Mk86, that's hilarious!
Bulldozer, you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned "poor stock". FAR MORE important that which BREED is which BREEDER of your chosen breed. I highly, highly recommend researching your breeder carefully and diligently. There are a bazillion backyard breeders out there turning out terrible dogs of all breeds, but particularly the popular ones. Rotties are one of the finest species on earth if from a good line with close ties to German blood or of rock solid American stock. But there are thousands of dumbass backyard Rottie breedies (and Dobies, and Akitas, and you-name-it). I would advise you to do these things:
1. Buy and read "How to Pick Your Purebred Puppy" or similar title- this lady is very knowledgeable, and "The Art of Raising a Puppy" by the monks of New Skete.
2. Pick a breeder who's not in it for the money, but for the love of the breed. Visit the kennel and make sure it a professional, clean setup, with much attention paid to the dogs. Don't ever buy from a backyard breeder or pet store under any circumstances. Your odds of getting a good dog would be better just getting a good ol mutt from the pound. And AKC registration tells you absolutely NOTHING, zero, nilch, about the quality of the dog. Anyone in the world can find two registered dogs, start breeding them, and fill out some paperwork. Interview the breeder. Ask the tough question. Make them tell you about the lines and the strengths and weaknesses of their dogs. Have them give you facts and stats about the dogs, regarding health, temperament, etc. Where did they place their dogs, and do they keep in touch with the owners? Do they care about the breed? If they are breeding more than 1 or 2 different breeds, they probably care nothing about the breed, but only about the money, which is a big red flag for you. Nothing is worse than getting attached to a puppy, then have it come down with major health problems in 4 or 5 years. Your much better off spending $750.00 for a good quality dog now, than $2,000 to $5,000 in vet bills down the road, only to have the dog suffer and/or die. It's also much better to search for 6 mos to a couple of years for the right breed & breeder than to get the wrong dog. I know I'm ranting, and you probably don't need this much info, but I'm on a roll..... If you don't have kids yet, then I do advise AGAINST an Akita, German Shepherds, Belgian Shepherds and Rotties, as well as against Chow-chows and Dalmations, because certain dogs of these breeds, esp. Akitas, even some of good breeding, will have such a dominating instinct that that could potentially view a new baby as a threat to their territory and harm or kill kids that were not around them as a puppy. These breeds are biters! Now if the puppy is raised around at least one small child, then it will usually accept all small children in the future without any problems.
Retrievers (Goldens, Labs, Flat-coated, Chesapeake Bay, etc.) may or may not be good guard dogs, depending on their temperament. Same goes for herding breeds like Border Collies, Aussie Shepherds, Aussie heelers, North American Shepherds, etc. Terriers, dachshunds, and the like will certainly bark well, just not visually intimidate well. Yeah, Rod. Ridgebacks are very good. Also, Airedale Terriers are generally good watchdogs. Airedales and Standard Poodles are actually pretty large dogs, and can be intimidating, as someone mentioned.
3. Try to stay at home for a full week when you get the puppy, to house-train it and help it adapt to your surroundings. Try to get the puppy at the age of 7-13 weeks, preferably at the 8 or 9-week age. USE A CRATE to house-train the puppy in the exact manner described in "Art of Raising a Puppy". When you do this, house-training is a "whiz" instead of a nightmare.
Email me with any questions, and I'll try to help.
See, there's lots of ways to look at dogs. Some dogs make one of the finest alarms. Others make, well lets just say that they "cry wolf" too often....all night long.