Recommend me an imposing non agressive big dog please.

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BBH

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I'm really interested in getting another dog but am unsure what to go for. I know what breeds I like but its whats suitable aswell.

Ok, so I'd like a dog who looks impressive on the yard ( to deter any would be unwanted visitors should we have any )

It needs to be able to live indoors,

Non aggressive in that I have a bulldog who will fight back if provoked,

Needs to be a girly

Doesn't need 2 hrs exercise a day


Help please
 
Leonberger. Fits all your requirements. Looks fierce and has a big bark but soft as putty. Mine is 100% reliable around my small children and horses (enjoys licking all the horses' nostrils). They are 'people' dogs and would follow you to the end of the earth. Very placid and happy to plod around following you doing the chores.
 
Rhodesian Ridgeback?
I know ive just made a post whinging about ours :P but they are good dogs.
We got her to be a guard dog, I suppose she does that job but she is soft as muck. Our little border terrier bosses her about and will firmly put her in her place if she goes near his treat.
She looks scary and stops people wondering into our property, barks if any1 appears at a gate which makes me feel alot safer when I am here alone. But there is nothing she loves more than sleeping infront of a fire.
She has always had between 30 mins and an hour of exercise a day, now she is older she has shorter walks because she is so stiff bless her.

My dad knows alot of people who have them for the same reason, they look scary but are actually good family pets too.
 
LOL yes I saw your post and it made me chuckle, maybe I should have put that on my list, doesn't 'sing'.

Also I'd like something whose natural lifespan is longer than 8 / 10 as that just isn't long enough.

I know what a ridgy is but am not too sure of a LionBurger ?
 
She is a devil for it. She is very much my mums dog, i much prefer the simplicity of my terrier. When he needs to pee there is no big song and dance... if he needs to go out he will stnad near the door and if he isnt let outside he will pee on the most expensive boots he can find. simples.

RRs usually live to 12 apparently, ours is 12 this year and we like to think we will get another year with her.

What about a rotty? I dont know much about them to be honest but I think they are gorgeous
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A GSD bred for temperament and suitability as a family pet would be ideal.

They look big and scary to people who know nothing about dogs, but with the right temperament and training they are the most loyal, soft and reliable dogs...but then again I am biased!
 
I would second a GSD, my dads family always had them and they were all excellent with me as a child (supervised of course). Although really soft to those invited onto the property, if someone came in uninvited- they would have guarded the property and those in it. My gran liked to keep them because they were so loyal but looked scary and had a shouty bark!
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I have a rottie who would be useless on a yard as she rarely barks.People can be hammering on the door and she just ignores them.She is most definately not deaf as she can hear me talking to the cat in the lounge and she will be upstairs asleep on the bed and be downstairs pronto.Fancy being jealous of a cat !
However YO has 3 and people do think twice about coming in.Those that don't know them, ask if it's safe to come in.
Mine lives indoors in the lap of luxury,has about an hours walking a day and usually 20 minutes of behaving like a nutter with her toys. She sleeps the rest of the time.
As long as they are treated right from the word go,as with all dogs,they are brilliant dogs.
 
Yes I do love Rotties but I have to admit I'm not sure its an option because my family are very wary of them. The neighbour has one, its built like a brick sh@thouse and wanders and mum has said before that she's felt like she's being watched and turned around to find it there, she's been careful not to make eye contact but it unnerves her. Bearing in mind she'd have to care for it if I went away.

I am not a fan of GSD's unfortunately.
 
i'd 2nd rotties
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shame you'vegot one near that you're wary of becuase they are fabulous dogs. i'm keen for a working rottie lol but OH refuses
 
Sorry very quick reply as at work but how about a Mastiff? We have one at the yard and she is very friendly to dogs/people she knows but I certainly wouldn't climb over gate if I didn't know her!!
 
I second Leonberger - I met one at the village show when I was a child and fell in love with the breed.
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I'm determined to get myself one when I have my own house! (I say this about many dogs, but with Leonbergers I actually mean it
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) Think of a Newfoundland, but brindled brown and with a neater face and less (much less) slobbering.
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Labrador. Ours was as soft as they come, but if he was in the garden and we were out he guarded the place - my mate used to hop over the fence all the time and he knew her well (have photos of all of us rolling about on the floor with Barney, with my mate making him pull funny faces!
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) but he wouldn't let her in when we were out. His bark was also imposing enough to put a policeman off climbing over our fence, and he would bark protectively if he thought someone was up to no good when we were walking him - such as fishermen 'hiding' by sitting among the reeds on the other side of the canal!

I would have another lab in a heartbeat
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I always felt totally safe with him about the place. Legend of a dog!
 
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Boxer. Look the part but soft as butter.

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Absolutely. They are fiercely loyal and protective of their owners, but they are such mush heads.
 
We've had a boxer before and she was a gem but i'm not sure they look imposing ? Wouldn't deter me and I kind of want a lumbering dog that just mooches around whereas our boxer was a nutcase.

Everyones been very kind in their suggestions, its a very difficult choice cos there are so many I like looks wise but not knowing the characteristics of breeds its harder to choose.
 
If you want lumbering, then I would go the Mastiff route. A clothes shop in my neighbourhood has one, and the Mastiff enjoys lazing on the pavement outdoors in summer, and lazing on the shop floor in winter. A real sweetie, and excellent with little Stella.
 
I vote lab! Not particularly scary looking, but when she wants to scare someone away and she barks with the teeth bared? Bugger me you wouldnt come near her.

And she's my angel xxxx
 
Great Dane - believe me no one climbs into your back yard when you have one and they couldn't be soppier!

I wouldn't go for a RR - I thought that they were very terretorial?
 
Ive only met the dozy one asleep at my feet. She is terretorial to some extent. If some1 comes into the garden she will bark untill a she knows that we have seen them. Once they are greeted she wont bat an eyelid at them, family members dont even get barked at as they have visited since she was a pup.
 
St Bernard
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My friends have rescues. THE most amazing dogs. I'd have one in a shot, but for the hair (ugh!) and the slobber! They're true gentle giants and dont need that much maintenance. She walks it twice a day (shes size 8, 6 stone wet through so if the SB gets a bit excited she wraps her lead round a lampost for safety lol) and it eats very little in comparison to it's size. It's coat is 'done' a couple of times a year though it'd be fine just having it;s coat hand stripped at home. It rolls round the floor with her kids (13, 8 and 3) yet if someone comes to the door it';s bark is so so loud. When i visit all it wants to do is sit on my knee. They're such people dogs. After JRTs by far my favourite breed
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I would prob say boxer before mastiff.....if u had seen the way the lovely mastiff at work turned on me at work u would not say non imposing
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I have used the dog catcher a fair few times with mastiffs, boxers tend to be more mouth and less action.
 
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now I do love mastiffs, there's a thought.

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Oooohh, where are you? there is the most gorgeous big, impressive looking mastiff in our local rescue centre. Said to be a real softy too
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bounces up and down,, come to Cornwall, come to Cornwall,, get the Mastiff so I don't have to keep thinking about him
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Mastiff was first thought that I had before reading the rest of the postings. After reading them I'm thinking Mastiff Mastiff Mastiff...
 
Ooh a shame cos i'm in Hants.


Thanks everyone for your suggestions, i'd like to give a 'big' rescue dog a home so will see what comes along.

We had a rescue St Bernard years ago and he was fab but died of a heart attack at 8
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