The Best Guard Dog is a dog that you treat as part of your family. Dogs are Pack Focused animals, and as such, they will readily defend and give their lives for another member of their pack.
I have three dogs right now:
-The first of the three is a
Jack Russell Terrier of 7 years (From a Breeder on a Farm). She is a complete Alpha dog, and runs the others both in the house, and at the park lol. Whatever she does, the other Dogs of my pack will soon follow suit. If she barks at something, especially around my house, the others know that a situation is forming. Not to mention the sharp teeth which she has, which when combined with her speed, she could easily decapitate a Male attacker if you know what I mean
-The second is my sis' dog, a
JRT, mixed with a
Schnauzer (2 Years Old- Rescued from a Cardboard Box which was left at a Gas Station in SC). She is now the constant alarm, and she barks at ANYTHING which might be suspicious. She has a really loud, high pitched bark, and I can even hear it up the street when she is inside my locked/shut house. It is MORE than enough to deter someone who doesn't seek attention being drawn towards their nefarious activities.
-The third dog is my
Alaskan Husky (2 Years Old- From a Local Pet Shop which was supposed to be in Good Standing. Turns out, we essentially rescued her, as we found out later on how they willfully neglected the Pups), whose Non-Sibe Breed make-up consists of Akita. She stands about 24 Inches at the withers, and weighs in the 50lb. range, and she can pull like a Bucking Bronco/Bulldozer. She has EXTREMELY territorial and protective instincts, and at night she will Howl at people or dogs walking by. Just the other night I was out walking towards Blockbuster to drop a movie off at 1 AM, and even though it was mighty cold, I ran into two different strangers. The first began to approach down a path, and my AK Husky froze and went into that rigid Alert stance. She made a little grumble sound, and wouldn't move. As the person walked by, she started a deep guttural growl and became as firm as a rock. She then proceeded to actually PULL towards the person when he got too close, and I had to yank her back to prevent her from what seemed like her wanting to piece the stranger up. Then on the way back we ran into some Teens up to no good, and one got out of a car to walk by us, and she went ballistic barking at him. He walked WAAAAY around us in the grass as I held her back. Then just past the house where that occurred, she suddenly looked and barked towards the yard between houses, then I saw some kids running and hiding behind bushes while cussing, because they got busted toking some joints lol. She is also the First dog to charge the door when it opens, and if I walk somewhere out of sight, she will step in front of anyone who attempts to follow me, and proceed to growl at them.
Bottom line, I concur with some of the others on here (Kathy A11, Grapico) that the ideal situation is to get a Smaller, Alert Dog (Such as a Jack Russell Terrier), and if you wish, you can also get a bigger dog to enforce that Alert (Such as an Akita, or Huskies with Akita blood in them. Even Pure Siberian Huskies can be Protective if they see the need, but the Akita side adds even more Territoriality (which is seperate from the Pack factor in this case) ).
I will say however, that Akitas and Huskies really get dragged down in the heat. I live in VA, and we have some serious Summer Heat as well, which I hate, and my Husky hates it too. I also keep all of my dogs inside, except for walks, runs, or the park.
If you so choose to either invest in a cooling vest however, or to simply make your dog an indoor companion such as mine, then they will do alright in Florida. You just have to remember to take extra precautions against the possibility of them overheating.
BTW, NONE of my dogs are vicious. I cannot stress this enough. They are all the biggest goofs on the face of the Earth, and I treat them like family. I never beat them, always take them to their Vet, and always work them back to health when they fall ill. I absolutely love my Dogs, and I train them for the basics (Sit, Lay, Drop It, Leave It, Come Here, and even "Home" (They will dart to the Front Door and wait) ). I have NEVER trained them to Attack, or Guard, Bark, Howl, or Growl. My dogs are great with Friends and Family, and they all love even little kids, Cats, and non-Hyper Neighborhood Dogs. Through this regime, and through the way in which I include them in my "Pack", they are naturally Protective of my Family (lol even my Cat became Protective, she was the Toughest One), and even our Property to a certain extent.
REMEMBER: There is a MAJOR difference between "Aggression", and "Protectiveness". If you cannot recognize the difference, please educate yourself further on the matter before looking into the purchase of a "Guard Dog".
I do not know the laws in your jurisdiction, but fortunately where I live they have laws on the books which protect Dogs in certain cases wherein they attack an Individual.
In my State (The Commonwealth of Virginia), a Dog is justified in an attack if the "Victim" was:
"(i) committing, at the time, a crime upon the premises occupied by the animal's owner or custodian, (ii) committing, at the time, a willful trespass upon the premises occupied by the animal's owner or custodian, or (iii) provoking, tormenting, or physically abusing the animal, or can be shown to have repeatedly provoked, tormented, abused, or assaulted the animal at other times."
and in regards to the Dog itself:
"No animal that, at the time of the acts complained of, was responding to pain or injury, or was protecting itself, its kennel, its offspring, a person, or its owner's or custodian's property, shall be found to be a dangerous dog or a vicious dog."
As an end note, If you are willing to Take Care of, Protect, and Risk your life for your Dog, they pick up on this emotion, and reciprocate it towards you a Hundred Fold.
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