Choosing the best kid-friendly guard dog for your family’s protection is not an easy task. Certain personality traits in canine breeds can reduce training costs while increasing safety in your home. Courage and protective instincts are high in family protection dogs such as bullmastiffs, German shepherds, and rottweilers.
I once heard someone say that all dog breeds have the same protection characteristics, but nothing could be further from the truth. Many people assume that all dogs are just the same when they are not. While any dog breed is capable of protecting, not all are that especially good at it, nor are they all particularly good with kids.
Komondors, however, are well known for their love of playing with children, giant schnauzers enjoy following their little masters around, while pulis have radar-lock barking that can instantly alert your family to nearby danger.
Protective Instincts
The best child-friendly guard dogs show excellent performance for family protection tasks because they have more courage, greater stamina, fierce look, and many other characteristics necessary for that task. The list below will show you some of the highly recommended family guard dogs. Check them out and see what makes them belong to such a list.
Best Guard Dogs
The 10 best family guard dogs are not just the ones who keep your family safe from intruders, but the breeds that naturally fit into your home and will play an important role in your child’s protection and enjoyment.
- Bullmastiff
- German Shepherd
- Rottweiler
- Puli
- Komondor
- Giant Schnauzer
- Doberman
- Rhodesian Ridgeback
- Kuvasz
- American Staffordshire Terriers
- Bernese Mountain Dog
- Labrador Retrievers
- Golden Retrievers
- Bull Terrier
- Irish Setters
- Border Collie
- Irish Setter
- Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
- Boston Terrier
- Cocker Spaniel
- Boston Terrier
- French Bulldog
- English Springer Spaniel
- Alaskan Malamute
- Brussels Griffon
- Great Pyrenees
By comparing the personality and protection traits of these kid-friendly, you can make an informed decision about which dog breed will be the best fit for your family.
Bullmastiff
This dog breed isn’t all that intelligent. Bullmastiffs’ stamina isn’t that good either. Not to mention, this guard dog breed doesn’t bark that much. So, what makes Bullmastiff belong to the top family guard dogs list then? Well, it’s related to its courage and protective instinct. Bullmastiff is also quite agile in comparison to its size. This dog seems to be aware all the time and it’s also really loyal to the owner. What’s even greater – Bullmastiff can be so friendly to the other pets you have at home. It can even be friendly to your cats! Therefore, the Bullmastiff is our #1 choice for the best family guard dog and best watch dog.
German Shepherd
You may be familiar with this dog as a police dog. German Shepherd has such great protective instinct, also very well known for its intelligence and excellent stamina. As the part of trainability of guard dog skills, this dog is very easy to be trained. You can expect it to have so many talents including the particular one like to smell things from distances. Shepps are also very playful, so they will make an excellent companion for your kids.
Rottweiler
Next, we have Rottweiler. Without any doubt, this breed is well known for its capability to become excellent guard dog security. Rottweiler has a great character if looked at from a best outdoor guard dog for families perspective. Rottweilers are famous for their stamina. Don’t forget that this dog breed is also intelligent. You should also notice how friendly it can be to a family member remaining extremely protective. However, at the same time, this dog can be really dangerous to strangers. You should also understand that this dog breed needs to get through guard dog training first before you can expect it to be a good family guard dog because its nature is quite wild.
Puli
You should not be tricked by Puli’s cute appearance, even though originally, this dog breed is bred as a Shepherd, but its great caution towards the condition in its surroundings makes it one of the best options for the family guard dog you can find out there. That is why you should never underestimate this dog or you will only regret it later on. Once you have been targeted by Puli, it will start barking at you and its bark is very loud which makes it the best indoor guard dog. It’s quite surprising by considering the size of the body isn’t that big.
Komondor
As for the part of the best guard dogs, Komondor looks a lot similar to Pulis. Except the size is a lot bigger than Puli. Indeed, with such a size, you can also expect it to be more aggressive than a Puli. That is why Komodor can be taken as a good watchdog breed by considering the size and the courage. Not to mention, you can also expect this dog to play with your kids as well. Kids will love it because of its playfulness. Not to say, the appeal of this dog is also charming.
Giant Schnauzer
If you are looking for a medium-sized guard dog breed to protect your family and kids, you may want to consider a Giant Schnauzer. Giant Schnauzer’s size is not too big but when it comes to loyalty, this dog is one of the best guard dogs. And with that in mind, it’s reasonable to say that Giant Schnauzer is the one of best child-friendly dogs in the world. Its appeal is unique because it has a mustache. And it’s also really dominant. What’s so great to have this kind of dog is that it tends to follow the master around. Thus, if you have this dog, you will feel a lot much safer and protected.
Doberman
The next option from the best guard dogs is Doberman. This dog breed seems to be so complete. It has a fierce look that can make people quite terrified. It’s also strong and it’s also intelligent enough. What’s quite interesting about this dog is its origin. Doberman is a breed that comes from the combination of Rottweiler, Greyhound, and Terrier. It was Louis Doberman who combined those breeds. Louis Doberman was a tax officer, and he needed a good dog to protect him all the time as he usually carried a lot of money anywhere.
Rhodesian Ridgeback
You must never play around with this kind of dog. Rhodesian Ridgeback is originally a hunter. It’s been known to hunt lions which means that its courage is something you should not question at all. Just imagine if you have a Rhodesian Ridgeback as your black guard dog. With rather a ferocious character, terrifying appeal, and bark that can make you feel like your heart has dropped to the floor, you can expect great safety and protection for you, your family, and kids once such a dog is around.
Kuvasz
Because a Kuvasz looks similar to a sheep, you may think this dog breed has no place on the list of best family guard dogs. However, you should not worry at all about its ability to deal with guarding your home. The most significant characteristic of this dog to make it deserve the place in this list is about how it can stay in one post or point for a long time. Therefore, it is a good option for protection and a good guard dog you and your family can rely on.
American Staffordshire Terriers
The last option is American Staffordshire Terrier. This dog is a kind of pitbull and it’s so great for this purpose. The loyalty towards the master is out of the question. And yes, it has nice aggressiveness which can make strangers terrified. It’s also quite agile so you can count on it for some chasing.
Before You Buy
Before you go ahead and bring one of the best guard dogs home, you may want to read our article on things to consider before getting a new puppy or dog.
Many people today believe that they should get a dog for protection. It is noticeable with people who are not particular about owning a dog, yet you see them buying big dogs like a Mastiff or a Great Dane because they believe that these dogs can protect them. You will also notice that a lot of people have bully breeds of dogs such as the American Pit Bull Terriers and their mixes because they believe that these breeds of dogs will attack intruders. However, some people prefer to have their dogs trained in protection training, or they get a dog that is already protection trained.
Guard Dogs
Dog protection training is a very sophisticated dog training program that requires a good dog trainer to work with a dog and help him to understand the significance of the different actions that he has to perform. In protection training, the trainer has to have excellent skills and a perfect understanding of the drives that motivate a particular dog and requires that he provides excellent obedience work.
Because of all that protection training entails, an inexperienced trainer shouldn’t do the training alone. Protection training for dogs usually involves bite work, chasing an intruder, attacking someone, and any other lessons that can create a problem for the inexperienced trainer. During the training session, the trainer has to use a padded sleeve for protection.
Costs
If you decide to train a protection dog at home, then the very first thing you need to sort out is safety gear, and I mean decent, not some aftermarket one because you are risking losing your hand. If you seek our recommendations – look for Dean & Tyler products, as they offer professional gear. To begin with, you need a full arm bite sleeve (click here to check price on Amazon), later, as you progress, you can get a different type, but this is something that you will most likely keep coming back to. They also offer a great bite sleeve for puppies (Amazon link here).
Also, just a piece of advice – the professional gear for training a protection dog does cost a decent amount of money, especially if you start buying everything one by one. If you are a determined person and you know you aren’t going to stop after a few training sessions, then you can easily save hundreds of dollars by simply buying a full set of supplies at once, and it’s the stuff that will be handy at some point, especially if you are just starting. You can go for the fullest option that includes a pro bite suit (check price on Amazon), or just go for an option without a bite suit.
Not all dogs are suitable for protection training purposes. Many people believe that their dogs would guard them against intruders if they were ever threatened, so the question arises as to whether or not you have the right dog for protection training. It takes a dog with a special temperament and genetic background to do the real protection work. That’s the reason why German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois, and a few other such breeds are used to perform most protection work. For example, if you have a Border Collie and you want to train him to do protection training, just because he is a genius dog does not mean that he will perform well in guarding.
Protection Dogs
The reason may be that he does not have the character traits for protection work. However, a protection-trained dog is an invaluable asset to anyone who knows how to handle him. If you have been trained on how to handle your dog or if you and your dog have been trained together, you are already at an advantage. Therefore, depending on your situation, having a guard dog may be just the right thing for you.
Protection trained dogs are vital for police departments, drug enforcement agencies, and any other law enforcement organizations. They are specially trained by experts to work along with these organizations to assist them in the type of work they do. Furthermore, these organizations have people who are appropriately trained on how to handle protection trained dogs.
By now you must have already realized that a real guard dog is not for everyone because of the type of training that they have to go through. But you can still own one of the best guard dogs for families from the list above (even if your family is with children) and enjoy a new furry family member.