Yup, there is NOTHING more loyal than a great full dog. He is one thing but she won't let anyone near us without a firm command. I had a friend over and she left the room, he went to leave and I was walking him out and he was behind me and she ran up a bit him on the butt, I think is was purely because he was behind me. Lesson learned. She ripped his pants but didn't break the skin.Good for you. And good for the dog too.
While dogs are a lot of work, if you have a good dog, there's few things that are better to be around.
I like children and dogs better than I do most adult people (and I use the word adult based on age not maturity or intelligence).