Are Golden Retrievers Good Watch Dogs?

Are Golden Retrievers good watch dogs? When I was a kid there was a definite difference between my dogs – pets – and my dad’s dog – a watchdog. I had two Dachshund/Beagle mixed breeds, a female and a male. Yes I know, one thinks how is it possible, but believe me, there they were…and I loved them to bits. 

My dad’s dog was a Boerboel. He was fierce, barked at any strange movement or people, and listened only to my dad and nobody else. He ignored any friendly advances and I soon learned to ignore him too. I suppose he was a good watchdog. 

Does it have to be that way? Can a dog be both a good pet and a good watchdog? We know Golden Retrievers are excellent pets. But can they be on the lookout for evildoers too?

So, are Golden Retrievers good watch dogs?

Depending on what your requirements are, a Golden Retriever can be an adequate watch dog. However, they are not the ideal breed for it, there are other breeds that are better.

Good watchdogs bark. In fact, all dogs bark. They usually bark when they see something or someone strange. They also bark when they are excited and sometimes when they are scared. Golden Retrievers are not great barkers but you can teach it to bark when there is something you need to be alerted for. But that’s not all that is required to make a good watchdog. Let’s discuss what a watchdog is and how a Golden Retriever does as a watchdog.

What Characteristics of Golden Retrievers Make them OK Watch Dogs?

If you look at the list above Golden Retrievers have all of the traits of good watchdogs.

• Excellent hearing. Golden Retrievers do have excellent hearing. That is why they are trained as hearing aid dogs.
• Alert. Golden Retrievers are favorite dogs to be trained as service dogs. One of the reasons why is because they are alert.
• Loud bark. Although Golden Retrievers are not famous for barking, they do have a good bark. If you hear it, you have no doubt that it comes from a big dog. At night that is a particularly effective deterrent for aspirant intruders. The trick is to convince them to bark when there is something worth barking at.
• Protective towards owner and family. The American Kennel Club (AKC) uses three words to describe the Golden Retriever: Friendly, Intelligent, Devoted. These dogs love their owner and family and are loyal to a fault. Loyalty is not equivalent to protective instinct, and there is no way to predict with absolute certainty what your dog will do in a situation where you are threatened. At the risk of repeating it too much, if you want a dog that will protect you physically by biting, attacking, or something similar, you are looking for a guard dog, not a watchdog.
• Ability to distinguish between regular and irregular activity. Err. This is where the Golden Retriever is most likely to fail the test as a good watchdog. It will bark, yes, but it is saying “hello, wanna play?” not “what are you doing in my yard?”

On the other hand, golden Retrievers that have been trained as alarm dogs for people who suffer from seizures do learn to distinguish between regular and irregular circumstances. The question is how important is this in your everyday life? If you live somewhere where there is a lot of daily activity, people coming and going, strangers in and out, you may have a problem.

They do have other qualities that help to turn them into good watchdogs.

• They are eager to please. One of the reasons why Golden Retrievers are known to be easily trainable is because they are obedient. And they are obedient because they are so eager to please. So with a bunch of patience, you can train them to bark at appropriate times and not approach just anybody. This applies to people as well as other dogs and is a very useful skill when you take your dog out for walks.
• Intelligence. Golden Retrievers are very intelligent. This is their saving grace and makes it possible to train them to fulfill the role of a watchdog. You can teach them not to give in to their natural impulse to make friends with anybody who comes through the door. And to prevent strangers from getting close to you, even though they may not attack them.
• They’re good with cats. Why is this an issue? Because most watchdogs, let alone guard dogs, are not good with cats. Therefore Golden Retrievers are an excellent choice if your family already has a cat or more. It also puts you in good stead with neighbors who have cats. Sometimes that can be very advantageous to peaceful community living!

Watch Dog, Guard Dog, What’s the Difference?

Almost everybody uses the terms watchdog and guard dog interchangeably. Try a Google search for watchdog and see what you get. Almost everything about guard dogs.

But are they the same thing or should you expect different behavior from each?

There is quite a difference between a watchdog and a guard dog.

You must be very sure of what it is that you want. And be careful when you make your choice. Do not bite off more than you can chew. In a manner of speaking.

Watch Dog

Almost any dog can be a watchdog.

Size does not matter. It must be alert and able to bark very loud and go on until you stop him or the object goes away. But then he must stop, so don’t think a guard dog does not need training.

The job of the watchdog is to alert the owner to anything that is unusual.

This means people, other dogs, other animals, unusual activity, and anything that the dog perceives as a threat. That is quite a large repertoire and some of it comes with exceptions.

Guard Dog

All of the above applies to a guard dog, but it goes somewhat further. The guard dog is supposed to also warn and then attack anything or anyone that looks like a threat.

You can see that here training is very important.

When do you want the dog to stop warning and start attacking? Does it only attack to repel the threat or does it keep going until the threat is completely neutralized, as they say in the spy movies?

In other words, do you want the dog to kill?

If so, when and how? And how do you stop it if you realize that this time you do not want it to kill?

Now, do you want a watchdog or a guard dog?

If it is the latter, you should look for another breed. Golden Retrievers are not suited at all to be guard dogs, there are much better breeds out there. However, if it is still a watchdog you want, read on.

Best Dog Breeds for Watchdogs

We said that almost any dog is capable of being a watchdog. But there are obviously some breeds that are very good at it.

Here is one list of the best breeds for watchdogs:

• Affenpinscher
• Airedale Terrier
• American Eskimo Dog
• Boston Terrier
• Brussels Griffon
• Cairn Terrier
• Chihuahua (oh yes, you better believe it!)
• Dachshund
• Fox Terrier
• Keeshond
• Manchester Terrier
• Miniature Pinscher
• Miniature Schnauzer
• Papillon
• Pekingese
• Poodle
• Scottish Terrier
• Shetland Sheepdog
• Shina Inu
• Shih Tzu
• West Highland White Terrrier
• Yorkshire Terrier

Notice something?

No Golden Retriever. In fact, no Retrievers at all.

But do not despair. There is always individual variation among dogs. Your Golden can be trained to do some of the duties that a watchdog is supposed to perform. Better start young.

Characteristics of a Good Watch Dog

A good watchdog does not just bark mindlessly. Most of us have heard those and they drive the neighborhood insane. That’s not what you want.

And in any case, that’s not a good watchdog but this is not the place to go into reasons why dogs bark for hours on end.

Remember the story about shouting Wolf! Wolf!?

That’s what happens when you have a dog that just barks and barks. You stop paying attention because you know there is nothing out there that may be a threat.

A watchdog barks when there is something to be barked at. That does not include its shadow.

You need the following traits in a dog for it to be a good watchdog:

• Excellent hearing.
• Alert.
• Loud bark.
• Protective towards owner and family.
• Ability to distinguish between regular and irregular activity – the postman comes every day and is harmless. The courier may be harmless but does not come every day, so he deserves a bark.

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