owners of an intruder's presence.

The barking is also an attempt at scaring away the intruder.

Occasionally, guard dogs are trained to attack human intruder(s), though this practice might be locally illegal.

Some dog breeds are excellent watchdogs but not so excellent guard dogs.

Some dogs bark loudly to alert their masters of intruders but are not given to attack behavior.

Many of the now prominent guardian breeds started as multipurpose dogs, but then developed over many years into guardian breeds.

Some breeds were originally bred for hunting, but their large intimidating look and territorial instincts have helped them evolve into guard dogs in todays society.

Others like Doberman's were specifically designed as guard dogs.

All guard dogs are classed as working dogs.

The classification covers many breeds across a wide range of different types. These dogs are easily trained and respond well to commands.

Female dogs tend to make better personal guardians than males, due to their natural instinct to protect their young.

However, males are better for guarding property because they are more territorial than females.

Perhaps the best way to find a guard dog is to look at the history of the breed. Dogs like mastiffs have been used in the guard role for centuries.

These dogs have had the territoriality literally bred into them typically by killing those who fail at their job.

Two of the most successful guard dogs include the German short-hair pointer and the Chesepeak Bay Retriever.

These two dog breeds are so aggressive that it limits their popularity. They are also very dominant breeds and should not be owned by inexperienced owners.

Guard Dogs Explained

Below is a list of breeds comonly used as guard dogs:

A

Akita Inu
Alano Espaņol
American Bulldog
Argentine Dogo
Askal
Australian cattle dog

B

Bandog
Beauceron
Black Russian Terrier
Boerboel
Bouvier des Flandres
Boxer
Bulldog
Bullmastiff
Bully Kutta

C

Cane Corso
Canis Panther
Caucasian Ovcharka
Chow Chow

D

Danish Broholmer
Doberman Pinscher
Dogo Guatemalteco
Dogue de Bordeaux

F

Fila Brasileiro

G

German Shepherd
Greater Swiss Mountain Dog

H

Hovawart

I

Icelandic Sheepdog

K

Kangal Dog
King Shepherd
Komondor
Kunming Dog

M

Moscow Watchdog

N

Neapolitan Mastiff

P

Perro de Presa Canario
Perro de Presa Mallorquin
Pit Bull

R

Rhodesian Ridgeback
Rottweiler

S

Saint Bernard
Shiloh Shepherd Dog
Šarplaninac

T

Tibetan Mastiff

W

Weimaraner

Guard Dogs Trivia

The original Saint Bernard was used for alpine rescue in the Saint Bernard Pass by the monks. An avalanche killed off many of the dogs used for breeding. The Saint Bernards had to be bred with larger dogs like mastiffs that gave it the large size and the guard dog instinct we know the Saint Bernard to have today.

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