So popularly speaking,which breed is the best guard dog?

Popularly I would say the Doberman.

Personally, I would say the Boxer is the best dog all around specially in terms of being a guard dog.

Yes, I do have a boxer. No, it is not my favorite breed. My favorite breed is the Siberian Husky (I have one of those too) but they are terrible guard dogs. They love everyone and they rarely ever bark. They mostly howl when they are upset or hear another dog do it. Boxers, however, are smart, kind, energetic, protective, and just all around great dogs.

The Rottweiler

Rottweilers and German Shepherds are both immensely popular guard dog choices and since I'm not to keep on "guard dogs" or which breed makes for the most common, I'm going to base my choice off of what I see my most people talking about, when anything relates to "guarding".

It's a close tie between the two, but I'd say the Rottweiler.

Rottweilers and Mastiffs are basically synonymous with "guard dog". Rottweilers have that intimidating, aggressive and domineering appearance, more so then the German Shepherd, they are also larger, adding to the intimidation factor, and were bred with natural, innate guarding instincts.

Germans however, are and do make just as amazing guard dogs, even better, and many Shepherds and their varieties are used for guarding and other service work due to their easiness to train and willingness to please.

Either way, no dog makes a good guard dog if they don't have the proper genetics and proper/professional training. Few people, know or understand the methods of creating an effective and safe guard dog and most people only encourage aggression, which leads to an indiscriminately aggressive animal, willing to kill any child or small animal that crosses it's path, without a care. Most *PPD* dogs, or those trained by professionals for the specific task of guarding cost (*$25,000+) to own, far more then any alarm system or gun/weapon.

NONE! Look at it this way. Rottweilers are probably the strongest out of the breeds used for protection, but they are known to be hard headed and stubborn. Real working line Dobermans are nearly extinct. Same deal for the GSD, but it is easier to find a working line GSD. You will need to go to Europe to find a Doberman with the excellent factors for protection. Malinois are good at protection, but people are just starting to breed those dogs with OCD and unstable temperament- which one day will make too many of them unreliable and harder to maintain self control.

For me, my picks would be for Beaucerons and Dutch Shepherds. But, those breeds are rare and often hard to find. Different needs, different breeds. Some people will want a more powerful dog and others will want a more self controlled, reliable dog.

I always thought German Shepherds were the best guard dogs. Granted a properly trained guard dog is a $20,000 investment that I could never afford, they are for the extremely rich. Dobermans are much more frail than GSDs.

Some other breeds that come to mind: Rottweilers, Bullmastif, Rhodesian Ridgeback.

The doberman sucks and has sucked as a working dog for over 25 years now, breeders and fanciers wants the pussyfied/look good version, but not the real temperament of one.

If I were looking for a "guard" dog to protect my house, I would buy a Fila from a right breeder and simply raise it, no training needed for that breed to protect.

I have a border collie that makes a great guard dog because it is in her genes to protect her home, as is a great pyrenease, st bernard and other herding/ rescue breeds. But to make a good guard dog you need to be friends with the animal and you need to learn to train it sit stay down heel do not get a professional or use treats.

I have a mini poodle and in my opinion and experience I believe a poodle or any poodle mix is a GREAT guard dog! If u want a bigger dog then get a standard poodle which are about the size of golden retreivers or labs but I think the mini poos are just as fierce. They make excellent guard dogs and my dog, whenever she shes anyone pass by the door that she doesnt recognize she stays alert and if someone she doesnt recognize knocks on the door she starts barking and growling. But once I tell her to hush she stops immediately. Poodles are THE smartest dogs with great memory and excellent obedience. It almost comes naturally but with training they become even more excellent dogs. Once in a while though, with mini or toy poodles, you have to show them whose boss cause the smaller the dog the more they think theyre in control so just lay them on their back as the would in the wild and tell them to stop or hush. But honestly a poodle is an excellent guard dog, whether it be inside or outside(:

It depends on what it is you want guarded, whether you have children, type of environment the dog will live in - indoor/outdoor/hot/cold temps. If you're just looking for rankings this list is pretty good:

http://www.cesarsway.com/dogbehavior/top-10-dog-br...

My lab mix is the best guard dog I've ever seen. He guards my fiance and our home. An intruder would have to be out of his mind to even attempt to enter our home. The most popular guard dog would have to be the German Shepard.

a well trained german shepard is a great guard dog