12 NonTrad Guard

Another sort of non-traditional group are guard dogs.

Some are breeds, like the German Shepherd, Doberman Pincher, Rottweiler, and others who were developed just to be a guard dog.

Others like some of the bigger terriers like Airedales, Kerry Blue, and Schnauzers have had other traditional duties. .

The traditional guard dogs were the bully breeds that bite and hang on, like working bulldogs, but today most of the bully breeds that still bite and hang on, also maul by shaking their heads while biting - these dogs are too dangerous for most people who want a protective dog who scares off intruders, not a dog that actually attacks intruders, guests or their kid's friends.

Yes you can get good ones, but how do you tell which puppy will grow up okay, and which ones will never be safe with other dogs or new visitors?

The hardware looks the same, but the software is way different, and it is possible for two puppies in the same litter to take after different ancestors- they don't always "bred true"..

There had to be a reason why people gave up the plentiful bully dogs and worked to create guard breeds.

When fighting dogs was legal, their were plenty of them, and it is not hard to teach them to go after people. I rather guess the bully breeds were too good at the work - or more correctly "too much" for the work of guard dogs.

Whatever the reason, the French, German, Russian, and British police used other breeds.

Today various varieties of Belgian Sheepdogs are commonly used over the world - they look something like a Lassie type collie, but without the white markings, sometimes have short hair, and sometimes are totally black. .

The bullmastiff is an old guard dog breed, the mastiff is even older. The boerboel is a South African guard breed which is newer.

Yet most of Europe has turned away from bully type dogs - now they are banned in some countries, and restricted in others.

Why has this happened? I don't know.

Louis Dobermann worked to create the Doberman Pinscher - why didn't he use bullmastiffs or pitbulls?.

Maybe bully type dogs are seen more as a war breed? One of them is advertised that way.

Or is it the fighting stigma? Is it that they tend to go after other dogs?

That they inflict too much damage? Have some of them used their training on their handlers?

Once trained for guard work do they look for ways to use that training, ways not acceptable?.

The closest to a bully breed said to be made over for European police work was the Boxer. They have misaligned jaws, and are usually very friendly - but I have met some which are not at all friendly..

One of the big questions is the German Shepherd Dog. Long the darling of police forces, the GSD is not naturally a bite and hang dog, so the dogs are taught to hang on when they bite.

Why would their developer, bypass breeds that naturally hold on when they bite, to make one that has to taught to hang on?

And the Doberman, there were plenty of shorthaired bite and hang bully breeds in that era, why didn't Louis Dobermann make a bite and hang breed?.

Something made the European police forces turn away from bully breeds. What was it?

Was it guns? Did bully breeds growl at their policeman handler when he fired his gun? Did the bully breeds get too bossy and growl when the handler went for his gun - a sort of "I said put that thing away, the noise hurts my ears when it goes off!"

I don't have the answer, but something turned police forces away from bully breeds. .Maybe it wasn't the dogs fault? Maybe the policemen were at fault? Maybe pride lead police officers to enter bully dogs in fights - to shore up the policeman's sense of super-toughness.

Maybe police could not be trusted to handle bully breeds in a responsible manner?.Why have most police forces shunned bully breeds and used shepherds and Dobermans?
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As you can notice, the guard dogs are NOT a clan, they are NOT related to each other. They are a Profession. The Guard Dog Profession..

They are police dogs, military dogs, and many of the sniffing and tracking dogs..

The police don't use pit bulls as patrol dogs, but they are used by regular people as yard dogs; they don't go on patrol, but they do guard a yard.