Anonymous wrote:Our labradoodle is gentle and sweet and great with kids but man, she's a scary barker when strangers approach the house.

Mine is too. I'm surprised at her mean bark.

OP, a good guard dog would be a Chihuahua. They bark at everything. Even sunshine. LOL

Anonymous wrote:Golden Retriever. Great family dog, very protective, but gentle and loving to kids.

You got to be kidding
Goldens are rarely protective, mine doesn't even bark.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:German shepherd or a rottie. Great family dogs and protective

German shepherds need to be trained and op said she doesn’t want to train a dog .

The only training that our German Shepherd received was from our older Golden. The Golden would bark at someone approaching our door and so would the German Shepherd puppy. Honestly, I think that German Shepherds are naturally protective of their families, it's just part of their nature.

Now if you want a German Shepherd that will perform like a police dog - chasing/tackling/subduing, that absolutely will take some training.

Get a full breed wolf!

Anonymous wrote:German shepherd or a rottie. Great family dogs and protective

German shepherds need to be trained and op said she doesn’t want to train a dog .

Even my golden will do what you are looking for. He will bark when someone is approaching the house, but trained not to bark at dogs and squirrels or deer. But, that is basically all the alerts he will do. Might die of frenzied happiness if a robber came in and gave him attention!

Bouvier de flanders

Anonymous wrote:The thread is actually from 2012.

Yes, I'm the one who revived it. But I wanted to continue the discussion about guard dogs. Rather than a gun, we want a dog that can give protection yet be safe with guests. Currently, our lab mix is doing a great job!

Our Golden and German Shepherd bark when someone is at the door, walking on the property or they hear an odd noise outside that needs to be investigated.

If you want a dog that will let you know every time a neighbor is in their backyard or every time someone walks on the sidewalk past your house - small, yappy dog.

The thread is actually from 2012.

OP, you are very ignorant about dogs.

Just because some breeds are known to be better guard dogs, it doesn't mean that every single dog of that breed will have that behavior.

If you get a dog, you will need to invest in basic training, and if you want a guard dog, but not a casual barker, that will need EXTENSIVE training. The immense majority of barkers will not distinguish between a danger to humans and a mailman or squirrel distraction.

Anonymous wrote:2nd golden retrievers. They will bark if someone is at the door. Not to attack but to play but the burglar doesn't know this. They are not good guard dogs otherwise as anyone who is comfortable with dogs can make friends fast.

My golden is like this. An absolute love but barks at outdoor noises a lot. Sounds scary but he wouldn’t hurt anyone.

Anonymous wrote:This thread is from 2014, I am sure OP has a dog by now

No many people are not as decisive as you.

This thread is from 2014, I am sure OP has a dog by now

Anonymous wrote:This is what you want. Lagotto Romagnolo. We have one. He loves children and enjoys adults, but if he does not know you he barks. Wary of strangers. His bark is forcefully and is that of a dog much bigger. We had our college age nephew staying with us. He came back at 2 am once and the dog woke everyone up. My nephews said the dog started barking as he walked up the drive.

The Lagotto Romagnolo is a very loving dog that is devoted to its owner. They are also extremely affectionate and gentle with children and make excellent family pets. Lagottos have excellent eyesight and are extremely alert. They will quickly alert their owners to any intrusions into the family property and often make excellent guard dogs.

https://www.petguide.com/breeds/dog/lagotto-romagnolo/

Aside from being exceptional water retrievers and truffle searching dogs, the Lagotti is also a most valued home companion. For centuries, these dogs were kept by peasant marshmen in Italy to serve as guard dogs. These are not yappy dogs and when they bark it is to warn the owners of intruders. Having a Lagotto Romanolo in your landing is just like having a security guard. You can be assured that no intruder can gain access to your home. It is believed that this dog sleeps with one eye open. Its acute sense of hearing makes it an excellent guard dog.A Lagotto would get along well with other dogs and with smaller pets too if properly socialized.

https://www.sarahsdogs.com/breeds/lagotto-romagnolo/

Yep great dogs. The base breed for all the water dogs(poodle, labs, etc).