Need to know about a good guard dog breed.

Question
I am very much interested in guarding dogs. I have already owned a female gsd, but to my bad luck she was too hyperactive, jumping over everyone and does not like being trained and I was not at all a gentle one. So, I gave her off to a friend of mine. Now, I like to have another good and gentle guard dog. I am totally confused as to what is the right breed for me. I need a dog very good at guarding and to be totally away from strangers. I live in an apartment, so I need a dog which requires minimum eercise. I like dobermans very much and so I want know whether it is right breed for me. Some say that a rottweiler is preferable, while others say a german shepherd is good. I was very upset of my gsd, which was always jumping in people, roaming on roads and it became very hard to control her. So please help me in deciding the right breed for me. I even heard that a rottweiler is a very agressive breed and is dominant. Please inform as to which of the three is more gentle, calm, uninterested in other people, very good guarding dog, loves family and is a very loyal breed.

Answer
You may be hearing so many different things because too many inexperienced people think all members of a breed are like the liminited numbers of ones they know.  Not all German Shepherds are like the one you had.  Think about all the ones you have seen as working dogs.  Same with the other breeds.  Buy a poorly bred Dobermans or Rottweiler and fail to train it properly, and it may turn out to be worse than the GSD you had.  Good training is very important.  The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/ For more on being top dog, see http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm  A real guard dog is a specialized area, you may need additional lessons from a professional experienced in the area.  

One of the best sources for dogs with a predictable personality is the rescue dogs. These are dogs that lost their home, but were taken into a foster home to be retrained as necessary and placed in the right home for them. You may find a rescue near you starting at http://www.akc.org/breeds/rescue.cfm The rescues charge a fee to help cover their expenses, but is much less than the price of a puppy plus all its medical expenses the first year.  Unless you convince them you will trains It properly as a guard dog, many rescues won't let you have one of their dogs.