A good rescue org also won’t give a dog to just anybody who can come up with the cash, unlike an irresponsible breeder or a pet store- they will try to make sure that the temperament of the dog you’re getting is right for you. They probably wouldn’t let you take a dog with a serious temperament problem unless you proved to them that you knew what you were getting into and could deal with it, either.
It’s also a bit cold-blooded to mention, but a good rescue organization will also make a judgement about which dogs can be saved, and which can’t, too.
The best example of this, that I can think of, is the work of the Greyhound rescue organiztions: There are so many dogs involved in racing that they can’t possibly find homes for all of them, and so they only try to save those who are of the best temperments.
All of the following are broad generalizations based on personal experience and may bear no resemblance to reality–as always buy a dog from a reputable breeder and do your research.
Akitas, most asian breeds as far as I know, tend to be very independant, very dominant type dogs, and very “one person” dogs. They are attractive, but definitely not first-time dog owner dogs, unless you’re very dedicated and knowledgeable.
Staffies, as others mentioned, make lousy watchdogs. They looooooooooves them some people and will likely invite burglars in with wagging tails and point them to the refrigerator. They’re great people dogs and great kid dogs, not good companion dogs for multiple dog households, for obvious reasons.
Rhodys are hit and miss, from what I understand. South African bred dogs have a tendancy to be hard, dominant type dogs. American bred Rhodys are softer with much different temperaments, and are (from the working dog folks I know) much, much more prone to health problems. No one I know is remotely interested in an American bred Rhody for working dog purposes. YMMV depending on what exactly you’re looking for in your pet/companion.
Bullmastiffs (no personal experience, just know a few as pets and such) are prone to health problems, are very intimidating looking, which for most folks is plenty deterrant for the casual thief or mugger. They can be dominant. They are big droolers. The brachycephalic face can cause them to have lower endurance and not tolerate heat or heavy excercise.
Shiloh Shepherds are GSDs bred for size and for a good pet personality. They’re prone to pano and hip problems. No serious standard and they’re grossly expensive for a young “breed” with no real standard or test for excellence. I have researched these dogs and fairly quickly decided against one for those reasons. They may very well make great pet dogs, but that’s not what I wanted, so
YMMV and all that.
It depends on what you mean by “trainable”–as someone mentioned, herding and gundog breeds are very “trainable,” want to please and want to work. Your list of breeds doesn’t include dogs that would rank high on an easily trainable list of breeds. However, the dogs listed are not necessarily “untrainable”–you’ll just need different tricks in your bag, different expectations, different tactics in training, and lots of patience. As a rule, bully breeds are stubborn and need a firm hand and lots of consistency.
“Watchdog” means a lot of things to a lot of people, in general, any barking dog is going to deter a thief. Any sizeable dog is going to keep an intruder from coming into your house, even if the thief doesn’t know the dog is going to greet him with tail wagging. If you want a trained protection dog, you’re going to need to do a lot of very in-depth research to find a breed suitable for you and for the training you want to do. We do Schutzhund work, which is very different from French Ring Sport, which is different from KNPV or personal protection work or property guarding, etc etc.
When my husband went to adopt a puppy, the people at the Humane Society tried to talk him out of the one he chose. He picked a puppy who was sitting quietly over by the wall. She was one of a litter which had been abandoned immediately after birth, and as the staff said, was “over due” to be put down. They warned him that the puppy may have been exposed to Parvo, and that it seemed to be ill, but he insisted that this was the puppy he wanted.
He told me later that he knew that this was the puppy that needed our home the most-- she was unlikely to be adopted by anyone else. We were both also prepared for the struggle that making her healthy and well-adjusted would be. The staff didn’t know this, of course, and they were worried.
It was touch-and-go for a while. She didn’t know how to drink and wouldn’t eat. She had a massive infestation of worms and a bad stomach infection. It was a while before we were able to take her out for socialization, so she missed out on several crucial steps. She’ll never be “quite right.” She’s shy and skittish and has a very nervous temperment, but we work with her to try to help her get over her issues.
All of my dogs are “problem” dogs. My youngest came from an abusive home, and my oldest is a stubbon, picky, grumpy creature. But I love them, I’m glad I can give them a happy home. It’s a very rewarding experience. However, I wouldn’t recommend it for the “casual pet owner.” It’s extremely time-consuming, akin to raising a human child.
All of our cats are problem cats, so I know where you’re coming from.
I don’t have much to add to the thread other than the Mastiff-derived breeds I’ve known, Saints and Newfs, are wonderful dogs, but not the cleverest fuzzballs on four feet. And they can be very stubborn.
A big breed I haven’t seen metioned that I’ve really enjoyed interacting with is the Malamute. Perhaps someone knows enough about the breed to say if they might be worth looking into. The ones I’ve met have been extremely friendly, smart, very people-oriented, but obviously large and intimidating.
Good for you. My point is, there’s people who should take in “problem” dogs, and people who shouldn’t, and a good rescue program can probably tell the difference. (A first-time dog owner is almost but not quite certainly in the “people who shouldn’t” category)
We have an Akita.
Get him into obedience school early, and he can be a trained dog.
I’ve found him to be a much “easier” dog than any smaller dog I’ve had. Basically, in the house, he might as well be a rug. Outdoors, he’s active and happy. He’s clean, smart, and alert. He’s a great watch dog, with a fearsome growl/bark, and is very quick to accept a child or adult as a friend AS LONG AS WE HAVE INDICATED THAT PERSON IS A FRIEND.
When my wife walks him, he will stand between her and strange men if he doesn’t like him.
However, he can be dog-aggressive. If he meets a male (particularly an intact male) for the first time, he wants to put him down, and if he’s off leash and wants to tussle, he can’t really be controlled by your voice. He also likes to wander. We keep him on leash.
However, if he knows a dog, or has established the pecking order, he’s gentle and playful.
If you’re looking for a dog that can run and play with other dogs for all his days, he’s not your dog. In all other respects, I’ve found him to be, essentially, a perfect dog.
I’ll second this. I have a Springer Spaniel/Border Collie mix, and heis constantly trying to outsmart me and my wife.
Before you laugh, try to remember that the dog wants what it wants. Newton has been known to steal something frommy wife, run off with it, and then, when my wife goes to get what he stole, he’ll flash back to her ice cream and gulp it down.
On the other hand, the teaching is easy once you work out the Alpha issue. I suspect the smart ones take other criteria into their decision-making process as to who’s Alpha, though.
My dog can do the NYT X-word faster than I can.
-Cem
Have you considered an Irish Wolfhound?
It sounds like you want as big’un, and something good as a watchdog.
I had one live next door to me for years, and he was huge. Terrifying just on size, and they have that look that can scare, too.
I don’t know if they bark, though…which is the best deterrent. And to be honest, I think they’d probably lick the intruder to death rather than attack.
Forget it!
Ok, a little off topic, but one of my dogs, ( a heinz 57 with some wolfhound in him) at times can seem so dopey and thick but that big turd is actually rather bright.
One of his smart ass tricks is to ‘moof’ at me while I’m sleeping, then trot to the door, making like he has to go pee. When I get up and go to the door, which is only 5 feet from the bed, the butthead dashes up onto the bed and plops on my spot.
Damn smart dog. :mad:
Thanks for the advice. I am willing to do what is necessary to raise a well trained and socialized dog. I certainly do not want an aggressive uncontollable dog but one that will bark and look intimidating to intruders. I figured a dog that is trainable would be easier to handle.
I hear about shilohs but I hear there are health problems and problems amongst the registries. I have met sweet tempered staffies before but I didn’t know if that was the typical staffie temperament.
I guess I will keep on looking.
My dog has learned how to stop my husband from snoring. Not that I’m complaining. 
Had I not witnessed it several times myself, I would not believe it. One noght, he started snoring loud enough to make the windows rattle. Polaris gave a loud groan, heaved herself to her feet, and leapt up on the bed. She approached my husband with the slinking grace of a lion on the Sarenghetti and stopped a cautious few inches from his face. When she was sure she had not been detected, she snaked out her tongue and licked his face. Hubby gave a snort-grunt, shifted, and went back into sleep.
Polaris hunkered down, her eyes alert and her ears perked. She was poised for another assault, but knew she had to be careful-- if he woke from one of her licks, he would angrily order her to leave him alone and get off the bed.
Soon, he began to snore again, so she slowly raised herself and crept forward and gave him another tiny lick. “Mmrrmpgh!” Hubby said, and rolled over to his side. Polaris waited. He began to snore again, and she repeated her careful lick. This time he grunted and rolled completely over, which stops him from snoring.
Task accomplished without detection, she nimbly jumped from the bed and curled up on her pillow.
I trained her with the Clicker Method, which is great for moderately intelligent dogs. Really smart dogs use it to train you.
I was following my trainer’s suggestions for teaching the command “off.” Whenever she would leap up on the sofa with me, I would tell her “off” and reward her with a treat when she did. It only took three or four times to figure out what I really wanted, and then she started going over to the sofa just so I would give the command and she could get a treat for obeying.
She sprained her leg a couple of months back, and the vet put her on an anti-inflamatory. For some reason, she refused to eat the pill. (I’ve never had problems with any of my other dogs eating this pill.) So, I started putting it inside a bit of hotdog. She quickly figured out that if she managed to seperate and spit out the pill, I would curse and pick it up, and stuff it in a *second *piece of hotdog. I swear, her eyes gleamed with pride at this cleverness. I solved it by giving her an offering of two pieces, placing them both on the floor in front of her. If the prescription hadn’t run its course, I think she probably would have figured out how to bargain for a third piece.
I’m pretty sure that is a really bad thing to do, as rolling over is the most extreme form of submission and only happens when the dog thinks it’s going to die, so doing this to puppies is really traumatizing.
Is it? :eek: I’ve had dogs roll over to get their bellies rubbed when I’m petting them (and seem to enjoy it)- do they really think they’re going to die?
Okay, I had to go look it up. The first link I got on Google for “alpha roll” says:
I think it might be different than the dog willingly rolling over.
The key word here is FORCEFULLY. (Which is why it may have been all-caps. 
) When one dog topples another, it’s generally accompanied by gnashing teeth and vicious growls. What I’m talking about is much different. It should not frighten any but the most paralytically timid puppy. (I’ve done it a hundred times and I’ve never yet have a dog show real fear-- nervousness or anxiety, yes, but never real I’m-gonna-die fear.
You do it as you’re playing with the puppies and getting to know them. Put one hand under the puppy’s belly, and lift while gently pushing the legs to the side with your other hand. Turn it over and gently deposit on its back. The puppy should wiggle, lick your hand, and try to squirm free. Ideally, he will give up after a few moments and lay there, wagging his tail. (Tail-wagging doesn’t always indicate happiness-- it can indicate mild aggitation and eagerness to please.)
A puppy in fear or distress usually screams. Anyone who’s ever owned a dog knows the difference between, “Hey, I don’t like this! Let me go!” and “Oh my God, I’m terrified!” I’ve never had a puppy scream during a dominance check.
Dogs are not usually afraid of being rolled unless it’s accompanied by the signs of violent aggression. My two youngest dogs wrestle every day in which one of them gets knocked over and pinned. They know that it’s play, and even a very young puppy can usually tell that the smiling human isn’t going to rip out their guts if they expose their undercarriage.
I love Ridgies. They are the smartest, most loving, loyal and adorable dogs ever made. Ok, I am a little biased 
, but it’s true.
That being said, they are not for the inexperienced or novice dog person. I feel they are “graduate level” dogs. Ridges are very large, strong willed, clever and stubborn. They can scale a six foot fence with ease. They have a high prey drive, which means they will chase anything that runs untill it drops from fear or exaustion. They need consistant training. They are people dogs, so that means they want to be with you. All the time. You are their pack, their reason for living. People who don’t have alot of time to give the dog the kind of attention they demand will fine out very quickly that a bored Ridgie is a distructive Ridgie.
My Ridges have always been rescues. The original owners found that the dogs needed too much attention. Because I work from home, my puppy is always near by. I’m always working with training and socialization, so I can trust my girl out in public. It’s a full time job!
Yes, she will defend me with her life. She lets me know when people are about, and is on the constant look out for strangers. But I know it is me she is watching out for, and not my possesions. For I am the kibble provider, sorce of all things good and just.