I hadn't ever bought a dog as a guard dog specifically. An English bulldog had always been my dream dog and finally I got one. He's 8 now and next to great Danes, have the shortest life span of any dog. When he was 2 I bought a female because I was going to breed them and make buckets of money! Well I didn't foresee them eventually hating each other and for the sake of peace in the home I sold the female. Never did get any pups out of them!
Anyways, I discovered what an amazing home protector a dog can be. If I had to choose between a dog or a gun I would choose the dog, hands down. Their hearing is amazing, they are fearless and would be on an intruder before I could even get to my guns. When my kids first started walking home from the bus stop if no one was home yet I'd call and be sure to tell them to let mugsy in with them. I trusted their safety to a dog more than I would a human and I never thought I could get that from an animal. Anyways, needless to say I'm glad I'm not a cat guy!
So that's how I've arrived at my choice for our next pet, the corso is one of the best guard dogs and they look friggin awesome.