Pet or guard????  

We have an English Mastiff named "kitty" who is only 10 months old but weighs 150 pounds and stands 4 feet tall.... needless to say, she is a VERY effective guard dog... She only barks when someone comes to the door, but it's loud and deep enough to shake the house! lol
She looks big and scary, but anyone who knows anything about mastiffs knows that they are just REALLY BIG lap dogs! She couldn't be more mellow or sweet!
I like that she intimidates people... especially since I am often home alone with the kids... the people that visit our house on a regular basis are not scared by her, so the ones she DOES scare off shouldn't have been here in the first place! It works out!!!

hi masmasika!

i would like my dog to be both a pet and a guard. i think that would be the most use of a dog. if he can't be a pet, at least he should be able to guard the house and earn his keep. hhehehehe

take care @ merry christmas! :-0

My dog isn't so much for protection, but I do feel safer when she is with me. She is small, so she won't be able to protect me much, but she will at least let me know if someone is there or is trying to break in and maybe her barks will scare them away.

Panda sounds like a great dog.

I don't have a dog now, but Silver, the dog I grew up with, was more of a pet. We lived in a relatively safe area so when my dad got the dog for my sister and I (i was 11, my sister was 7) it was just supposed to be a pet. He was small, only 30 pounds, so he wouldn't be much of an attack dog, but he used to bark real loud when strangers came by, so I guess he would have been protective.

Well, my initial intention to have my dog is purely a pet.
I'm having a yellow labrador, she's already almost one and a half year now. She's really smart and lovely. As she's quite big sized, so we can't let her go into the house, she just stays in our front yard. She will bark at others if they parked their cars in front of my house, or some trucks passing by. It's good that she barks, so that I'm aware of some big cars passing by or someone parks in front of my house. So, she can become good guard dog too. She doesn't simply bark at anyone, she will bark based on her judgment, though I don't know how. Sometimes, when my friends come to my house, even for the first time, she doesn't bark at them too. ^_^

the dogs that i have always had were labradors so they arent very good guard dogs though they do bark and stuff if they see a stranger... atleast my labs do.....
but i am not sure if they would be like the german shepherds or rottweilers when it comes to guarding even if you train them......
some have the guarding streak in them but most dont.....
so for me my dogs have been mostly pets to play with rather than guard dogs....
now the dogs i will be taking will be mostly guard dogs as i would be taking them for security of the property purpose.....

I have 3 dogs. One was got 17 years ago as a combo pet, guard dog and for breeding. My mom used to raise pups - cocker spaniels. He's getting very old so now hes just a pet i love very very much.

I have a 2 year old bischon shih tzu that is just a pet...She thinks shes tough but she isnt much of a deterrent to the coyotes around the cows.

In September because my old cocker spaniel is getting deaf and blind I got a border collie husky cross as well...more to keep the coyotes and things out of my yard...and strangers. But hes a pet as well...although he's very destructive and drives me nuts.

I want a dog. Haha!

Our dog was more of a guard before he died, his soul rest in perfect peace. My future dog will definitely be more of a pet. I've not just had the chance to pamper a pet yet.

i would choose the dog over the guard. there is a very friendly and calming nature with dogs that we can never find with guards