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Mastiffs of all kinds were bred as war dogs and for the the fight ring as far back as Roman times-the breed was referred to as Molossus-(sp?) I’ve heard there are unscrupulous breeders selling Mastiffs for fighting still out there...

In this rural area most people have livestock, even if it is just chickens or rabbits kept/sold for food-and the Great Pyrenees is one of the dogs du jour, along with Neapolitans, Bull Mastiffs and all the other Mastiffs, a couple of Danes and a few American Bulldogs. The last dog attack we had on a human involved a neighbor hiking by the river, bitten by a tourist’s unleashed Jack Russell Terrier. The last livestock incident involved goats mauled/killed by yet another tourist’s Treeing Walker hounds running unleashed-those are some BIG hounds. People who live here have better sense than to let our dogs go without proper training, or go unleashed-and the loose dog fine is a staggering $500.00...

When our cub was a toddler, my 1st hubby and I bought a female German Shepherd puppy from the best AKC kennel we could find-it was one that also sold guard and rescue dogs to the Air Force. The dog bonded with us, the cub-and our cats-and took her guarding job very seriously-but we never, ever left that cub alone with that dog until the cub was 10 years old, and able to manage the dog the way we taught her to.

We bought another female Shepherd pup after the 1st one died at 13 from that same kennel, and she was as fine a protector and companion as the 1st had been-but like any big working breed dog bred for the purpose of guarding livestock and/or humans, they require training from day 1 to accept the humans as the alpha leaders-just like wolves.

After losing our 2nd Shepherd at nearly 13, we chose a Chow from a kennel in MrT5’s home state for our canine companion because they are good guards and have a longer lifesapan then German Shepherds-ours lived happily to 17-they also need a firm hand, or they will end up being psycho and dangerous...

My Siberian Husky also was purchased from a recommended AKC kennel that bred them for show/sled-also needed a firm hand, also became an excellent protector-due in part to her wolfish looks and demeanor-she looked/sounded truly scary and vicious when doing the guarding thing-she died a few months shy of turning 18-best dog I ever had...

People who are not willing to spend the time training, bonding with and making a pack member and nearly constant companion of a dog does not need to have a large, headstrong working breed dog just because you like the looks of the breed-it is true that too many people buy on impulse without researching the characteristics of the breed of dog they buy. I don’t care for small dogs-or terriers of any size-so I choose large working/guarding breed dogs-but I’m diligent in training them properly, and I keep them as a near-constant companion to be with me hiking, etc anywhere but work or grocery shopping-it gives them a sense of purpose and keeps them calm and happy. If someone is not up to that, there are plenty of small dog breeds to choose from.