Dog Breeds Explained Logo

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.


Subscribe to Dog Breeds Explained News for
training tips, buying tips, dog profiles and more.
Email

Name

Then

Don't worry -- your e-mail address is totally secure.
I promise to use it only to send you Dog Breeds Explained News.

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.

Guard dogs explained. Doberman dog picture

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

Guard dogs explained. German shepherd picture

G

German Shepherd
Greater Swiss Mountain Dog

H

Hovawart

I

Icelandic Sheepdog

K

Kangal Dog
King Shepherd
Komondor
Kunming Dog

Guard dogs explained. Boxer puppy dog picture

M

Moscow Watchdog

N

Neapolitan Mastiff

P

Perro de Presa Canario
Perro de Presa Mallorquin
Pit Bull

Guard dogs explained. Bullmastiff dog picture

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.



Guard Dogs Links

Guard dog explained. Australian cattle dog picture

Guard dogs - Sportwaffen K9 is the product of my lifelong love and interest in dogs. As a kid I'd wake up, and my dog and I would go hiking up into the forestry behind our farm. I loved the outdoors and I loved my dogs so these were the best of times. Watching my dogs, I was always amazed seeing them work in drive and their abilities to effortlessly cover ground, hunt, and sense things I couldn't see. On more than one occasion my dogs defended me or alerted me to things unseen.

Police dog trainers - Police dog training, K9 training for bomb dogs, guard dogs, search and rescue dogs (sar dogs), narcotic detection dog, home protection and executive protection dog and obedience training from the worlds leading trainer Pat Beltz from Work Dogs International, Inc.

Guard Dogs for Predator Control - Guardian dogs are receiving a lot of attention for controlling predators. Five years of research with 60 livestock guardian dogs at the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station in Dubois, Idaho, concluded that the success rate of using guard dogs was over 60% when trained properly and only 10% of the dogs were rated as poor. Hampshire College New England Farm in Amherst, Mass., also reported excellent results of sheep protection with guardian dogs.





Commercial Dog Food is Killing Your Dog!

Bull Mastiff

Find out why. Go to Dog Food-Secrets






Stay Informed!
Bookmark Dog Breeds
Explained Now!


button

Newsletter

Commercial Dog Food is Killing Your Dog!

Dog food secrets book
Find out why. Click the link Dog Food Secrets






[ ?] Subscribe To
This Site

XML RSS
Add to Google
Add to My Yahoo!
Add to My MSN
Add to Newsgator
Subscribe with Bloglines




Subscribe to Dog Breeds Explained News for training tips, buying tips, dog profiles and more.

Email

Name

Then

Don't worry -- your e-mail address is totally secure.
I promise to use it only to send you Dog Breeds Explained News.