What's Dog Barks But Is Nice

In My Humble Opinion
1

I was talking with a co-worker who was thinking about a dog. She has a cat already.

She wants a dog that will bark when people come but not one that is mean and would attack somoene. She has a five year old boy. (Who’s already yelling “We’re getting a dog, we’re getting a dog.”) Her husband said he’s OK with a dog but doesn’t want a little one. He wants one he could play with. They have a decent sized fenced in yard.

Now I have seen certain dogs like Huskies that don’t bark instead they tend to make friends with everyone. At least the one’s I’ve known.

I would think a collie or german shepherd would be good. I mentioned those but she said her experiences with shepherds are they are mean.

I was thinking a good mutt that is a little bit of everything might be good.

So basically she wants a dog that will bark at burglers and the mail man and be big enough to scare people, but nice enough not to tear him to pieces

:slight_smile:

Any ideas?

2

Well, pretty much any dog that has been socialized to be nice to people will be nice to people. Very, very, very, very, very, very few dogs are “mean.” “Mean” dogs have either been, at worst taught to be mean, or at least not encouraged for being nice. That’s greatly simplified, since there are imprinting periods at specific ages, fear responses, etc. But the point is that it is impossible to say “get X breed of dog” when someone lays out such simple requirements as “must bark at strange noises” and “be nice to people.” They need to just go meet some dogs and find one that they like. Or if they must get a puppy, for og’s sake, read some training books, go to classes, and train and socialize it properly.

3

We had an English bulldog growing up in the seventies. He was a house dog. He didn’t generally bark at people, but most people who saw him the first time was pretty scared. They weren’t that common then; today their gentle nature may be better known.

4

What you want is a watchdog, not a guard dog. So I googled “watchdog vs. guard dog” and the top result is here: It looks pretty sensible to me.

Good watchdog breeds: Scottish Terrier, West Highland White Terrier, Miniature Schnauzer, Yorkshire Terrier, Cairn Terrier, Chihuahua, Airedale Terrier, Poodle (standard/miniature), Boston Terrier, Shih Tzu, Dachshund, Silky Terrier, Smooth Fox Terrier, Wire Fox Terrier, and Miniature Pinscher. Less likely, but possibly inclined to bark include the Pomeranian, Toy Poodle, Welsh Corgi, Shetland Sheepdog, Lhasa Apso, Akita, Maltese Terrier, Pekingese, Boxer, Samoyed, English Springer Spaniel, Dalmatian, and Irish Setter.

Dogs to avoid as watchdogs: Bloodhound, Newfoundland, Saint Bernard, Basset Hound, Bulldog, Old English Sheepdog, Clumber Spaniel, Irish Wolfhound, Scottish Deerhound, Pug, Siberian Husky, and Alaskan Malamute.

I have corgis and they don’t bark at all. However, they are rescues and as such have their own unknown backgrounds. My previous corgi would bark at strangers. My neighbor’s beagles bark at all passsersby.

ETA: Check your library for a book called The Right Dog For Youby Daniel F. Tortora. It cross-references almost all breeds by characteristics you want, including child suitability. I have recommended it many times.

5

Shepherds are good dogs. I had one as a kid – that thing looked out for me like I was its own pup. I’m sure they could be raised to be mean, like any dog, but on the whole every Shepherd I’ve ever met was quite gregarious – provided you aren’t a threat, of course.

6

I defer to Sigmagirl’s experience, but I think this will mostly be determined by how your friend raises and trains the dog, not by what breed she gets.

Moving thread to IMHO, since you’re seeking opinions on the best type of dog.

7

I’d suggest a shepherd breed like Australian (Blue Heelers) or American shepherds. They are extremely smart and it is in their nature/breeding to be watchful and protective, so they aren’t as likely to be mean to children, but rather be protective of them. Collies and Shelties (Shetland sheepdogs) would work too, but bark like hell ALL the time

8

Our late golden retriever Max had a deep “I don’t know you / I don’t like you” bark. He was the friendliest dog though.

9

Our Boomer (a Lab mix) would bark at the mailman and the UPS guy, but not the Schwan’s man or the propane man. If someone came to the door and stomped around on the porch and knocked loudly, he’d bark.

But if you were quiet (like a burglar would be), he’d go to the door and do his Oh-goody-somebody’s-here-maybe-they-brought-me-a-treat dance. :slight_smile:

10

You want a Jack Russell.

No not one of those little short legged things, that yap and look real cute. Or even one of those “regular” Jacks.

I have a Jack (Parson Russel) that stands 27" tall and weighs 42 lbs, named Hercules. Fantastic Watch Dog.

Thinking of breeding him with a big female and starting a breed of Great Russells. Within a few years maybe I can get some the size of shepards.

11

My mom says the best watchdog we ever had was the neighbor’s Dachshund. Mind you, this was in semi-rural Oklahoma where the neighbor in question lived a hundred yards away minimum, and the dog in question was an indoor dog. But if anyone came anywhere near their house, which included driving up to ours, this lil thing would bark up a freaking storm and could clearly be heard from inside our house.

This was my mom’s preferred method of figuring out if my sister was sneaking home late at night on the weekends. :smiley:

Our current dog is, I think some kind of Eskimo Spitz mix (we originally thought she was some kind of white German Shepherd), and she’s a total sweetheart and attention/cuddle whore. If anyone comes up to our door though, she’ll start barking like crazy until she knows who it is. If the person doesn’t act freaked out by her, and if we’re obviously fine with them being around, she usually calms down.

The exception, of course, is right now we’re staying in a hotel, and whenever the housekeeping people come by, if we are home then the dog will continuously go nuts from inside her kennel until the housekeeping lady leaves. They tell us that when we’re not in the room, the dog just quietly sits there in her kennel while they work.

12

This made me fall down.

13

Maybe eventually you can keep breeding them bigger and bigger and have a breed of like, Super Russell Turbo Terriers! :smiley:

14

Australian Shepherd might be a good choice, but a Blue Heeler (Australian Cattle Dog) would be a poor choice. They are two different breeds. Blue Heelers tend to want to bite at things as they go by, such as vacuum cleaners, cats, and five year old boy’s ankles.

15

Hounds tend to have a large-dog-sounding bark but sweet personalities. I’m a basset hound owner, and even a very small basset (30 lbs.) can emit a deep, throaty bark that you’d swear was coming out of a two hundred pound dog.

However, I will say that my basset does not bark until the doorbell rings. Perhaps a sight hound would be better than a scent hound?

16

I’m always a little dismayed when I see things like “I want a dog that does X and Y and doesn’t do A, B, and C.” It comes off as if the person thinks dogs just come all programmed right out of the box, with no effort required from them. There’s also a slight hint (in my mind) that if the dog doesn’t perform as expected, it will be disposed of.

This may not be the case with the OP’s friend. I’m just sayin’.

I would encourage this friend to start doing a lot of research into dog training and behavior as well as any suggested breeds, and to understand that much of a dog’s behavior depends on the owner.

17

I don’t know is on third? :confused:

18

I gave up on figuring it out and just opened the thread.

19

I am home now and looking at my Tortora book. The dogs that are listed as both “exceptionally good” with children and “very alert” as watchdogs are, in decreasing order of bulkiness (you want cites? this book has cites): Mastiff, Bouvier des Flandres, Bernese Mountain Dog, Samoyed, Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Harrier, Field Spaniel, Keeshond, and Boston Terrier.

Breeds “exceptionally good” with children and “alert” watchdogs include Beagle, Bichon Frise, Border Terrier, Boxer, Brittany, English Cocker Spaniel, Golden Retriever, Gordon Setter, Newfoundland, Pug, and Vizsla.

You also will want to consider how aggressive the dog may be to a visiting stranger after you have invited him into your home; dogs like the Bloodhound, Boxer and Lab usually will be friendly toward a stranger when they see you have accepted him, while a Chesapeake Bay Retriever may be suspicious or aggressive and many other breeds will be at least reserved – and that may be what you want.

I can look up more if you want.

20

My friends have a german shepherd and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were all awakened one night by a burglar saying, “Her breath smells like ass and she just licked me! Ewww, ewww, ewww!”