re: Suggestions for dog breed. Needs to be good for families and protection.

Maybe you should stop hanging out with worthless pieces of shite owners

I like larger dogs and my cane corso was perfect with protection. He only lived to be 7 though.
My next dog purchase will be a Caucasian Ovcharka. They are huge and very protective. They also seem to be very healthy for such a large dog.
If you have time, look them up on YouTube. They don't just latch on and hold enemies, they knock them down and try to kill them.

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I wasnt opposed to boxers at first but they slobber like crazy

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Well, yeah, there is that. Usually just whenever they are excited. If chilling with the fam, they're usually not too nasty.
Besides, that slobber looks scary as hell if there are some raised hackles involved, which sounds like one of the requirements.

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They are good dogs with kids from what I have read but the one we had was like a mentally retarded 23 year old. Didn't know his own strength. I couldn't imagine him around a kid.

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They do seem to come off as a little goofy, and they tend to punch grownups in the nuts as a way to say "hello".
But of the ones we raised (we had like, 5 generations and kept at least 2 at any one time), ALL were the epitome of gentleness with kids. Even our biggest male, who was a special kind of dumbass, would sit there and let little kids "pet" him (you know, poke him around the eyes, grap his ears, all the stuff kids do to dogs). He'd just sit down and take it, wouldn't ever bark or even try to get up and push his way around some, like some dogs do.

It's like they smell the testosterone, or lack of it.

If a kid hadn't hit puberty yet, our boxers were like big hairy beanbag chairs for the kids to roll on.
If there was a 13 yr old or so, the boxers all acted like their long lost buddy just showed up and wanted to play football.

And if someone was about grown- they did the social check. Cool with the owners, then come on in; and they always seemed to remember a friend once they were cleared by us.
But random stranger dude- the dogs would just instinctively come line them up if they came too close to the property. Wouldn't lunge if not provoked, but would act like a bouncer or doorman- right in the path, right up front. If/when one of the kids was around, they'd be between the stranger, but close to the kid (or a wife etc).
That was one of the big pluses; the dogs wouldn't run off chasing if there was someone to protect, but would destroy an attacker.

Get a German Shepherd and thank me later. Yes, they require some attention and exercise, but for the most part it's perfectly manageable. Just keep it in mind that these dogs will crave human interaction and mental stimulation. Involve them in as many activities as possible.

Considering what you're looking for (and as long as you can handle some shedding), I don't think they can be beat. Just the presence of one is enough to scare off 99% of criminals.

German Shepard

This is the answer man. Only down side is the pricetag.

I have a Chihuahua and that little fricker doesn't let a mouse fart without letting us know something is up. But he's a great family dog and he's actually really, really cute. Not one of those big bulb head beady eyed breeds, but a really cute one.

Rhodesian Ridgeback

you really need to read up on them.

I've been pondering this exact question and I keep coming back to the German Sheperd. My only concern is I've never had a dog and don't want to get in over my head with one. I've read up plenty on exercising them sufficiently, etc but I'm still nervous about getting one and realizing they require 3-4 hours a day of specific attention.

I have a 1 yr old German Shepard. He's very loving and protective towards us all. But hes also a big pain in the arse. We cant break him of jumping on people or digging.

We work with him all the time on commands and obedience, but hes so difficult to deal with that he may have ruined that breed for me in the future.

He doesn't like the lawnmower. He HATES weed eater and will bit you trying to attack it, and he gets a bit aggressive with the water hose, but likes water.