Those dogs are so big though. I'm partial to mastiffs, but the dogs are just so huge. I should've mentioned earlier (and may have, but I don't know) that I need a dog that's good with small children as I have two nieces who are 2 and 3.
their is nothing that i would trust more with kids,
they even males will let a baby lamb nurse on them even tho they don't have facilities for it, they are the keepers of piece and my males except for the one baby i bred and raised aren't much larger than a rottie or a good sized lab,..
this is why i love this breed they will keep anything from getting hurt especially kids, they love them, this is why so many are given up because owners think they are aggressive but they are just protecting the kids and babies, even from the parents, they won't hurt ant one, just let you know they are watching you,..
this is what they are bred for they work /protect and drive sheep/goat in the pyrenean mountains all season without a human telling them what to do free thinkers
yes if you are the type to spank your kids in a way that is wrong and mean or worse they
will and
can stop you..
my husband is always mean to my animals and hates them and they know it, when my female had puppies she delivered day after Christmas out side in my garage and we wasn't expecting them for over a week so some froze, we brought her in and she raised the pups in the spare room we had and when my husband came in the house she would growl and tell him stay out of the room, but never has she ever said or done anything to him but back down like she should, except for her room and pups, so if she was going to do anything it would have been then,..
she never got up or anything just said I'm watching you,.
they know very well if someone is a threat or just needs told off,.. so i would never question them in any way unless you've just met the dog and it has issues but after even first meeting kids they know their babies ,. all babies are safe,.. they can hang on them and pull their ears etc they just say oh aint that cute,..lol my son did all the above to most of them,,
even the 2 new ones I've had for a year, one is 6 the other 11, so its instilled in them to protect,. and in these days and times of people with no money and stealing anything around I'm glad i have them all around my house,.. they scare the dickens out of anyone that comes around but i don't have to worry about them bitting anyone unless they are up to no good and hurting someone they care about,..
i have them in for visits (as they demand to be outside, they like it better even in this weather) all the time and they will help you up they will steady themselves for you to lean on them to get up etc they really know,.. very nice creatures from God,..
edit: most males are smaller than specs. and are around 95-100lbs
but they don't eat very much for their size as their metabolisms are very slow and only eat about 3 cups of food per day, any more and they vomit, but they don't eat like dog either they nibble like cats come back and snack, so you have to have a concentrated food to get the daily nutrients they need,.