In today’s world, everyone needs to feel safe at home. Whenever the word security pops up in their mind, people think about cameras and alarms. However, dogs can be a good alternative for providing security. They give an added sense of protection.
Nonetheless, where large dog breeds are often chosen for protection, small dog breeds should not be ignored. Many small breeds are actually quite vocal, watchful, and vigilant when it comes to providing home security.
Their natural protective instincts sense the threat quickly in order to provide safety. Their sharp barking skills make the threat flee by intimidating them with their ability to be loyal to their owner. Small guard dogs possess an innate courage to fight, protect, and instill a sense of safety.
Best Small Dog Breeds Choices for Home Security Needs
1. Japanese Terrier
It is a small, adorable, and highly intelligent breed of dog. It has a friendly temperament and is able to form strong connections with family members. It remains loyal and attentive to its owners. According to PetMD, it is the cross of English Toy Terrier & Toy Bull Terrier.
It is blessed with sharp senses and highly observant skills. It responds instantly even to the slightest unfamiliar sounds and movements. It gives a threatening signal by barking due to its protective nature. It does not even let the intruder come near the house where it is present.
It acts as an early warning system for the household. Its sharp vocal response and quick reaction tell the owner about something unusual and suspicious.
However, it becomes anxious due to loud noises and disturbances. It requires mental stimulation to end the unnecessary barking behaviour.
2. Norwich Terrier
The Norwich Terrier is a compact breed of dog and is known for its high sense of intelligence. It is lovely, lively, and amiable. Due to its friendly temperament, it forms a strong connection with the family members.
It acts as one of the early warning systems as it is quite aware of its surroundings. The Norwich barks energetically whenever it detects something unfamiliar. Due to its ability to alert owners, it is one of the best vigilant watchdogs.
It is one of the courageous dogs that has a fearless temperament. It has sharp hearing and vocal response. Its alert barking is enough to deter unauthorized entry.
However, Norwich has some medical issues, such as patellar luxation and dental problems. Moreover, due to excessive energy in them, their energy needs to be channelled through exercise and activities.
3. Bedlington Terrier
It is the breed that is blessed with a beautiful woolly coat and makes it resemble with sheep. It is quite gentle, affectionate, and loyal to the family.
It is a quick learner and can easily learn to detect the threat. Whenever it feels threatened, it barks out loud to intimidate the owners about the threat. It is quite aware of its surroundings and has protective instincts.
Norwich Terrier is one of the best guard dog breeds, which has a balanced vocal behaviour. Due to this, it can easily be kept in an apartment. But it barks well enough to point out the potential threat.
But it requires regular grooming due to the hair coat. Demands early socialization in order to eliminate its unwanted and destructive behaviour.
4. Cairn Terrier
The Cairn Terrier is a small, cheerful, and energetic furball that was originally bred for hunting. It is one of the confident small dog breeds. It is curious, intelligent, and a quick learner.
Despite being small and compact, it is fearless and can counter the threat with bravery and courage. It has keen senses and does not hesitate to react to a threat. It is vigilant and blessed with expressive and loud vocals.
Cairn keeps its guarding eyes on the threat and responds quickly when detect even the slightest change in the surroundings or unusual activity.
However, it requires continuous engaging activities; otherwise, it is stated by the American Kennel Club that the Cairn has the habit of digging in the backyard due to boredom.
5. Danish-Swedish Farmdog
The Danish-Swedish Farmdog is an affectionate, loyal, and one of the gentlest dogs. It forms a strong bond with the children as it is highly social. The Farmdog is intelligent and eager to please its owners every time, which makes it look more adorable.
Farmdog is a reliable watchdog when it comes to providing home security. Its unwavering loyalty and ability to provide safety to its owners make it stand out. In a world full of threats, the keen senses of this small dog make it a reliable protector.
Nevertheless, it demands regular exercise, proper training, and barking management as it has the issue of excessive barking.
6. Yorkshire Terrier
Yorkie is a compact, toy-sized Terrier with delicate looks. It is bestowed with the qualities of being tenacious, friendly, and bossy. Yorkie demands great attention and love from the family. Interestingly, it has a lot of attitude in a small body. It has a beautiful, silky coat.
The Yorkshire Terrier is also known as an alarm dog owing to its ability to detect strangers and bark at them. It remains alert all the time to serve its duty as a guard dog. Despite being a miniature breed, it has a big personality to protect its owners. It is fearless and confronts the threat courageously.
But the Yorkie is fragile and prone to injuries, so caution is needed while training or playing with it. Requires early socialization and regular grooming.
7. Chihuahua
The Chihuahua has a lot of Terrier-like temperament, a small dog with a big personality. It is also known as Chi Chi, which sounds funny but cute. Chihuahuas are loyal, friendly, and affectionate with the family.
Being born with boundless energy, it is quite active and energetic. Interestingly, according to Royal Canin, it is the best companion of humans.
It has a built-in “guard dog” temperament, so it provides protection whenever it feels potential danger. It does not care about its small size and barks at its fullest to alert the owners. It is easy to train a dog like a Chihuahua, as it is a quick learner.
Being one of the excellent watchdogs, it sometimes displays aggressive behavior, which needs to be managed by proper training and providing different energy channelizing activities.
8. Miniature Pinscher
It has an adorable nickname, “Min Pin,” which sounds quite lovely. The Miniature Pinscher is a small but strong breed that is fearless and confident. Being loyal to its loved ones makes the Min Pin enjoy the amenities given to it by the family in the form of care and affection. It loves to play with toys as they keep the dog entertained.
The small size of this Pinscher cannot make anyone underestimate its guarding abilities, as it has quite an assertive personality. Due to its alert demeanor and high-pitched bark, it is no less than any security alarm that provides security to the home.
It has fearless and proactive behaviour. It not only barks but also investigates the disturbance. Moreover, it is intelligent and a quick learner.
It has high energy, which demands its owners to be energetic as well. The Pinscher needs daily exercise to eliminate unwanted behavior. Early socialization is also important to prevent the problem of unnecessary barking.
9. Scottish Terrier
Scottie has an independent, dignified, and confident personality. It has a more human-like personality. It does not get along with strangers but forms a strong bond with the family and kids.
The Scottish Terrier has a natural watchdog attitude and can notice even a minor unusual change in the environment. It is well known for its strong territorial instincts. It is one of the best choices as a watchdog when it comes to providing security to the home.
Its confident posture and alert personality do not even let the stranger come near its territory. It has a natural ability to remain well aware of its surroundings and the environment. The loud bark of the Scottish Terrier is enough to intimidate the owners of something unusual.
However, due to its stubborn nature, it becomes difficult to train it. So, a lot of patience and time are needed to make it a suitable choice for home security.
Conclusion
In a world full of threats and unknown circumstances, everyone wants to have a security system at home. However, providing security to the home does not always mean that one needs to keep a large or medium-sized dog. Small guard dogs can also be a prudent choice in order to provide protection.
Miniature dogs are quite alert, smart, and watchful as well. They are well aware of their surroundings and ready to protect the home at any cost. Their barking abilities make the intruders run away by giving them a threatening signal.
Ergo, it entirely depends on the owner to choose any kind of small guard dog by looking at the pros and cons of having them, as any of the aforementioned breeds can serve the purpose of being a vigilant protector.
