Favorite breed of dog?

[KentState]

We have a new Aussie since the last post. He's almost 6 months old and growing pretty quick.

 

[kage69]

Great Danes! They're great friendly dogs, not real bright but that makes them easy to handle, naturally good-natured, pretty lazy and don't require a lot of attention or energy, easy keepers and just wonderful pals with unique personalities.

I need at some point in the future to get a guard dog for goats and our Danes will not be well-suited to that at all; they are not aggressive or particularly protective and in fact are pretty wussy if confronted with most threats.

Normally an Anatolian Shepherd or a Great Pyrenees would be recommended for this but we'll be living in a very hot area (summers can hit 115 degrees) and putting a long-haired dog in those conditions would just be cruel. I still need to research what the best dog would be for our purposes there. We don't need a shepherd, just a guard dog to protect against predators.

I cannot recommend the Anatolian enough for a livestock or property guardian. Incredibly impressive breed in general too, and I say that as someone who has dealt with many breeds both working and non.

Not to hate on the loveable Pyrenees (and I know many gorgeous Pyrs) but they are not as hardy as the Anatolians. Both have little to worry about as far as North American winters go (save really rare extreme weather anyway) but the Anatolian can deal with high temperatures fine provided he receives help shedding his cold weather wear completely. Anatolians have been responsible for a dramatic surge in cheetah numbers across Africa the last several years. You don't effect that kind of change in the Namibian scrub by taking July and August off. As long as they have shade to rest in they would be fine.
I know of no other large or giant breed that is as physically sound as the Anatolian either. They are at the other end of the lifespan spectrum compared to Danes, and thanks to ruthless culling by the Turks carried out over hundreds of years there aren't really any negative genetic traits associated with them. I worry about fleas and bloat, that's about it.

Both my dogs are desert pups originally come to think of it. He came from an arid region of California and she's an Arizona export!

 

[datalink7]

GSD

 

[HeXen]

pitbull. Our current one is the sweetest dog of all the other breeds I have had. He's also the laziest but he gets along great with kids and cats.

 

[brianmanahan]

pomeranians, i love the little things. had one for 10 years

 

[Angry Irishman]

Currently have an adopted Greyhound....she's terrific.

I also very much enjoy the King of Terriers...Airedales:

 

[Jadow]

shih-tzu by a mile

 

[Silver Prime]

I cannot recommend the Anatolian enough for a livestock or property guardian. Incredibly impressive breed in general too, and I say that as someone who has dealt with many breeds both working and non.

Not to hate on the loveable Pyrenees (and I know many gorgeous Pyrs) but they are not as hardy as the Anatolians. Both have little to worry about as far as North American winters go (save really rare extreme weather anyway) but the Anatolian can deal with high temperatures fine provided he receives help shedding his cold weather wear completely. Anatolians have been responsible for a dramatic surge in cheetah numbers across Africa the last several years. You don't effect that kind of change in the Namibian scrub by taking July and August off. As long as they have shade to rest in they would be fine.

Both my dogs are desert pups originally come to think of it. He came from an arid region of California and she's an Arizona export!

Yeah, kangals aka Anatolians, are quite impressive; they hail from Turkey and have a well made rep for being well accustomed as a war dog, in fact now that you've mentioned it his coat is perfect for not only snowy terains, but dry deserts as well, if you look at there origins region, they have a mixture of that depending what districts. Team Jozo has some of the biggest and most buffest Kangals I've ever seen looks to be in the 200 lb's, they look larger than there Ovcharka-caucaison sheperds (Probably spelled both there names wrong.) lol

But usually the alabai and Volkodav's are usualy bigger having larger fur an all, I dont condole dog fighting but seen alot a few years back on the russian website and pitbulls stood almost zero chance, while the other site had a Alabai lose to a kangal, a bullmastiff beat a Volkodav, and a cane corso beat a alabai as well, but in general the caucaison sheperd usually wins out on average, or atleast what I'm told from that same source, most of them are legal since they stop the fights when one dog submits and or is receving too much punishments, but those russians, they must really hate pit bulls since 10 in a row were allowed to be mauled and killed almost instantly.

They do it to keep there dogs game a contributor to that site said, quite stupid really since what else animals fight like dogs an invade there live stock? Certainly not wolves, since wolves would out weigh and out number a average dog, so I dont know why they fight there dogs in the first place. Probably superiorty issues...and hype.

But as far as L.G.D's goes, I think a Boer boel has the most impressive feats, best attributes and well rounded to be the best guardian dog to have ever lived, constantly I hear anecdote after abstracts of Boer boels dispatching baboons, leopards and hyena, Wlyen yester the boer boel was famous for killing hyena; they still have the exact stuffed hyenas of which he killed...at a average of 140-210 pounds, not much can stop probably the most agile'd*of mastiffs, and probably the most strongest bite pressure to boot, theres a young boer boel mix on youtubes dog tested bite pressure who bit in at 540 pounds, the hardest bite psi of newtons for any dog video recorded.

In fact I've seen videos on youtube of how they train dogs like they do german sherperds with the body suit, it dosen't even compare, theres one where a Boer boel full on runs into a man in a suit like a tank and propells the man down so hard with so much force without the suit on I'm sure alot of your bones will be broken just on the rush let alone the bite(s) that will follow...imagine a 200 pound man playing football and running at you at full speed, yet this dog is the same yet stronger, more durable, faster and has a more menacing out look to hurt you if you invade his masters space. lol

There are alot of dogs to pick from, over 320 pure breeds and probably over a thousand mixed breeds, as for what kind of dog you get it all depends what Job title you are going to give the dog, when picking em.

 

[alkemyst]

IMHO in reality the best dog is the dog you and they form a bond.

I have a Pomeranian and Chihuahua, and my Hanzo (texas heeler)

The Chihuahua is focused on the cats and trying to be alpha with them.

The Pomeranian always barks.

Hanzo always knows.

 

[Sixguns]

Basset Hound

 

[brianmanahan]

The Pomeranian always barks.

lol they do! my pomeranian had a barking hour, she would bark for pretty much bark all the way through supper time

i was used to it but it drove anyone else who was there crazy (which i didnt mind lol)

 

[DrPizza]

Our Pyrenees had puppies a couple months ago. We decided to keep one of the puppies as our third pyr. About 2 months old in the picture. (Plus the german shepherd & min-pin.) Definitely doing my share to keep dog food companies in business.

 

[sdifox]

The one that passed for lion

 

[BUTCH1]

IMHO in reality the best dog is the dog you and they form a bond.

I have a Pomeranian and Chihuahua, and my Hanzo (texas heeler)

The Chihuahua is focused on the cats and trying to be alpha with them.

The Pomeranian always barks.

Hanzo always knows.

That's an excellent point, it's not about this breed or that breed it's about the unshakable love any breed of dog brings to it's owner, I think my blood pressure probably drops 10 points when I get home from work, my dog will scour the house for the toy she thinks I like best, "Mr chicken" and is waiting at the door for me with "Mr chicken" in her mouth as an offering..

 

[saratoga172]

Have a 3 1/2 month old Aussie pup. He's very playful, friendly and sweet. Loves to chew on everything so working on that. Really smart though and learns quickly.

Yesterday in the car.

Week ago finally got him to sit still long enough for a picture.

And odd but his tail was never docked. So he's an Aussie with a full tail. Really cool.

 

[Silver Prime]

Our Pyrenees had puppies a couple months ago. We decided to keep one of the puppies as our third pyr. About 2 months old in the picture. (Plus the german shepherd & min-pin.) Definitely doing my share to keep dog food companies in business.

Wow, huge paws for a few months old. A Pyrenees is a larger step up from a common lab, they certainly look like they could ward off the average wolf, and I just noticed that in the animated cartoon movie:

One hundred and one dalmatians

The dog that helped guide Pongo and his puppies through the blizzard to get to the shack with the cows...'was a Great Pyrenees'...he had a magnificent strut and look appeal...just a awesome looking dog.


edit:

aww crap, they said it was a collie, yet it still can pass off for a mix kangal an or Pyrenees, since they drew the dog much larger than Pongo, and I dont think even with the hair a collie is all that much bigger than a dalmatian, atleast size x height wise.

I remember reading a year back a rancher lost 6 Pyrenees to local wolves, most likely because they were in large packs, but I think a pack of 3 Kangals can hold there ground and atleast ward them off, a pack of 2 large boer boels oughta do it too.... theres a video of a single caucaison sheperd killing two mid sized wolves at once, if the caucaisian sheperd can do it, no large pack of wolves would contend with a group of 3-5 B'B's, since Hyena are there sparring partners; far more larger, more powerful and formidable than any wolf.

But anyways...nice pup, I think thats how it always should be, after the litter comes you always keep atleast one replacement for the parents.

Locked for earlier necromancy. If anyone wants to start a new thread however, go for it
-ViRGE