One of the most common questions we respond to is which breed makes the best protection dog. While potential owners are often looking for a single answer, this is not something we can readily offer. In our experience, several breeds make excellent protection dogs, but the best protection dog for each individual is more dependent on personal needs and dogs’ temperaments.

An important first step is establishing what makes a good protection dog. Although it is often assumed that aggression is necessary, this is not in fact the case. What humans perceive as aggression in dogs is actually more often than not nerve, and nervous dogs lack control and reliability. Far more important are temperamental stability, courage, and trainability. These three attributes are what separates an untrained guard dog from a high-performance family protection dog, and they cannot be understated.

The breeds we have found to possess these qualities have generally been the German Shepherd Dog, Malinois Belgian Shepherd, Cane Corso, Giant Schnauzer, Dobermann, and Rottweiler. Even then, individual dogs must be carefully screened at an early stage to establish whether or not they have the potential to complete family protection dog training. Genetic issues such as predispositions towards anxiety and low work drives should be avoided, and this is not an area we can compromise on. Occasionally, find individual dogs from other breeds who may be appropriate, but these are somewhat rarer and usually require far more work before they reach the standard we require.

Finding the best protection dogs is an ongoing process for us, and one we refuse to take shortcuts on. For more information, please do not hesitate to contact us.