Dog Breeds - Help Pick

[mrs.b]

The small backyard eliminates the best large breeds unless you're willing to walk the dog a lot everyday. You might have to do a 30 min. walk once or twice a day. You do not want a boxer. They are hyper and love to jump. A lab or golden retriever can be trained to be a good alert dog, but they make horrible guard dogs. Maybe that's what you're looking for. They'll bark when they feel it's necessary, but they aren't inclined to bite. They have soft mouths anyway. Labs do shed a lot. Golden retrievers are large dogs, about the same size as Labrador retrievers.

Yes, an alert dog is more likely what we need. I've not known a lot of dogs trained for guarding, but the few I did were a bit too aggressive (maybe that's not the right word - dominant, perhaps?) for what I think will work around my son. Plus, snakes are not common in our yard but we do find a few a year, and given the moccasin the neighbors caught and killed, I'd rather a dog that sees danger and just alerts than one that tries to get in there and take care of it, and possibly get bit by a poisonous snake. We're taking precautions after last weekend's find to try to deter those yucky critters, but I still want to make sure whatever dog we get is trained not to go after a problem on its own, at least not without a command or similar.

Some of the calmest and sweetest dogs I've been around have actually been the pit bull breeds: American Staffordshire Terrier, American Pitbull Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and mixes. They have a strong bite, but it's a myth that their jaws lock. Their bite is also not as strong as that of a Rottweiler or German Shepherd. Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Doberman Pinschers, Akitas, Chow Chows, pit bulls, and Huskies are regularly on apartment complexes' and insurance companies' aggressive breeds lists. I don't really believe in aggressive breeds, but when I go to the dog park, the dogs that are usually fighting are Akitas, Huskies, and German Shepherds.

Oh, see, now you're going after my heart. I love pit breeds. I've never met one that wasn't an absolute sweetie. Our HOA has a clause that says no pit breeds, though. Think a mix would qualify? Not like they'll AKC test it, I'm sure, so long as it doesn't look 100% the part. I do not like Akitas, Huskies, and Chow Chows; they're pretty and all, but never met one that wasn't a mean jerk. Plus, their coats are far too thick for hot climates, in my opinion.