60 pounds of pure intimidation

Harry has the large frame and protective personality of a German shepherd, with the fluffy curved tail of a chow. He wasn't always as good-natured as he is today. By the time Harry was 3 months old, he was chewing up anything in his path, straining at the leash and biting at his owner.

"He was initially a very aggressive dog," Rosen says. "When they're young, you're supposed to cradle them in your arms like a baby to show them who's in charge. Harry would have none of that. I had a lot of trouble controlling him."

What it took to set Harry straight was a week of doggy boot camp, where he learned authority and discipline.

Rosen realizes that although Harry makes her feel safe, dogs are not the most reliable protection. She tells other women at the neighborhood dog run that if they have to walk their dogs in the park late at night, to do so in pairs. "They could have the most aggressive pit bull, and I would still tell them to be careful," she says.

That she did not originally intend Harry to be a guardian gives her a different perspective than that of some other women, who have come to rely on their dogs for personal security.

"If someone had a gun and had their choice of going after me or someone without a dog, they would probably choose the person without the dog," she says. "But it's not a 100 percent deterrent.

"The dog both deters people and attracts people," she says. Some people see Harry's intimidating appearance and cross the street.

Others use Harry as an excuse to sidle up and make conversation. "They're obviously not afraid of the dog," she says with mild disappointment.

Once, when she and Harry were walking down a street near her home, a man burst out of an apartment building and yelled to her, "How do you expect people to ask you out on a date when you have this big dog?"

Rosen replied, "That is exactly why I have this dog."

It actually is not what she initially had in mind when she went to get a dog, and animal experts say that is a good thing. Although most dogs do bond with their owners, and many have protective instincts, one is never sure how reliable a dog would be in a crisis situation. And the kind of breed is not an absolute indicator. "Some will sit quietly while the thief walks off with the silverware," says Perry Fina, a director at the North Shore Animal League America on Long Island.

A dog might be an "alarm dog" that concentrates all of its energy on barking and never actually attacks. Or it can be an "image dog" that takes an aggressive stance and snarls to deter attackers - but that is about it. Then there are "the all-out man stoppers," Mr. Fina says, "the working dogs who are not only capable of taking out the bad guys, but will."

Owning a man-stopper is not the safety haven it may sound like. "Training a dog to be aggressive is asking for trouble for you or your family, or anyone who comes into contact with the dog who is not out to harm you or your home," says Stephanie Shain, a director at the Humane Society of the United States. Instead, she says, owners of large or naturally aggressive dogs should teach them through obedience training that it is the owners who are in charge. Then the dogs learn to take signals from their owners about when a person is a real threat versus just delivering the mail.

For many owners, having a friendly dog who is big or looks as though it could attack is enough for them to feel safer. A woman in Riverside Park walking her Rhodesian Ridgeback, a tall dog with a strip of hair growing backward up the spine, says that even though her dog is not easily riled, "People see his fur up and think he's angry, so they stay away."

Another young woman was walking a combination pit bull and bull mastiff. The silky black creature with an oversized head, slobbering from his gravy-boat-size jaws, looks like he might repel even dog lovers, let alone potential attackers.

It turns out that, in this case, looks had better be everything. "He loves everybody," his owner says. She explains that although the sight of the dog does scare people off, she wouldn't want to rely on him for protection. "He can't wait to say hello to everybody. He never even growls."

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