Since I work nights, the dogs get walked pretty close to The Witching Hour. That is not a really safe time to be out on the streets in my neighborhood.
I have mentioned before that my dogs are willing to get between me and trouble, if trouble comes looking. (You can find two examples here and here.) Now reader Tyouth has left a comment asking for advice on training a guard dog, and CatCube wants to warn against training the family pet for aggression if there are children in the house.
My philosophy so far as dogs are concerned is that they function best as organic early warning systems. They don't have hands, can't use the phone to summon help, or use firearms to defend against violent attack by humans similarly equipped. Heck, the simple doorknob is beyond them! But they can alert me when someone crosses on to the property, and then I'll take care of the rest.
My dogs get the usual training. (Sit, stay, come here, poop outside and not inside!) Other than that I just praise them when they bark as long as there is a good reason, such as someone knocking on the door or wandering around the yard. I discourage barking because they hear other dogs carrying on, or when the kids play a game of hockey out in the street.
So why do they show their teeth when trouble approaches? Because they are taking their cues from me! If I get all tense and nervous, they start to look around to see what the problem might be. This is a natural instinct, and I've never had to train a dog to do this.
If someone actually wants to own a trained guard dog, then I strongly suggest they contact a professional dog trainer. I might be a self defense instructor, but dogs are not a part of my arsenal. If I was silly enough to give advice so far as techniques to be used to train your dog, I would be doing you a gross misservice since I am woefully unqualified to voice an opinion.
Comments (2)
I agree, my dogs are the wide range alarm and deterrent. Most goblins see a person walking with a dog and think a bit longer and harder about attacking since it is just not possible for a goblin to know how a dog will react to someone invading their owners personal space or the dogs home (keeps the burglars out).
When my wife wants to go for a walk on her own, she takes the pups, even though they can be a handful, because she has noticed that when she walks alone, she often passes men that will leer at her and stare at her chest and get too close. If she has the dogs, the men either ignore her, or make eye contact and comment on how beautiful the dogs are, and keep right on walking while giving her a wide berth.
My dogs are housepets, not trained killers.
My dogs are also large (70+ lbs each) with one being a GSD and the other being a lab mix.
Posted by Madrocketscientist | February 19, 2008 2:53 PM
Posted on February 19, 2008 14:53
If someone rolls up on your wife while she's walking a shepard, there's a small but still decent chance that it'll defend her even without training (depending on how long and hard it's been socialized with her). They're a very territorial and defensive breed by nature. Belgian Malinois' are the same way (though Mals can be a handful--they're very, very energetic).
I remember seeing a report on Fox a little less than a month or so ago about a dog being put down for attacking a gardener who walked into its house (I don't recall if he was escorted or not) It made perfect sense when I saw a picture of a German Shepard.
Posted by CatCube | February 21, 2008 10:47 AM
Posted on February 21, 2008 10:47