[RonE]

I think we established that he's looking for a watch dog, not a "gaurd" dog. The prospective owner doesn't have the experience to train a guard dog, there's nobody qualified in his area to train one (might be some great job opportunities for an experienced trainer willing to relocate to Iran) and he wants a family dog that isn't going to frighten his wife and kids.

[sheltiemom]

As a woman who is home with kids during the day, I would rather have a medium sized dog that will bark than a larger dog that will look imposing, no matter how docile the large dog is. I personally doubt my ability to handle a large dog, even a lab, so that would not be a good match for me. If it is going to be the wife who is home and handling the dog mostly, then I would get something that she feels comfortable with. My shelties give a very good show of barking if anyone approaches my house, and it's a good sounding bark, not yappy. Problem is, if anyone saw them, they would just laugh. I think your friend is going to have to compromise somewhere, because I can't think of any dogs that are easy to handle, good family dogs, look imposing, bark, etc. It seems like most dogs that bark are smaller and most 'scary' looking dogs are not good family dogs or not for beginners. I still think maybe a lab.

[RonE]

Originally Posted by sheltiemom

I still think maybe a lab.

I agree.

Maybe he was an anomaly, but Dogzilla was an admirable watch dog. He was protective of his family, especially my wife and daughter, his bark would rattle the windows, he was 120 pounds and solid black (I don't know why people found that more intimidating than a 120 pound yellow lab, but they did) and, though he pinned a few miscreants up against the wall, he never bit anyone or even touched them.