[quote=boomslang]Its all in the upbringing..... I can tell you from experience to stay away from any of the Breeds with a high Prey drive.... As you JRT's darting action and fluttering behavior can act as a real trigger for dogs with said prey drive. I would go with a more laid back breed... Leonberger, Newfie, andthe like... I dont think that you are experienced enough to handle the dogs Im about to mention, but Ovcharka dogs seem to do suprisingly well with little dogs. PLease Keep in mind.. there are always exceptions to the rule. Just rememer... Upbringing! And Welcome. Lane[/quote] Thank you for the nice welcome and your reply. I did some checking on the breeds you mentioned. The Leonberger is quite a handsome dog and sounds like it has the right temperament that we'd be looking for. It is truly a gentle giant but strong protective instincts. I see it can do water rescue so I wonder if it could be taught to retrieve? A drawback I noticed is that it has a fairly short lifespan, 8-9 years, so the heartache would come soon. The Ovtcharka - my God what a huge head! :) His disposition and purposes in life do seem to be conducive to living harmoniously with other dogs, but it's clear that a lot of training and careful attention is needed to bring out the best in the dog and establish good control. I also see nothing that indicates any hunting instinct. It seems to be more of a livestock and family guarder that anything else, but I may not be able to find all of the three main traits we'd be looking for in one dog of the molosser breeds: 1). Excellent guard dog with an intimidating appearance or at least be quite large. The kind of dog an intruder sees and and says, "Oh s--t, I am so outta here!" 2). Good with other dogs and content to be the outside guard dog most of the time while other pets are inside with us (which is not to say he wouldn't come in daily or ever be neglected, not given affection, walked and played with or left out in lousy weather - never happen). 3). Hopefully some hunting abilities, particularly retrieving or at least locating the kill in the cover. #1 and #2 would be "musts"; #3 would be a big bonus but not totally necessary.