My daughter turned 6 in February and I am wanting to get a dog to be her running buddy around our 55 acres. (She has no siblings) I have been seriously considering a pair of Dobermans but I do not know if there may be better choices (I realize that training is going to be the key, no matter the breed). All of my dogs in the past have been mutts, with the exception of one Weimaraner. The Weimaraner is the best natured dog I have ever had, but he was not protective. The mutts I have owned have been hit and miss in behavior and attitude. Keeping in mind that I am cognitive that training is going to make the ultimate difference, what dog breed would you all recommend to fend off snakes, other dogs, or other threats as she explores around?

Labrador. Black,chocolate or yellow or golden retriever. Extremely, loyal, protective, but if you get one with a hunting lineage, they maybe less of a pet. JMO) Do not get a herding dog like blue heeler, border collie,etc.They need a job . I would stay away from the more common watch dogs like dobermans, pit bulls, rottweiler. The thing is, you don't want a dog that is so protective or aggressive that it will harm someone else. (Bad guys excluded of course.)

Remember in 7-8 years,your daughter will discover boys and you will be left with the dog (same thing happens with horses).

The bigger the dog, the shorter the life span.

I am all for adopting a dog from a rescue or a shelter, but most of them come with baggage that you won't know about until you have one awhile.
Some of my best dogs have been mutts

German Shepard

Full size Australian Shepherd. Teach the puppy that it's job is to never leave your daughter's side. We have a large female Aussie that never lets the 5 and 7 year old grandchildren out of her sight. Loves to play with them, and if they're in the pool or sandbox, she lays down about 10 feet away and never stops watching them.

Aussies are more affectionate, and less OCD about herding than Border Collies, or Heelers.

Jake's Molly was an Austrian Shepard, she loved young folks.

Evnin wabby, I was never a fan of pits or cross bred pits, with whatever. We got a pit mix, rescue, not my idea!!! Grand kids two older one new, 3 or 4 yrs I think, the newest one not the dog. Anyway the first time the whole clan comes for the weekend with their two muts I'm on high alert. Everyone comes with the usual fan fare, hugs, hi, etc. I'm watching our dog ready to end its life if need be. The first thing this dog (Joy joy) does is blocks the other two dogs from getting anywhere near the baby'. If the baby went to another room Joy would follow, she was fine with all the grown ups but those two dogs could not even get near her. She's ok now that she knows the other dogs but for awhile there I was definetly worried. Of coarse another dog can be totally different out of the same litter. We had a big Rotmonster years ago, & he was very protective but would always look to us for guidance. I think if you want something specific in a dog it's a roll of the dice.....so good luck & let us know how it turned out. GWP. 🐾👣🐾👣🇨🇦

Oh, get a rural dog, not a city dog!!!!!! Sorry. 👣🐾👣🐾🇨🇦

Several years ago a friend had a doberman that he raised from a pup in the house with his wife and 2 kids. One night they were watching tv and the kids were lying on the floor, between the couch and tv, coloring in coloring books. The now grown dog, walked thru the living room, and without any provocation, bit the young girl in the head. Took about 10 stitches to sew up the wound.

is he a 'now dead dog'?.....

In the vet office yesterday, a poster raised a reward from 500, to 1000 dollars for a lost dog.

It'd been over four weeks.

Of subject, but:

Pets are a big business now. Veterinarians, around here, now charge as much as a human doctor. There is even pet health insurance.

My vet of 30 years retired, and I had to find a new one.One wanted me to fill out a three page application before they would accept me and wanted my credit card on file with my signature so they could be assured payment.

I did find one. Two teeth floats on mules was $456. Our lab cross got gored by a deer last fall. The trip to the Pet ER at 5 AM was $1000+

The days of those good old country of yesterday are gone.

Dog was locked in the pen until morning and buried before noon.

Controversial, for sure............ But our Rotts have been WONDERFUL with our kids. Playful for them...........yet careful of not knocking them down........and I assure anyone, you DO NOT wanna screw with one of the dogs' kids. It's nice to be able to take your eye off the kids and KNOW the babysitters are ALWAYS on duty and watching.

They're also very hard on the local coons, skunks, possums and groundhogs.

This one, on a lead, would drag me or the wife around the neighborhood...........

But our niece, about 3, and weighing all of half what the dog weighed, took him by the leash and he followed her wherever she went, all day long, she wore his butt out..

When she was younger she sat in a highchair feeding him pancakes, a fist-full of cakes and syrup, her whole hand in his mouth and he gently sucked it out of her fingers....

He was laying by the couch under her feet, she slid off the couch and he jump up snarling and growling all around her face, never touched her, he went off and layed down...... 'what did you do????'

'...I think I stood on his penis, she said....'

Try to take a small child from this one and you're going to be hurt.... NONE better IMHO...

I find it amazing how the "guard breeds" will rough-house and play with the adults. Yet walk on broken glass around the kiddos.

Our last Rott was a considerably more muscular dog than the two in my pic above. Think black angus with teeth. LOL !! If I or the Mrs. took a mountain bike on back the lane to the woods, he'd be trying to grab the pedals or your shoe or pantleg (as a fun game for him) and be a nuisance in general. When one of our two young kids took the same exact bike ride, he'd run the road bank beside them........well out of the way of interfering in ANY WAY. It was amazing to see. He was LITERALLY the third kid.

My vote is for a lab. And I'd be inclined to look for a hunting lineage but pick the cull of the group that isn't high energy and is calm. This is what I had for my first 14 years of marriage. That dog raised my girls and looked after all of the neighbors' kids too. We live on a dead end road and all the neighbors have 3- 20 acre parcels. That dog watched the whole street and all the neighbors loved him. He was exceptionally smart and loyal and you could tell his 3 bark types that alerted you to what was up. The alert bark told you he found something or someone, but it wasn't a concern. The concern bark told you something/someone arrived and you need to come check it out. The third bark type told you to come running with your firearm.

I'm also a fan of the rottweilers, but only if they've been conditioned around other people and animals. That's probably the case with many breeds, but rotts especially.

I have a black mouth cur now and he's a pretty loyal fellow too. He has the different barks too, with the big old hound dog bark, Barooooo-rooo-rooo-rooo being the standard "someone just pulled up" bark.

My daughter's dog is a black mouth cur. We didn't pick it for hunting or any specific reason other than a dog for her. It's a medium size dog, great nature around people, tough on possums/coons/armadillos/snakes. Very unique in some of the things it does, especially sleeping in rocking chairs and bench on the front porch. None of our other dogs do this but she always tries to find an elevated place to sleep. She'll also "talk" to us when we pet her, looking us in the eye and talking to us softly.....it really makes me like her. She's good around our livestock and guineas/chickens. I'm sure there's lots of variation in BM cur's and I don't have much experience with them, but this one is a very good fit for a "buddy" for a kid. Calm but still energetic enough to want to go with a kid.

Although most breeds have some better attributes/temperaments than others.I have found that lack of training is the big culprit. People think after they teach sit,down, and come that is all they need. Proper leash training, heel are a few more.The last three dogs we have owned and own one now, we had a trainer come out and work with us and the dog 3-4 times and then continued the lessons until we felt comfortable that the dog was safe in any situation.
Buying a pup,giving it to the kid and saying have at it usually does not work out

Golden Retriever or Lab of your choice of color

Prob the most faithful of any breed

You won't make any new friends with a Rot or Pitbull

That would be my first choice, if I was buying one for a daughter to protect her. Second choice would be a Doberman.

Unless the daughter hunts. Then, of course, it would be a Lab.

Nothing any more faithful or wanting to be around children than a Sheltie.

They won’t withstand a pit bull attack, but they won’t back down either.

Family oriented dog, but children is who they cling too. He’ll stand by her side until the end.

This guy forgets all about me when the grandkid shows up.

Never knew how gentle a dog could be untill we got Dillon, the Boxer.
You literally have to put treats in his mouth and let go.
He won't take them.

Pushing 11 and I've never thought he was going to bite a soul,
Except me, when we play. By the sounds, you would think he is eating
me. No more damage than scratches and slobbers.

We have seen him get protective a few times.
Keeping himself between the girls or wife and a stranger.
Hackles raised. A low growl one time.
Those people immediately go on the S list and are never trusted.

Had a doberman and have done a great of investigating into them. They seem to be one of the better "family dogs" that I have ever been around or learned about.

In addition to reading, I always consult a couple friends that are vets to ask their impression of breeds. When I rescued the dobie we had, I read multiple places that they are phenomenal family dogs. My vets affirmed.

The doberman I rescued had been abandoned at a shelter because he nipped a guy when the guy came quickly up behind the doberman's owner, a woman in the midst of a divorce. Totally acceptable in my book

Once I got him home and gave him a week to decompress, he got used to us very quickly and he genuinely loved and cared for every member of the family from my wife to both kids. A lot of alpha type dogs seem to tolerate the family and only really bond with the master. This dog bonded deeply with everyone in the family. He nipped a kid that we had repeatedly asked to stay clear of us while we were in a park. The kid came racing up to my buddy that had my dog leashed and the dog nipped the kid when the kid came racing right at my friend. He also backed a guy up tight to his car that came into our property and drove back by our shop unannounced and unescorted.

One of our mastiffs is in a speedy downward spiral. Probably doesn't have but a month or so left. After she is gone, I will have another doberman. Absolutely the best dog I ever owned.

Anyway shape of form if a dog nipped a kid , that would be a tremendous liability. Although I am a firm believer of adopting dogs, they all have some baggage and you never know what that is until you get them home.

Best dog I ever had was full blooded wolf, but we had to be careful. She would protect my wife with her life.No stranger and even a few friends could get close to her.

Which is EXACTLY WHY we keep Rotts. Don't WANT any new friends. But you gotta know the town across the valley to completely understand.

As an aside.............. About 11:30 Monday night, our boys decided to kill a porcupine........... When I heard the commotion, I hit the floods and went out on the front porch. I honestly thought they were throwing down with a bear. Then my eyes adjusted and saw what was going on. Most vicious dog attack I've ever seen !!! Took a couple minutes of me and my daughter screaming "Come !!!" to get them to break.

Vet estimated 500-700 in the one boy and 600-800 in the other. I can't wrap my head around it............ Stick ME with just ONE of those quills and I quit.

Liability...? Yes.

In this situation, this kid was running absolutely loose and zero interest by the mom in controlling her kid. I saw where this kid had run towards us and our dog and Kamo took keen interest in this person bearing down on us. I told the kid very firmly to stay away. Told the mom to please control her kid and keep him away from us. Explained the dog doesn't like it when people come running at us like that.

She did exactly zero in the form of control. We moved around to another spot to separate ourselves. Sure enough, later on the kid is running around oblivious to everything. I saw him change course and head right at my buddy whose back was turned. Kamo saw it immediately. I had stepped away and was too far and yelled but it was too late. Kid came bearing down on my buddy's backside and Kamo put himself between the 2 and nipped the kid kind of on the side of his butt.

Kid squalled. Mom came running. Took him into a dugout and checked, skin wasn't broken. I apologized and reminded her I had asked her to keep her kid away. She admitted it was on her and the kid.

That is the one thing about this doberman, don't know if it is all of them, but when pushed, he nipped once and backed off. Let the person decide what was next. Didn't truly bite and bite and bite. Didn't become blindly aggressive. Popped them once and then sat back.

Same with the guy that showed up and the dog had him backed against the truck. I believe he nipped him in the pant leg, and then stepped back barking. Guy stood dead still until I came running out from behind the shop. Kamo instantly came when I called him.

I wish he hadn't nipped the kid, but I will take that behavior in a dog. That dog loved us and in his mind, he knew his job was to protect his family. Had a number of dogs try to fight him. He did just enough to put an end to it, and then was instantly interested in being a buddy to the dog that just came after him.Not a mean dog at all. Just not one you wanted to f-around with, or as the popular saying goes, you would find out.

Boxer or a Cane Corso.

...along with a saddle...a horse would eat less though.

Belgian Malinois? Very loyal breed tough as nails, just recently one saved her owner from a mountain lion, unfortunately About a week later the dog past due to his wounds. But without a doubt the dog save that girls life.With 55 acres It would get all the exercise it needs.

i have been around many breeds of dogs the most loyal , smartest and protective dog purchased as a puppy is a female Labrador hands down . this type of dog will protect your child to its death to save your child , i have witnessed this kind of protection when a huge bull tried to hurt my brother and the Lab took over , there were many other dogs times that Lab stepped in too. and here`s the funny part my Dad did not dear lay a hand on us when our Lab was by us, Dad did get bit once and Mom said you brought those boys the dog for protection so leave that dammed dog and boys alone , but to be honest we did deserve a spanking. my grandkids have a Lab now and the Lab sleeps right next to their rooms always guarding them.

One word of caution about the “powerful “ breeds, like rotties, pitts, dobies, etc. If your daughter isn’t into the idea with you, and participating in the raising and training, tgen their behavior towards her can be unpredictable. I’ve seen that happen. And a negative incident, even a fairly innocent one, can create fear or dislike, which dogs pick up immediately, and you have a negative snowball from there where you end up with either no connection between dogs and daughter, or (far worse) a negative connection between them.

Companion breeds are far more forgiving and far less intimidating to a little girl.

I think a newfoundland would be a great dog for a kid. Very gentle dogs, but protective of their family without being outright aggressive toward strangers. They want to be with their people. Not prone to running off or excessive barking. Downsides : relatively coomon health issues such as dysplasia, but the same is true of labs. Short life span. Huge turds. Good breed worth looking into for a kids dog imo. The neighbor had one that died a year and a half ago, and she was about the best dog you could ever hope for. Had no need for a fence as she was not inclined to run off. The furthest she would go is over to my place for a visit, especially in a westerly wind if i was cooking with the window open. She knew i was always an easy mark for a chunk of backstrap.
That dog treed a lion right next to her house and would run coyotes right the hell off the property in a hurry. Wouldnt chase deer at all though. Would just lay there while deer walked by 20 yards away.
She is getting another newfoundland this weekend.

They truly are an amazing breed. When I retire another few years, that will be the dog I will be getting.

I'm not familiar with an Austrian Shepard. Please enlighten me on the breed.

I'm not sure you're familiar with Malinois....

They also come in miniature:
https://www.magnoliahillsfarm.com/available-puppies

(Disclaimer: I've never owned an Australian shepherd or a mini)

Any of the herding dogs require a job,. If not,they sure get into a lot of mischief

Reading comprehension is not a strong suit around here......

Still wondering what an Austrian Shepard is. ( spelling on the 'fire is also not a strong suit...)

Jake's Daisey

Plenty of stupid opinions when it comes to dogs. The fact that the OP is considering a pair of Dobermans is a bit concerning. Get a family dog from a breeder that focuses on healthy dogs with calm temperament. Think lab, golden or springer. Other breeds may be as good, but none will be better. Even the best breeds can be screwed up by a bad trainer. Plan on obedience classes with the dog AND the daughter. The dog will be around quite a while. Choose wisely and train well.

I've had many dogs over the years but just bought a couple of Great Pyrenees puppies to use as livestock guardian dogs from guardian stock. I've been really shocked at how low-key these dogs are, even as puppies. Easy going and likable but have the goods if needed for protection. I can see why a ewe would allow them around its lamb.

With that said, I would get two of these in that they seem to need the social interaction. They also seem to be a little stubborn with an attitude that they know what's best so seem a little more difficult to train than many dogs.

My brother has a sheltie and it's the biggest pussy dog I've ever seen. It backs down/runs away and hides when I bring over my Jack Russel and it's even afraid of my wifes Pom-Chi.

If your daughter was ever threatened, a barking dog may get attention faster than one who only bites.

With some patience and a lot of training it might work .

Great!!!!

Ive got 2 that don’t like people or other dogs and head the opposite direction when either show up. I’ve got two others that don’t see an enemy, I call the The Greeters. The one in the photo actually ran off the neighbors Jack Russel over at the cabin but played with his beagle, go figure. Dogs have different traits you know.