In defense of little, "unreal" dogs, they do tend to bark a lot and eat very little. Good for security alerts without draining your food supply. Plus, they won't kill and eat your children when they are starving (unlike some of the dogs listed previously).
For those of you gardening, a good hunting cat would be a real asset. It'll feed itself and protect your food supply.
Therefore, my first animal would be a Cat.
YouTube - Iris chases deer
YouTube - Cat Versus Bear
Lab, husky, German Rottweiler, Akita, Malamute etc
I am leaning Lab for now but I am concerned about having a dog and chickens. Not sure how it will/would go.