Back to the origional question....

For an in home protector there a lot of things to consider. The biggest is can you live with the dog loose all the time? Many of the Mals and a few of the GSDs are high enough in prey drive that they are hard to live with (See some of VanCamps posts refered to in other threads <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> ) The problem is that raising one to maturity can be trying on things running around in the house, like other pets and children.

If the goal is a large dog to scare off peole then consider some of the Bull breeds or a couple of the Mastiff breeds. They are big and if you can wake them up, they are impressive. Finding one that could do "real" work is like finding a needle in a hay stack. I have seen Pits that could do it but they are rare, most are prey monsters.

For a home protector I prefer the defensive breeds. The issue is going to be finding one. In the US most are going to be bred for Show only, some of them can still work but.... The ones that can do the real work are going to be Rare breeds and getting a good one will be tough. They are going to require a very experienced handler and family. They can be hard to read and that makes them tough to train. They can have widely varying temperaments, and are usually not tolerant of strangers/visitors and that is going to be tough with children. Kids are going to forget the rules about the dog and that may lead to one of their friends being bit. These breeds would be like the Giant, BRT, and the Russian Ovcharkas. Another issue is that the defensive breeds are more in to the fight than the win in training. They are not happy with just a slipped sleave. They also will react in prey to things comming at them rather than going away. Few trainers are going to understand that or recognize it so they may give up on the dog.

One thing I have found is that there is a psycological factor to an all black dog. I have seen people that are willing to try a dog of another color, but are afraid of the black dogs. It is always amazing to me to watch the reaction.

In this case I would look for an all black GSD.

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In this case I would look for an all black GSD.

I would agree with that! In fact, look for a BIG, sharp, black dog with yellow eyes! No one will come near you... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Seriously, we have one that is 104 lbs, almost 28" tall. He is sharp and reacts quickly with an impressive bark to unusual sounds, sights, etc. The uninformed around this rural neighborhood think he is a wolf...

He may never truely defend us (though you never know...) but any person who would enter the house with this dog barking at them is not going to be stopped even if he attacked them. They'd be mentally off, or on drugs, and probably armed.

And have you considered liability? If you live in a city you may not be able to get home insurance owning a PPD. And if you do, and the dog bites someone (even with provacation) you may still end up getting sued. A small price to pay if the dog is protecting your family, but still, if you can have the same effect without that issue....

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"Werewolf...! Where wolf? There wolf!" (Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein)

Richard, I was just reading that the SPCA and the Humane society are putting out that they have a VERY hard time placing adult dogs that are ALL black. Something very intimidating about a totally coal black dog. Anyway, they are sort of pushing these dogs a bit because people never give them a chance for some reason.
By the way, how is that BRT female of yours?