Guard Dogs – Doberman Pinschers and Rottweilers – Pet tip 172

Dogs are social creatures and have been domesticated by humans over many thousands of years. This domestication has led to an intense friendship between man and dog and it has led to the expression ‘man’s best friend’. Although most people get dogs for simple companionship, many people selectively choose specific dog breeds based on the characteristics of that breed. For the last few hundred years or so humans have been actively and selectively breeding dogs to suit their own needs. As a result of this selective breeding, some dogs are natural retrievers, some are natural diggers and some dogs are natural guard dogs. This article will focus on 2 dog breeds that make excellent guard dogs, namely the Doberman Pinscher and the Rottweiler.

The Doberman Pinscher has its origins in Germany and was named after Louis Doberman, a German tax collector who used this breed as a deterrent against angry taxpayers and muggers. The Doberman is an extremely powerful and energetic dog that has a very loud bark that will scare the heck out of a would-be robber. They are extremely easy to train, they require regular vigorous exercise, they can run extremely fast, and they can help defend their owner’s property by alerting everyone around when a stranger approaches. They make good family pets but like all dogs they need to be obedience trained. Due to their strength they should not be left unsupervised with children.

The Rottweiler on the other hand, is far less sleek looking than a Doberman and far less agile than a Doberman, but still makes an excellent imposing guard dog. At certain points in history bags of money were commonly strapped to this dog’s body and robbers would dare not try to take the loot. The Rottweiler also hails from Germany and is another good family dog especially if it was raised with children. Rottweilers are very easy to train and have been used as guard dogs by all kinds of organizations including the police and the army. They have an extremely high tolerance to pain which aids in their guarding work. They require regular exercise but less vigorous exercise than a Doberman.

Although many Doberman Pinschers and Rottweilers are sought out by companies specifically for use as guard dogs, they are also great dual purpose family pets that are also good guard dogs. As previously mentioned both these breeds are highly trainable but especially when they are also family pets, training is essential. Despite these breeds being so strong and powerful, they must always be willing to ‘back down’ when the owner says so. Obedience training is crucial in establishing that the humans are always the ‘top dogs’ in the household.