Watch dogs are meant to protect your family from criminals that may break into your home. Family watch dogs are not guard dogs. A family watch dog should bark when an intruder approaches your property to warn you of danger. A guard dog, on the other hand, can be vicious and they may bite an attacker.

Good watch dog breeds are sometimes the smaller dogs such as Chihuahuas, make good watch dogs because Chihuahuas do like to bark. Terriers and poodles also make good watch dogs too. Good guard dog breeds include doberman pinchers, rottweilers and pit bulls. They are more aggressive dogs.

I have a dog named Ice. Ice is not an aggressive dog in any way, shape or form. Ice does however make a good watch dog. Ice will bark when strangers come into the parking lot to alert us that there is someone there. However, if that stranger came through our gate, Ice would be all over them and not aggressively. He would lick them to death. Ice loves attention. He loves to be petted 24 hours a day.

Ice is an Australian cattle dog. He is very gentle and loving. It probably doesn't help the fact that I treat Ice as my baby. I can't help it, he's just too cute.

I've never had a need to have a guard dog and probably never will. A watch dog, yes, I do need one just to let me know someone is outside. Ice makes the perfect watch dog.