Awwwww! I've owned greys all my life as well as worked with rescues and they've always run with me! I think that may be your dog's personality because it's not the norm!

I agree 100% that they are not, however, ever going to be known as attack or guard dogs! Except one of my greys now is. Again, her individual personality and she tries to bite everyone who looks at her. lol. Never had one like that before!

I agree too that they're big enough that sketchy people just back away slowly. Especially my current male-he's black as can be and over 90 pounds. People are really nervous around him even though he's the most gentle dog I've ever come across!

Greys are my favorite breed. I just love them so much! Here's my guys:
https://picasaweb.google.com/108590597171630187912/Doggies?authkey=Gv1sRgCN-Qq5ayjpHWtgE

clearly the only thing I can talk about dog wise is greyhounds since that's what I lived and breathed, so I'm of no real help here!

Awww e.taylor - your babies are beautiful!!

I agree! I *love* greyhounds, and whippets, too. And Italian greyhounds... They're all so soft- and fine-haired, and sooooo beautiful!

awww, thanks you guys! I was just talking to a friend and had to get off the phone to coax them back inside...there are raccoons outside and they were thoroughly convinced they were going to have a second dinner. lol!

I do love my crazy hounds!

I am a dog trainer that works under a master dog trainer that trains dogs for patrol, narcotics & explosives detection and sells them to police departments and personal protection clients.

As a history geek, one area I am pretty knowledgeable in is canine history, especially the history of WORKING dogs.

While it's true that any sort of large dog that will bark on command is a good deterrent and a german shepherd or a dobie would be good personal protection choices because they have a natural guardian instinct that will kick in with little or no training, I don't feel that either of those breeds are a good choice for a long distance runner in a hot climate.

Personally, I would not own or recommend any German Shepherd or Doberman that has been bred in the United States unless all of it's ancestors are from East German or Czech lines in the last three generations. I feel that the AKC and UKC have ruined those breeds and those that most Americans are used to seeing are structurally unsound.

If anyone is interested, I have documentation and photos of how this breed SHOULD look and perform that is from 1900 - 1945, you will be shocked at the difference between those dogs and those you see now.

A Rhodesian Ridgeback would be a good dog for running in the heat as they were originally bred in the African Savannah to hunt lions, this breed requires an experienced dog owner because they can be human aggressive, some are dog aggressive and they can be over the top when it comes to guarding.

In that article posted above, an Airedale terrier was mentioned and I would whole heartedly recommend that breed for running distances in heat AND protection.

Airedales are the largest of the terrier breed, easy to care for, calm and a darn good working dog. They are eager to please their master, are usually not dog aggressive, not prone to barking without good cause, very intelligent and tenacious as all get out when confronted with a threat.

As a matter of fact, Airedales were raised and trained to be police and guard dogs in Germany back in the earlier part of the 20th century. (I have a police dog training book in German copyright 1920 that documents this.)

We have trained several in personal protection for clients who wanted a dog capable of guarding & putting a serious bite on a person if necessary, but did not want the usually breeds that we are accustomed to seeing as guard dogs. The dogs were a dream to train and had a natural instinct for determining what was a credible threat vs. some one being an idiot and responding appropriately to the situation.

If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me. :-)

I am curious to find out what kind of dog you end up with.

I'd love to see photos!

I'll upload some early GSD photos to photobucket to post later tonight.

You have greyhounds, yes? I have some awesome pictures of paintings of greyhounds from about 150 years ago in a few of my dog painting books. I also have some images of them from the mid 1400's in Gaston Phoebus' "Livre de chasse" Book of the Hunt.

You would die if you saw the Greyhound collars in my book from the Dog Collar Museum at Leeds Castle in England. I have recreated several jeweled greyhound collars for historical reenactors.

OMG! Greyhound bling!!! I MUST see photos if you have them! Also from the book....I love the old tapestries and paintings. But your handiwork would top the rest!