When I was first bitten by the Writer’s Bug some 25 years ago, I was told to write about what I knew. That was good advice at the time but as I grew as a writer that advice seriously limited the subjects that I could write about and seriously limited the audiences that I could write for. Then, one day while reading the morning newspaper, I realized that no writer was an expert in everything that they wrote about, what they were an expert in was researching any subject and then turning that research into a publishable article. Still, once in a while, every author is given the opportunity to write about a subject that they truly know and love, like the family dog.
To this day I can remember my first family dog, a Collie that went by the name Nelly. Where my folks got that name from I never did find out. What I remember best about Nelly was how she used to let me ride her all over our farm as if she was a pony. She never got angry when I wrapped my little hands in her long, luxurious fur to keep from falling off her back as we patrolled the lower forty. What I remember best about her was how protective of me she was. Although she was never trained as a watch dog or as a guard dog, her natural instinct was to protect those that she loved but especially me since I was just a small child and unable to protect myself from dangers. Living in the country, we were safe from the criminal element, but there were still danger everywhere for a child. On more than one occasion old Nelly kept me from falling into ditches or into the creek that flowed through our property. What I remember most about Nelly is how painful it was for me when she died of cancer. Nelly was more than just a family dog; she was far more than just the family pet, she was my playmate, my best friend, my protector.
A dog can be a child’s best friend but you as the parent have to decide exactly what you expect from the dog. Are you looking for a family pet, a watch dog, a guard, or a dog that is part pet, watch dog and guard dog. Pet is easily understood but the difference between a watch dog and a guard dog isn’t so obvious. A watch dog and a guard dog aren’t the same thing. As a general rule a watch dog is any breed of dog that barks at a strangers approach but lacks the size or training to carry through on their barking. For most watch dogs, the old saying that the dogs bark is worse than his bite holds true. Guard dogs, on the other hand are from large breeds like the German shepherd, the Doberman pinscher, the Chow, the Bull Mastiff, the Rottweiler and the Rhodesian ridgeback. These are all very strong, muscular dogs with keen intelligence that can be trained to follow through on their bark with very aggressive behavior when called for. Guard dogs, unlike watch dogs, are specially trained to react to both visual and verbal command and then they are socialized with the family they are to protect. For people with babies and young children, Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever, Irish Setters or Wheaten Terrier are excellent choices for a guard dog.
If you live in a high crime area, buy a highly-trained guard dog have him socialized to protect your family. Owning a guard dog is like owning a loaded weapon, you can and will be held responsible for their actions so make sure that all your friends, relatives and trades people know that your guardian is on duty protecting you and your family. If you live in rural America or deep suburbia where there is little or no crime, get a good watch dog cum pet.
By all means get a dog. Every child should grow up knowing the unconditional love of a great family dog.
