Best SHTF Guard Dog Breed?

Seriously, this dog is the best and I've owned quite a few in my lifetime. Second best dog I had was an Akita, but he became too aggressive in his old age and was put down. My Rhodesian is at my heels without a leash no matter what else is going on, he never barks or growls unless there is a reason. Beautiful animal....but intimidating because they look mean and are very big. You really should know how to handle the more aggressive breeds before owning one though. They can be very stubborn and all are alpha types....we bought this dog for SHTF times after ALOT of research.

The most healthy dogs are the ones that most resemble the wolf.

So I would pick the German Shepherd everytime.

I had other races before and I they all had health problems. I'm done with that.

no love for rotts?

And you don't have to worry about them getting pissed (or hungry) and ripping your throat out.

I recommend a beagle or bloodhound

they dont make good guard dogs but they do make good hunting dogs.. what is the point of having a guard dog when tshtf when there will be no food.. the hunting dogs will be better to help you find small or big game to hunt...

BLOODHOUNDS HAVE THE BEST NOSES... and they can also find missing people...

Shiba Inus. they are are bred to be guard dogs and are compact at about 25-30lbs yet have the BIG dog mentality. most importantly they are very loyal and will let you know if something's not right or someone is sending out bad vibes

I have a african mastiff.I just send her a thought and she follows my thought command.

the all time best mix is to have a bloodhound and a German shepherd one of each.. the bloodhound for finding food or people and the german shepherd to guard the bloodhound or you LOL

I've got a German shepherd/husky mix, the best tracking dog I've ever encountered, she outwitted my buddies bloodhound on a quail hunt a few times. Smarter than a mfer too, never had to keep her on a leash, very protective of my kids as well. Right now she is about 85lbs and still with about 7 months of growth left in her.

She has the german shepherd colors, but the fur of a husky with very light brown eyes, so not too hard on the eyes either.

I would highly recommend a shepherd breed, I would recommend even more highly a mix of a shepherd and another intelligent pure-breed. I've had best results for tracking/and just having an above average good dog with the mixing of two intelligent pure-breeds.

There are a lot of health issues associated with German Shepherds as well, unfortunately, especially hip dysplasia. That's why it's important to get one that is well bred.

Also I'm not sure the misconception about german shepherds being less talented trackers than a bloodhound. There's a reason police use shepherds noses, and why they are the #1 seeing eye dog, cop's also use them to sniff out criminals and to even attack the criminals.

Once you see a german shepherd clearing a ten foot chain link fence quicker than you can, you'll figure it out.

I would stick with a pack of scent hounds, like the walker, redbone, plotts, american leopard, or bluetick, Ive seen 6 take on bear, hogs, mountain loins( whatever you train them for)....all animals fear them....they can hunt for you...and be easily trained to hunt humans. the last bear hunt i went on the bear shit about every 50 yard till they bayed him ( cornered him on the ground).....oh yeah...they chased him about 2 mi...thats a lot of shittin

IMO a MIN PIN is the worst small breed. I love my MIN PIN but no one else does! They are small, mean, have big teeth and they are cut.

shepherd are visual hunters and not considered "scent hounds" although all breeds of dogs have superior scent abilities, walker hounds will walk when the prey walks, then they can smell when the prey begins to run....then it usually over pretty quick...nothing can stand or hide against a pack of scent hounds...only a gun

Lots of LOVE For Rottweilers!

But... Best dog for SHTF is a small dog like a rat terrier. Not only will they kill vermin, they have hearing that far exceeds the big breeds and nose like a hound w/o all the hound defects of character. Clean, short-hair and very long-lived, the small terriers are very intelligent, require much less food & water and will sleep in-house and be early warning you can rely on.

German Shepherds are also very capable and train well. Got a tall security fence, Rottweilers are very intimidating. Shepherds also.

For constant companion that is always alert and has heart of The Biggest Lion in jungle, I'll take a Rat Terrier.

While they are not hounds, obviously, German Shepherds are very versatile. In Germany (and breeders over here), to be bred, a German Shepherd has to qualify through testing, which can include tracking:

The tracking phase tests not only the dogs scenting ability, but also its mental soundness and physical endurance. In the tracking phase, a track layer walks across a field, dropping several small articles along the way. After a period of time, the dog is directed to follow the track while being followed by the handler on a 33 foot leash. When the dog finds each article he indicates it, usually by lying down with the article between his front paws. The dog is scored on how intently and carefully he follows the track and indicates the articles. The length, complexity, number of articles, and age of the track varies for each title.

[link to en.wikipedia.org]

A Sch3 dog would be one that has completed all three phases, including tracking and protection work. Obviously, a person would have to weigh the need for an all-around dog versus one more specialized to hunting or whatever they are looking for.

Last Edited by Laura Bow on 03/21/2012 05:06 PM

Maremma Sheepdog, my girl is a big softie with the family but when she put on her 'don't fuck with me' face you would not go messing with her.

for the last 25 years, I've had the same two dog combination: female German Shepard, male Rhodesian Ridgeback.
the shepard stays outside, mainly, and guards the perimeter. the ridgeback is ALWAYS at my side. honestly, if I sleep on the other side of the bed, he gets up and comes around to sleep on the floor the same side I am on. NO ONE is going to open your door when they hear a ridgeback booming inside.

Let ne get this straight. You don't want a rot because one bit someone's calf half off yet you want a mastiff You better figure what you want out of the dog. An alarm or an attack dog. ANY attack presents a clear and present danger with the wrong people and ANY attack dog needs a lot of training.

I am thinking about getting a rhodesian ridgeback or german shepherd as my second dog. I always keep two. My other dog (other than the maremma sheepdog) is a german shepherd cross I got from the RSPCA as an abandoned puppy. He is awesome, a softie with the family but gives the warning to anyone who acts suspiciously or aggressively towards us. Sadly, at 10 years, he is crippled with arthritis and I am not sure how much longer he has.

I have been researching dog breeds for a while now as our council only lets you have two and I want to get the choice right. The maremma sleeps beside my bed, in fact she tracks me wherever I move to, waits outside the toilet, sits by the swimming pool when I swim, I go to the kitchen to boil the kettle, she comes with me ....

I feel safer with a second dog as if anyone means me mischief two dogs have to be harder to mess with than one I figure.

This is a great thread!

My little dog, ( med. Size) beat the large Anatolian.

A Catahoula Leopard, dog, like Old Yeller on Walt Disney.

Remember Yeller took on a wolf...


One Catahoula will put a Grizzly Bear to flight.
Ran him out of camp in montana.

LOL, you're right about that, any large dog needs training.

One round of 45ACP sends poochy to the big dog house in the sky....

wow.

The best SHTF Guard DOg is the Hiliary Clinton.

It might be butt ugly, but this vicious breed doesn't care who you are screwing, it just remains loyal.

South African Boerboels biggest puppy you will ever have until some one tries to get to you. responds to emotions and physical actions.

I love shepards but for an "everything" dog I would choose an Airedale Terrier. Used as police dogs in the UK, great hunting, also pretty good at herding. Wonderful family dog, protective as heck over their owners. Fantastic with children. Do not shed like the shepard's do. My mom raised them when I was growing up and we shipped a puppy to Montana for Bear hunting and one to Texas for boar hunting back then. A very interesting and under-rated breed to say the least. There is now an oversized Airdale called an oorang, or something like that. I have not looked at them myself but from what I understand they get pretty large.