# Seriously thinking of getting a Guard Dog



## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

What should I get ?

Things Like this make me want one again

We have had a couple of Nocturnal visits just recently.

I had put some rebar with sharp ends up as a temporary fence one night. Woke up, motorhome alarm went off and found the fence down and a few bloodstains.

I like the idea of German Shepherds.

TM


----------



## GEMMY (Jun 19, 2006)

Shot guns are cheaper, they only cost when discharged,no constant running costs. :lol: 

tony


----------



## JohnsCrossMotorHomes (Jul 21, 2007)

Yes and then the dog bites the scroat and YOU get done for having a dangerous dog and the scroat then sues you for damages.

If you put a notice up saying 'Danger Dog Guard' you get done for that as well.

No justice in this country any more

Peter


----------



## Techno100 (May 8, 2010)

As soon as one of us retires it's either a Spaniel or a Border terrier.

This one must have swum the equivalent of the English channel by the time they'd gone right around the boating lake at Pugney's country park


----------



## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*Dogs*

Here is a better Link

I am thinking of getting two.

Dog & A Bitch.

Not sure yet, might do some good research. Anyone have any book recommendations please?

TM


----------



## Techno100 (May 8, 2010)

Mine is going to learn to walk to heel. It amazes me how many dogs take their owners for a walk :lol: :lol:


----------



## GEMMY (Jun 19, 2006)

If I was attacked, god forbid, and I had the upper hand, as per the afformentioned person, the police would not arrest me on the spot, they would have to trawl lake Windermere for evidence. 8) 

tony


----------



## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Well I'd be biased towards German Shepherds but two can be quite a handful,we've always had two in the past, but now as we get older one is enough

As guard dogs they are excellent and their bark is quite off putting to would be burglars

I guess if heard the burglars would be inclined to try elsewhere, I know I would

You also have to consider travel with a dog, again its down to personal preference but two shepherds are a lot to fit in the van, although again at least one member on here does and they travel with him

The perimeters of our house are reasonably secure and as no one can see into the garden we have a double gate at the front, the inside one being open work metal just in case 8O

Don't use signs unless its, I Live Here or such like as if you put Danger or guard and the dog does bite someone it is assumed you suspected he/she would

Good luck with your decision

Aldra


----------



## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

I know they are not as cuddly but did you consider the 'Alarm Mine' I mentioned last week in the thieves thread TM.??
Very effective and you can adjust the level of deterrent.

Ray.


----------



## 4maddogs (May 4, 2010)

Techno100 said:


> As soon as one of us retires it's either a Spaniel or ]


Great rescue for spaniels...springers and cockers mainly
Www.nessr.net

My 3 spaniels are all NESSR dogs.


Oh , and the golden retriever is from Irish Retriever Rescue. 
http://www.irishretrieverrescue.com/

Ps you can have one at a time, you don't have to have 4!


----------



## locovan (Oct 17, 2007)

Jack Russell -best little Guard dog.


----------



## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*Mine*



raynipper said:


> I know they are not as cuddly but did you consider the 'Alarm Mine' I mentioned last week in the thieves thread TM.??
> Very effective and you can adjust the level of deterrent.
> 
> Ray.


Not seen it Ray, will google it later.

Might be an idea for the time being.

Trev


----------



## CliffyP (Dec 19, 2008)

We bought our Ollie from Lesley Cooper ' gentlebears gsd 'in Doncaster. She has been great and still keeps in touchtwo years later.
GSD's are great dogs, brains and strength. And fantastic with friends and family. And scroats give you a very wide berth :wink: 
We looked around quite a bit because we prefer the square back (as opposed to some that. breed show types) . Good luck.


----------



## bulawayolass (Jul 27, 2010)

Wouldn't touch a German Sheppard/Alsation in fact most of the popular breeds l wouldnt touch they are walking hereditary disasters you will spend a fortune in vets fees l see it every day.
GSD lead the pack about 55 of them all common then in no particular order rotties and lab retrievers etc wont name all (see website below)

If you get a dog unless you are crazy you have to have insurance and best one to get is petplan which isnt cheap and if you get a "popular" breed you will be paying around 30-40+/month certain breeds they wont touch as so dodgy on health and/or temperament 
Yes can get cheaper insurance but then don't be surprised when it doesn't cover you when you need it.

The website may help you see what may/can go wrong with a dog of a specific breed and does commonly goes wrong with them. It is growing when l first found it a few years ago alsation only had 40 problems, It is Dr David Sagan's site a geneticist from Cambridge uni.

Inherited Diseases in Dogs

Home Page Inherited Diseases In Dogs

And god help you as the saying goes if the dog bites someone no matter what the reason in fact even if someone gets scared by the dog it is often a potential death sentence. The dog gets hauled off to SK and temperament tested .... great when already scared.

As was also stated put any kind of guard dog sign up and whammo! you can put a sign up saying l live here but l recon still on dodgy ground with a smart lawyer you will get done if thief is bitten.


----------



## Glandwr (Jun 12, 2006)

Geese are what you want TM. Much cheaper than dogs to keep and will scare any scrote. They were the watch dogs of choice historically (right back to Roman times) and eat grass! Another advantage is that you don’t develop emotional attachment, and as a bonus they lay eggs.

And as far as prosecution goes. If your dog bites ANYONE you are likely to have to fight to stop it being destroyed. On the other hand can you imagine anyone complaining to the police that they were chased by a BIRD.  

Dick


----------



## Pollydoodle (Aug 18, 2005)

Last week I was 'cold called' by someone wanting to sell me security alarms for £3.99!! - price works on you recommending to others. Sounds like the carpet cleaning for 99p :roll: 
I told him we already had high tech alarms, so no thank you. Glad he didnt ask me the make - one old blind labrador and a very friendly terrier :lol: They do make a lot of noise though. apart from when we are away :roll:


----------



## leseduts (Jun 3, 2008)

We travel with 2 German Shepherds and I would not be without them. It's a fact that as you get older 2 are a bit of a handful, when our older one dies we will not replace her. I posted a picture of Casper as a pup a few months ago. This is him now at 1 year old.


----------



## CliffyP (Dec 19, 2008)

bulawayolass said:


> Wouldn't touch a German Sheppard/Alsation in fact most of the popular breeds l wouldnt touch they are walking hereditary disasters you will spend a fortune in vets fees l see it every day.
> GSD lead the pack about 55 of them all common then in no particular order rotties and lab retrievers etc wont name all (see website below)
> 
> If you get a dog unless you are crazy you have to have insurance and best one to get is petplan which isnt cheap and if you get a "popular" breed you will be paying around 30-40+/month certain breeds they wont touch as so dodgy on health and/or temperament
> ...


Sorry but rubbish :wink: 
We had six GSD's at work, plus a Border Collie, no real problems. I myself have had.
1 GSD Sandy 12 years
1 Lab Duke 17 years
1 Lab Kelly 16 years
1 Lab Cassie 16 years **
1 Lab Bramble 15 years
Now have GSD Macy 9 years, Ollie 2 years. 
All bought from reputable breeders and after seeing parents.
Large dogs (well all dogs) need to be trained.
** So steady the training school I use bought one from the same breeder, he by the way was a police dog handler, and now runs west lancs canine. He is also an expert in Canine Behaviour. He used to train dogs for us at work. And is considered an expert witness in Court.

It is very important to buy from a specialist breeder of the breed you want, what your saying is don't marry a Scotsman because he will get liver failure (sorry Seamus).

Health problems in Dogs is in the main caused by inbreeding, puppy farms, diet, etc. You will get a good dog with a good temperament if you do your homework properly (but anyone can be unlucky). 

By the way, no reputable GSD breeder will sell you one if you mention Guard Dog :wink:


----------



## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

CliffyP said:


> bulawayolass said:
> 
> 
> > Wouldn't touch a German Sheppard/Alsation in fact most of the popular breeds l wouldnt touch they are walking hereditary disasters you will spend a fortune in vets fees l see it every day.
> ...


I am with Bulowayo lass on this one.
I gave up owning GSD's years ago. I never got one past the age of nine. They all were lost to inherited diseases. One of them was put to sleep at the Royal College in London after undergoing surgery and she was only two! 
Breeders are excellent at telling you how good their stock is and how experienced they are but I have never met one yet that had done anything more technical than put a dog and a bitch together. They all deny that their stock has any degree of inbreeding or that the breed has any inherited disease at all! I was even approached by a well respected breeder to use my dog at stud. He was Chryptorchid (one testicle retained) which is know to be inherited. "It's ok" she said "I only want to keep a bitch" 8O . She would have sold the rest of the litter off to the unsuspecting general public if I had agreed to the mating.
Behind their backs breeders blame the puppy owner for feeding/rearing/exercising the dog incorrectly if it ends up with a problem. It is never the fault of the breeder.

Get a good old mutt from the dog's home 

Remember a dog is for life not just for Christmas :wink:


----------



## CliffyP (Dec 19, 2008)

patp said:


> CliffyP said:
> 
> 
> > bulawayolass said:
> ...


Sorry but, these are not reputable breeders. Inbreeding is easily checked on the pedigree and kennel club. Also a good breeder will follow the dog all its life. Where I got my labs, on the invoice it was stated that , should the dog not be wanted at any stage of its life it was to be returned to the breeder for full refund ( she would also not sell you one without checking you out first). Any good breeder will make you sign an undertaking that you will not breed from the from it without written permission. The problem is people perpetuate it by buying from breeders who are in it just for the money (easily spotted)


----------



## CPW2007 (Aug 17, 2007)

We bought our first GSD puppy at 12 weeks old in Germany (when I was stationed there in the army) in 1991. Registered him with the local German vet, listened to his advice re feeding, exercising etc and he lived until he was 14 years old. His last days were spent taking Metacalm for his rear joint probs (happens to all of us as we get older!!) :lol: He also spent 6 months in this country in quarantine when I retired from the forces - no problems. Our second GSD (2 years old) was a rescue dog, slighter smaller in stature than the first one but still big enough to scare off anyone should the need arise. She lived until she was 12 years old and again was very loyal and obedient. We are now with our third GSD (see avatar), again a rescue dog, 3 years old when we got her and she has a character of her own to say the least!! Ex police dog - well not quite - she failed the initial training - didn't get on too well with other dogs!! We have now managed to train her out of that but anything on two or more legs in our well secured very large back garden is fair game to her (besides us and relatives!!).

Am I worried about her having a nip at some scroat that decides to invade our home?? Nah - besides I think her bark and deep aggressive growling would frighten anyone off before she gets a chance to have a "nibble"!!   

Regards

Chris


----------



## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

We've had German Shepherds for over 30 yrs,and with the exception of one (and he was a beautiful mistake) we've had long haired ones .

they don' tend to breed with the sloping back. with you on that Cliffyp

have never had a problem except for Ben, he lost the use of his back legs at 11, but did ok till near his 12th birthday what a pleasure to have owned him

Would not buy without meeting both parents and knowing tests have been done for hip dysplagia

We did have Oliver who bit a police man, He banged on the door late one evening and when I opened it loomed there in florescent yellow, scared me half to death and Oliver bit him

visited by the police to caution and meet him, he was a dream. If he had ever bitten again that would have been a different story but he just went back to gentle Oliver

Remember it though so make sure Shadow never could repeat it
He does protect our home and the van until he is introduced, loves other dogs unless they show aggression and adores people
8O away from the van, particularly when he's wet through after a swim as is often the case 
Would I recommend them

Yes Yes Yes

Aldra


----------



## 91502 (May 1, 2005)

TM 
Are you going to the Lincoln show this weekend? 
If so drop me a PM for my mobile number and come over to the police dog training school at the main gate of the showground and I will show you around and we can have a chat. 
If not I totally agree with 
Make sure you choose your breeder very well. 
Make sure "you" get trained on how to train the dog(s). 
Enjoy your new friend. 
JP


----------



## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*JP*



JP said:


> TM
> Are you going to the Lincoln show this weekend?
> If so drop me a PM for my mobile number and come over to the police dog training school at the main gate of the showground and I will show you around and we can have a chat.
> If not I totally agree with
> ...


PM On its way.


----------



## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Like Bullwayolass I worked in vet's for years.
We got to see the many, many dogs with all the hereditary health problems. Comforted the owners of six month old dogs that had to be put to sleep due to hereditary health problems.
I suppose it is easy to get the wrong impression because, of course, the healthy ones do not come in.

All I can say is do your homework. Do not go to see the puppies until you have checked and checked that the breeder is doing the best for the breed. Don't bother with show wins they mean nothing other than that a particulr judge like the dog.
A friend has had Golden Retrievers for years and, even though she knew where to go and what to look out for, she has ended up with a one year old with hereditary elbow problems.

A start would be the Dogs Today magazine which sets out all the known hereditary problems for each breed at he back of the magazine. 

Good Luck they are a fantastic breed if you are lucky enought to find a healthy one.


----------



## leseduts (Jun 3, 2008)

We have owned 8 German Shepherds in the past and they have all reached 12 years of age, except Sadie who picked up a nasty tick in France (Piroplasmosis) she died within a week of bringing her back to the UK. We knew nothing about the tick and did not know that there is a special inoculation for protection. Our dogs are like children to us, if they are ill in any form you look after them and bite the bullet as you pay the vet.


----------



## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

Hi.

We also have had 3 GSD's in the past who were lovely dogs, all bitches as we never have had a male dog in our life, we then we got a little Golden haired spaniel that was every body's friend unless she was in the van when she turned into a snarling fierce guard dog if we were not there..

It was a only later when some of our friends came over that they came clean and said "We didn't like to come over as much when you had the Alsatians, we were frightened of them".. to the owner who knows the dog there is no perceived problem, obviously others have big difficulties. 

We now have a "Spotty Botty" Dalmatian







She is a great bird puller, you can't walk anywhere without someone wanting to fuss her.

Ray.


----------



## bellabee (May 16, 2010)

Ray, Know what you mean. We've got two Dallies and they attract attention wherever we go - mainly from children. We went for Dallies after years of owning and breeding Springers because we wanted big dogs with loud barks, as our house is in a quiet spot. Springers just tend to wag their tails at strangers. The Dallies are lovely and great characters, absolutely devoted to us, but not at all interested in being petted by strangers in the street. 
When strangers come to the house or when there's a knock at the door, they bark loudly - just as we wanted them to. I don't think they'd bite, but I let strangers visiting the house think that they would. That's why we got them, after all. Many times I've been at home alone during the day when there's been a knock at the door and I've been glad to have my two spotty friends.
We were part of the dog breeding world for many years - breeding Springers. I would agree with everything that has been said about checking out breeders, researching hereditary problems, making sure that the breeder has done all they can to screen for them etc. It would definately not deter me from buying a pedigree dog.
One of the major advantages of pedigree dogs is that you can at least have an idea as to what the temperament is likely to be. Is it likely to be placid and docile? How intelligent is it likely to be? Is it likely to be a good guard dog? ...a good family dog? Please note my use of the word 'likely' - nothing is guaranteed.
It's all down to personal preference and there are loads of lovely cross breeds and Heinz 57s around. Each dog is special to its owner. 
As for insurance? We've never had it. Took the view that owning a number of dogs (sometimes 4 at a time, never less than 2), and knowing the provenance of our dogs, it made better economic sense not to take it - just pay the vet's bills as and when necessary. So far, over 30 years of multiple dog ownership, this has proved to be the right decision for us. I don't want to tempt providence, and I hope my Dallies have got many healthy years ahead of them, but if the vet's bills come, they'll be paid.


----------

