Ideas for the next dog.

Gempress

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#1
It's a bittersweet moment. My husband and I have been talking about for the last few days. We both hate to face it, but it's time to consider our next dog.

Our dearly beloved Voodoo has started showing some signs of aging. :( Voodoo is a truly outstanding watchdog and guardian--everything we wanted in our "working" dog--but now we have to see if there's a breed out there who can fill his shoes when he retires. We're talking about adding a new dog in 2-3 years. I figure it might take that long to find a breed and breeder that's exactly what we're looking for.

Here's what we're looking for:

- Natural guardian/watchdog instinct. That's the most important factor for us. Even though this dog will be a pet (of course!), we also require he/she to be a good protection or deterrent dog. If anything, we'd rather have a dog with too much of that drive than too little.

- Trainable. I don't necessarily mean super-intelligent. I mean a dog who is willing to work with people and isn't too aloof or independent.

- Large. We both love big dogs, the bigger the better.

- Not a heavy shedder. We can deal with moderate shedding, but nothing like a Newfoundland or Great Pyr.

- I don't like excessive drool. So no English Mastiffs, which is too bad. I love those big guys.

So far, we're thinking maybe a rottie, fila or bouvier. I've heard that Black Russian Terriers or Giant Schnauzers might be a good fit for us, too, but I don't know much about them.

Thoughts?
 
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#5
What about a Dane?

Females IMO tend to be even more alert and guardy yet are still friendly and outgoing as well. Ivy is a very sweet girl but she does NOT miss a thing going on and is very aware of her people, especially the kids.
(Oh, and most are not really that drooly...especially the american lines with tighter lips)
 

Gempress

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#6
We've thought about it, but I dunno. We love our 'houla boy. But 'houlas here are bred for hog hunting and herding, not necessarily being protective. I think we'd like to try a breed that was bred for the purpose.
 

Romy

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#7
If you got a fila lady she'd likely grow up to get along really well with Zeus...

Is that a consideration too? Or are you still okay with crating and rotating? A lot of the guardian breeds I had to rule out because of the likelihood they wouldn't get along with my hounds once they matured.
 

Muttkip

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#8
Mountain Cur?

My dog is mixed with Mountain Cur and she does let anyone near me or my car and is a great alert dog to let the Rottie know what's up!
 

BostonBanker

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#9
My dog is mixed with Mountain Cur
And now I need to go stalk you for pictures....

Meg is a Mountain Cur, and her protective side is weird. I would have told you she didn't have one. She barks when people come to the door, but lets them in. However, she does not like other people coming upstairs (where we live; my parents live downstairs) and she has growled when people try to get in the car if she's in there and I'm not. I don't think she'd ever really back it up, but that's a guess. She's also such a soft dog, I don't think she's typical for the breed.

Meg wants to know if her brindle boy Voodoo would like to retire to a beach house with her to enjoy their twilight years.

As for breeds, my only thought is that with a giant schnauzer or BRT, you'd be looking at either professional grooming or learning to do it yourself.
 

Gempress

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#10
If you got a fila lady she'd likely grow up to get along really well with Zeus...

Is that a consideration too? Or are you still okay with crating and rotating? A lot of the guardian breeds I had to rule out because of the likelihood they wouldn't get along with my hounds once they matured.
Good point! I'd prefer a breed that could get along with the pets it was raised with. It doesn't have to be friendly to all other animals, but I'd like to be able to at least have the potential to get it to cooperate with its animal roommates.

And a dane is an interesting idea. We've both always loved the look of danes, and there are amazing breeders in our area. But honestly, I'm not sure if we're dane people. The ones I've met have always seemed....I dunno, clownish? Not in a negative way! Just very puppyish in their demeanor, and don't seem take themselves seriously. I'm not sure if that's the personality for us.
 
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