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My chocolate lab is my early warning system. Me and my Glock 23 are the response team. My lab is good about barking when she detects someone in the yard. A few days ago she started barking at 4 am. Turns out there was a moose just on the other side of the back yard fence. The one time I needed her early warning alarm she was at a kennel and we were in a motel room. At 0430 two thugs tried to break in through the glass balcony slider. I woke up before they breached the slider, grabbed my Glock 23 and went to the slider. As soon as they saw that pistol pointed at them they jumped over the railing and fled. So there may be times you need your dog, but he/she isn't with you.
That being said, not everyone is comfortable with a firearm or wants to be in the position of having to take a life. I'm retired military and LE, so I have the training and the capacity to use deadly force. But not everyone does. One of the worst things a person can do is present a weapon and not have the will to use it. In this case, the OP's friend will best be served by having a dog that will bark when it detects an intrusion in progress. The barking alone should scare off most criminals. Stun guns are not much protection. It's a one shot trick and the effects only last a few seconds. Civilian pepper spray is pretty much useless. LE pepper spray is much more effective, but generally not sold to civilians. And a flashlight? Please. Yes, I've seen the popup ads. They're so much BS. All a flashlight does is pinpoint your position while the bad guy bum rushes you. Even if it's strobing. For protection, I would get a German Shepard. They are an excellent protection dog.
The big concern with her having a gun is that she is so small - if she hesitated she could easily be overpowered and then the gun's on her. And I'm pretty sure she would hesitate.
Rather than pepper spray or a flashlight, I've told her she should get an airhorn, like they use for kids' soccer games. Her neighbors are close enough that they'd be awakened.
I like 12paw's Rhodie suggestion. I've met a few that were big jerks, but also some that are very sweet. They were originally bred to hunt frickin' lions. GSDs are kind of a crapshoot these days.
............She is profoundly uncomfortable with the idea of firearms however,............ I suggested she get a dog - preferably one with a horrifying bark - instead........
Dogs are very good at preventing your average burglary or mugging. If a real wacko decides he wants you, there isn't much that will really protect you, not even a firearm, unless you can awaken instantly and you have extensive training. I recommend a pump action shotgun for home protection. You don't have to aim and just the sound of the round being racked in will stop most burglars unless they are so high on dope that their brain stopped functioning months ago. Shotgun plus extensive and ongoing training and practice.
What type of dog depends upon what sort of protection you are hoping for. A little dog will make noise and wake you up, then you can take over. A little dog might not stop a burglar if you are not home. A neighborhood I lived in had a ring go through and empty all the houses, furniture and everything,. A neighbor had an adorable little Shetland Sheepdog and fortunately, all they did to that dog was to lock him in a closet while they stripped the house. Every house on the block was stripped except for two: the house around the corner with a nasty German Shepherd, and mine, with 2 German Shepherds and 2 Scottish Deerhounds. I had my outer door broken into, but they stopped when they could see the very large dogs through the ripple glass front door.
A small dog won't protect you from muggers, while a big dog will probably move them on to an easier victim.
If the dog is expected to do more than make noise and raise an alarm, then one of the breeds developed for protection is the best option. Burglars are afraid of their reputation and those breeds are very likely to take action against a threat.
If the friend has not had a dog before, and wants a kind natured dog that will protect only when provoked, and if the friend has some money, I recommend a Leonberger. The Leonberger has the size and the intimidating stare. He's alert to what is going on around him and he will defend his family with his life, but it is difficult to provoke him to bite, so he isn't going to bite the neighborhood kids when they get rowdy. The breed was developed as a companion breed, so they make a good house dog. They need exercise but will be calm in the house.
If your friend is seriously frightened, I recommend a protective dog plus a firearm, preferably a shotgun, and lots of training with both. Firearms training and the dog needs extensive obedience training. If a protection dog does not have beautiful manners, he tends to be shut away when there is company and he does no good behind a closed door.
When my sisters collie died she went several years without a dog.During those years someone broke into her home while she was at work and stole some things. The cops said " you should get a dog as just the barking tends to make someone think twice about breaking in". He claimed most break ins happen at homes without dogs. She ended up getting a mutt at the shelter I will attach a photo. She is a medium sized cute shaggy dog but she can bark and look vicious when she needs too. I do not think it has to be a specific breed. All my dogs but Phoenix (who was deaf) and Dazzle the sighthound who does not bark when someone knocks on the door or when he hears something have been good alert dogs but not excessive barkers that annoy my neighbors as I live in a condo.
My home has never been broken into while some of my neighbors have. When I had Jazz one of my neighbors heard her barking one night while I was at work and thought something must be up because she does not tend to hear my dogs bark at night so she looked out and saw someone trying to open another neighbors window so she yelled out her window and frightened the guy off. When she told me about it she said I feel safer because of your dog as she seems to know when people who do not belong here are around. Which was very true as nothing got past that dog and she knew who the neighbors and their frequent visitors were so would not bark when she heard them but she would alert me to people she did not know being around.
Anyway here is my sisters frightening dog see even cute shaggy muppets can work as even they can bark and look vicious if needed.
My friend is a very gentle and kind-hearted person, but assertive when she has to be. This dog will be with her all the time, and will need to be able to get along with other dogs and kids.
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The house is a condo, so not a lot of room. My friend isn't sedentary though, so long walks and hikes would be a part of the equation.
I have a black & tan Coonhound rescue that fits this profile perfectly.
She is 50 lbs, the color of a Doberman or Rottweiler, barks deep & loud, but is a sofa surfer and never moves all day unless we go for a walk, and she loves going hiking.
Last edited by convextech; 08-23-2016 at 10:14 AM..
Ridgebacks are a crap shoot too, and the link to them should not be taken lightly! Especially the same sex aggression in a populated area (condos).
I am strong, but I am also 5'3" so a strong dog could take me down. Getting through adolescence is a lot of work with a large strong dog that might not like other dogs, or small dogs is just not the best dog for an area with lots of interaction.
If she could find a rescue, great. But I also think as you put it as a deterrent (looks) most people on first glance will see yellow lab.
Go black! lol whatever it is, and not floppy ears.
A few times I had people approach me with my Komondor, because he was cute. It took everything I had, and I actually had to sit down to hold him back a few times, because people would NOT listen to me when I calmly said don't approach. By then he was staring at them and standing still when I repeated myself calmly and said "go away slowly".
Had I screamed it at them (like I wanted to) he would have been in high gear protection mode faster. I had to quit walking him where there were people who might approach. Even from afar they would start and I would head the other way saying "not a labradoodle!"
But the GSD, they avoid like the plague, mind you he came from a working breeder, and though from generations tested he still has hip dysplasia. He does not have rock hard nerves as they are referred to (IMO), but he is well behaved, and is a sweet, physical deterrent because he looks scary, and has a big bark.
Still.... If a dog comes running up to us now (age 4), he will try to protect me from it, which could be a cause for disaster. I think she would be in the same position with a ridgeback.
Just more to think about. Btw, carry bear spray when I am in the wilderness, or where I think stray dogs might bother us. But..... I could easily get it in my dogs eyes, or mine if there is wind. It is a great thing to have around, but she should practice with it as well.
Years ago we had a Schipperke and it was a fierce and very sharp watchdog and also about 20 lbs: Schipperke Dog Breed Information - American Kennel Club Ours did not like to be left alone, not demanding of attention though when we were present.
When my sisters collie died she went several years without a dog.During those years someone broke into her home while she was at work and stole some things. The cops said " you should get a dog as just the barking tends to make someone think twice about breaking in". He claimed most break ins happen at homes without dogs. She ended up getting a mutt at the shelter I will attach a photo. She is a medium sized cute shaggy dog but she can bark and look vicious when she needs too. I do not think it has to be a specific breed. All my dogs but Phoenix (who was deaf) and Dazzle the sighthound who does not bark when someone knocks on the door or when he hears something have been good alert dogs but not excessive barkers that annoy my neighbors as I live in a condo.
My home has never been broken into while some of my neighbors have. When I had Jazz one of my neighbors heard her barking one night while I was at work and thought something must be up because she does not tend to hear my dogs bark at night so she looked out and saw someone trying to open another neighbors window so she yelled out her window and frightened the guy off. When she told me about it she said I feel safer because of your dog as she seems to know when people who do not belong here are around. Which was very true as nothing got past that dog and she knew who the neighbors and their frequent visitors were so would not bark when she heard them but she would alert me to people she did not know being around.
Anyway here is my sisters frightening dog see even cute shaggy muppets can work as even they can bark and look vicious if needed.
I have a similar story. I lived in the same house for 16 years. During that time, I had a GSD living with me until he died of old age. In the few months that passed before I bought another dog, my house was broken into for the first and only time. A few months later, I brought my next GSD home and had no other break ins. The police officer told me that it was actually common for burglars to hit entire neighborhoods and skip houses with large dogs inside. I know the neighbors were each hit a few times during the 16 years I lived next to them - one owned a couple of cats, the other had a Yorkie. I will never really know for sure, but don't think that the only time my house was broken into also being the only time I have lived without a large dog in the house as nothing more than coincidence.
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see even cute shaggy muppets can work as even they can bark and look vicious if needed.
