[quote="esprinter]In every case she demonstrated what I would call guarding, without displaying any aggression at all.[/quote]You are joking right? And what do you really think your dog was doing when she was barking or gruffing at the person and holding her ground.... ? OH my God. People, aggression is not a bad thing? It seems that everyone is so turned off on the term "aggression" that it is not even seen for what it is. I am very happy that my dogs are aggressive when their property is trespassed on. If they just stood there barking and tried to push me out of the way and did not show aggression .. then they would not be worth the bullet I would expend on them or the meat they are fed. Guardian dogs are supposed to guard and a guardian without aggression is a watchdog. Question of the day - how does a dog demonstrate Guarding ability without aggressive tendency?[/quote]

What she did was protect my person. My understanding is that Bullmastiffs are not generally bred to be junkyard dogs that protect property. They are better suited as personal protectors.. I live in So Cal, the lawyer capitol of the world. A human aggressive dog here can cost you far more than any simple thief can take. Professional robbers here know how to handle mean dogs. Any thief that will come into a home despite the presence of a barking Bullmastiff is one who can handle any dog (sometimes here they simply shoot them).

The fact that she will use her voice to warn me and her body to protect me and my family from personal harm is all that I want from her. I have no desire to lose my home and everything I own, because my dog tore up a kid who came over my fence after a ball or something...Right now I feel that our dog is exactly what I want in a dog. She allows me the piece of mind of knowing that she will do her best to protect the individuals in my family, yet not get me sued over a misunderstanding. Our dog loves people, but she is willing to defend our bodies from physical harm. You may not call that guarding, that is your right. But here where I live a good family pet that will act the way she does is far more useful than an aggressive, territorial, dog, that (here in Ca) is little more than a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Here in Ca we are not legally allowed to use any potentially leathal force to defend property. A badly mauled tresspasser with a sharp lawyer is likely to become a homeowner at the dog ownwer's expense. P.S. The definition I most often see of an "aggressive dog" is one that involves inappropriate violence. A dog that will confront a legitimate physical threat is not aggressive in the eyes of many (including myself).

So perhaps you and I are simply defining aggression differently. We surely seem to define guarding differently, because I see guarding ones person as guarding at least as much as I see the protection of property as guarding.... 8)