Best All Around Dog for TEOFTWAWKI

[Denim Deb]

I've always like black dogs and cats. In fact, when I get a dog, I want a black one.

 

[Wifezilla]

If there is a specific piece of information you think is wrong, by all means post it. A general statement that this thread is full of misinformation without citing a specific instance is not very helpful. As for family dogs not being protective, it took me all of 2 seconds to find several news articles. Now I would not COUNT on the friendly family dog as a protection dog, but it can and does happen.

http://newsblog.projo.com/2009/02/scituate-woman-1.html
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09185/981716-62.stm
http://www.foxbaltimore.com/newsroom/morning/videos/vid_38.shtml
http://www.dogguide.net/25-hero-dogs.php

 

[SKR8PN]

I owned 2 Cocker Spaniels in my lifetime. My first and my last all wrapped up in one dog. He was THE hard headed-est, sneakiest, thieving, would bite without a reason psychopath dog I ever encountered. Just before my divorce he bit a UPS delivery man, in the crotch! During the divorce I told the soon-to-be x that she had a choice to make. Either she take the dog, or I was going to plant him in the back yard. She took him with her, and he went on to bite a postman, one of her neighbors and the Vet as he was putting him down. He was a NASTY little bastard. Ruined the breed for me. I still get a twinge every time I see one. LOL!LOL!

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

A general statement that this thread is full of misinformation without citing a specific instance is not very helpful.

yeah.. i was kinda thinking the same thing too. but as with most things - throw 2 or more dog trainers in a room and there will be a brawl over what is right.

as far as black vs white - i've got two big white reasons for bad guys to run for their lives! and fear is a huge deterrent. this is why i think a couple of dogs is best. two or more dogs working together hits a person pretty viscerally.

as for running off after being hit... i think thats a pretty broad statement. is it true with the neighbors family dogs? yep but not with mine - but they have different jobs than a 'family dog' so maybe my experience is different.

i'd do shutzhound in a hot second with Ti if i could afford the liability.

 

[Dooley]

Australian Shepherd! Athletic, easily trainable, good for herding, protection, pulling work, tracking and hunting. Is a good watchdog, generally suspicious of strangers. They run about 30-70 pounds (generally 50 pounds) They come in red and merle, and black, if you're going for the dark, dangerous look . Can run for miles and miles every day, or curl up for days in a bunker without going insane. Excellent SHTF personality, look and skill set. Will always make you laugh, and will, with minimal training, scare the pants off whoever you want. Doesn't eat much, either.

Downsides? All that poofy hair on their butt gets burrs in it.

 

[rebecca100]

I just have to add this story. When I ws a kid around 10 my parents were having a yard sale and had gone inside while I stayed outside with my mutt(sheltie mix with mini dachshund we think) Laddie and watched it. Anyway, my Laddie loved everyone and never showed any agression ever. He was a big mush that weighed a whole 10 lbs. Anyway a man pulled up and got out. I walked over to the tables with the dog and spoke to the man. Anyway to make a long story a little shorter Laddie tried his best to get the man when he stepped towards me. I grabbed Laddie up and was holding him as he struggled to get loose and viciously attack the man. Totally freaked me out. I had NEVER seen him be agressive at all and didn't know what to do other than try to hold him. It was like a different dog. The man made a remark that he didn't think my dog liked him and beat a quick retreat back to his car. All the while Laddie was somwhat resembling a ticked off possum. We never did find out what caused Laddie to attack the man unprovoked, but until the day he died he never did it again and always stayed his big mush self. He must have sensed something about the man is all I could figure. After that incident I didn't go out to meet people by myself. I went inside and got one of my parents! So I guess even a little, mushy mutt could become a protector dog when needed!

 

[tortoise]

The first thing that made me was someone's statement on dobermans being good protection dogs. Go to any bitework venue, you won't see a doberman winning on a regional or national level.

Why?

Dobermans were bred to be a dog that stayed close to the handler. (The breed was created out of shelters mutts in Germany by Herr Dobermann, a tax collector.)

The breed USED TO BE used for protection, but once conformation enthusiasts got their hand on the breed, it went to ^*$#. (As does every working breed that gets into the show or pet ring.)

Some decent Dobermanns were able to be imported from Germany 20 years ago, but it is virtually impossible to get a decent working Doberman.

If someone does try to use a Doberman in bitework, there is special conditioning needed that is specific to the breed. Dobermans (I hate generalizing a breed, but almost every) has touch sensitivity. They might engage, but they won't touch or will disengage and flee if touched or hit. If this touch sensitivity is not worked on from puppies, it can make future bitework impossible.

Remember, it's not just a bite that is needed, but a bite AND HOLD. That doesn't magically happen without training.

Dobermans are a nice deterrent dog. People remember when they were true protection dogs and they see Dobermans represented that way in the media. They are a dark dog, a distinctive look, and they have a big bark that very few would challenge.

But temperament-wise more likely to be a velcro-dog housepet.

 

[savingdogs]

Thanks Tortoise, you just gave me the way to describe this dobie-ridgeback I have to the owner adopting him! He is EXACTLY like a dobie in the respect you just mentioned.

Thank you so much, that was an extremely educational comment for me. I have not fostered any purebred dobies and I see this difference in this "dobieback" temperment from a true ridgeback and I knew it was the dobie in him coming out. But not having fostered dobies I have not lived with one, only worked with them at the vet's. I like the breed a lot, but a friend of mine who kept them exclusively and fostered them exclusively was actually nipped a lot so I let her take them all.

This dobieback I have right now did bite me when he caught his toe in the wire crate door and I was trying to free him. I knew it was a fear bite reaction but not exactly how to describe it to them. I find it very interesting to work with breed "blends" and see how the different lineage and breeding contributes to the eventual dog, although I never promote breeding dogs myself (against my religion as a dog rescuer, no offense to anyone here).

I'm finding this thread very informative!

 

[tortoise]

If there is a specific piece of information you think is wrong, by all means post it. A general statement that this thread is full of misinformation without citing a specific instance is not very helpful. As for family dogs not being protective, it took me all of 2 seconds to find several news articles. Now I would not COUNT on the friendly family dog as a protection dog, but it can and does happen.

http://newsblog.projo.com/2009/02/scituate-woman-1.html

That story is useless. It doesn't state what the dog DID. "attacked" Could mean anything from jumping on him, drooking on him. It mever states the dog bite. The dog was a distraction. A life-saving distraction. But it doesn't come close to a bite and hold.

It was lucky/fortunate. It's a good ending.

But if you're talking SHTF, you need better than hoping Fluffy jumps on someone long enough the cops can come.

THIS is face attack / courage test on a young dog. (Germand Shepherd Dog) Long ways to go.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vXfjPj6M1w

Here is a carjacking scenario (American Pit Bull Terrier)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTI2z2dBTro

Home invasion scenario (Belgian Malinois) This is the first time these YOUNG dogs have seen this scenario.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aalKFj31U9U

This is my friend's dog (Rottweiler). He was one of the best Rottweilers for protection work. After someone tried to break into my house, he was going to give me his dog. I couldn't afford the cost of shipping the dog. My friend has since died. Anyhow, here is him with his dog: http://www.youtube.com/user/chrismichalek#p/search/2/n9EbGPHQm_0

I don't want some Spot or Fluffy. When my dog dies, I'm buying a dog to train in protection. Fench Ring and PSA. Ain't mobody gonna mess with me!

 

[savingdogs]

I just have to add this story. When I ws a kid around 10 my parents were having a yard sale and had gone inside while I stayed outside with my mutt(sheltie mix with mini dachshund we think) Laddie and watched it. Anyway, my Laddie loved everyone and never showed any agression ever. He was a big mush that weighed a whole 10 lbs. Anyway a man pulled up and got out. I walked over to the tables with the dog and spoke to the man. Anyway to make a long story a little shorter Laddie tried his best to get the man when he stepped towards me. I grabbed Laddie up and was holding him as he struggled to get loose and viciously attack the man. Totally freaked me out. I had NEVER seen him be agressive at all and didn't know what to do other than try to hold him. It was like a different dog. The man made a remark that he didn't think my dog liked him and beat a quick retreat back to his car. All the while Laddie was somwhat resembling a ticked off possum. We never did find out what caused Laddie to attack the man unprovoked, but until the day he died he never did it again and always stayed his big mush self. He must have sensed something about the man is all I could figure. After that incident I didn't go out to meet people by myself. I went inside and got one of my parents! So I guess even a little, mushy mutt could become a protector dog when needed!

We had a similar incident. We went camping with a good friend and my daughter was about seven. We had a nice older dog, lab/pit, who loved everyone. For some reason, when our good friends brother arrived, the dog could not stand him. She would not let him get near our daughter. It was a problem for the whole weekend and we kept apologizing to him, but we thought it was strange and did keep our daughter away from the man because the dog had never done that. We always wondered what she knew about him.

Years after the dog was dead, we learned the man was arrested for pedophilia. Of course our good friend had never known about her brother, but our dog was trying to tell us.

When a dog "good" with people has a strange reaction to someone, I usually pay close attention now.