So You Want a Guard Dog, eh? (Basic Dog Training)

Article by Jake Tylor:

True protection dogs are FRIENDLY to people when their owner has no reason to feel threatened. The instant anyone does something threatening the dog changes into a guard dog attitude. The dog will wait for the owner’s command and guidance – either to continue with the attitude, attack or quit. Dogs that are constantly suspicious of strangers or anyone except those he is familiar with are operating on fear. The dog that feels that everything is something to be afraid of and aggressive to is NOT a good guard dog prospect! Most dogs who have a potential to be a good guard dog are easy-going, non-reactive dogs. Dogs who are fearful will even bite the “good guy”! Dogs who are to be guard dogs need to be highly and positively socialized. They need to meet and greet MANY people and to NOT be encouraged to growl, but rather told to stop it. This should be done during the window of prime socialization between the ages of 6 and 16 weeks old. NEVER reinforce (pet, stroke, soothing talk, feed) a dog for inappropriate behavior, and never encourage the dog to be fearful (“It’s OK” – NOT!). A fearful dog is essentially a loaded gun; a dog who will bite out of fear (called a “fear-biter”). Dogs need to be taught to be confident without being fearful.

Raising a dog to be a protection or guard dog is not unlike raising any canine member of your household. The exact same things need to happen in a potential guard dog’s life that should happen in a dog intended to be a family pet – heavy, positive and frequent socialization. In fact, a dog who responds to a stranger at the door with barking does not need to be a trained guard dog. Most dogs will bark at the door. A dog must have a well-rounded view of life and be able to recover behaviorally from every new experience before he even moves into the finer points of guard dog training.I have never trained a dog to be a guard dog, but I am well familiar with the overall temperament of a dog that will do well to make it as a guard dog. If I were to want to train a dog to be a guard dog, I would NOT do it alone! I would seek out and train with people who have vast experience in training dogs in this capacity (in another life, I would have loved to do this!).I would encourage anyone looking to own a dog to be protective to contact someone locally to help you in the choice and training of a dog for this line of work – I would not undertake this alone. A guard dog is essentially a loaded gun; if you don’t have control of that gun, you WILL have problems.

Here is a very brief list of things found in a good guard dog:

* Heavy play drive (tennis ball or tug-toy driven)

* High energy – most working dogs will drive you crazy with their activity level and their need for both physical and mental exercise!

* Able to quit on command (after taught, of course!)

* Heavy work ethic; these dogs realize they do not work alone, and they are a team with their handler

* Strong attention to their owner/handler

* Ability to focus

* Able to recover from “insult”; (they don’t fall apart under pressure)

* Wait for the owner/handler to make the decision to act (they do not work on their own)

* After a long time (years, maybe!) and plenty of experience and training, a good working dog will be able to decide for himself if he is needed

* Able to adapt to new environments, surfaces, weather

* Not reactive or impulsive

* A good, sound working dog is able to pass the Temperament Test given through the American Temperament Test Society.

* A good, sound working dog should also be able to pass the AKC Canine Good Citizenship Test.

Article courtesy of Jake Tylor. Discover How You Can Train Your Dog With Immediate Effective Results Using Proven Simple Steps.

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Related Dog Articles

Working Dogs
Dogs are mans best friend in many ways. Either in a social or working situation dogs want to please and be part of the pack to which they belong; and despite the influx of technology, when it comes to certain jobs there is no one better to help than our canine counterparts.

Types of working dogs:

Police Dogs Police Dogs are usually German Sheppards. They assist police officers in their daily work. They are able to act as a secondary to the officer in the line of duty by curtailing crowds, apprehending suspects and generally acting as a deterrent for criminals.

Sniffer Dogs Sniffer dogs work with the police, the armed forces or Customs & Excise to name a few. They can sniff and successfully search for a number of illegal or dangerous substances. For example, in Customs & Excise a dog will sniff for narcotics, banned food from overseas and live creatures such as illegally imported exotic pets. Dogs can sniff out bombs and artillery for the army, often in highly dangerous situations; and will assist the police force when hunting for drugs and suspects.

Mountain Rescue Dogs The stereotypical imagery of a mountain rescue dog is the St Bernard, the gentle giant with the small barrel of brandy around his neck to revive mountaineers lost in avalanches. This lovely representation of the dog is very true, but many other breeds also carry out rescuing duties in the mountains. Dogs have even been known to parachute to desolate areas to rescue those trapped.

Hunting Dogs Hunting dogs usually run in a pack and accompany a hunt. They may work on a fox hunt, in the case of Beagles whereby they will kill the animal that they are hunting. Or they may accompany a shoot party, and retrieve the kill that the shooting has produced. Either way dogs that work in this way, as with many of the other breeds mentioned, cannot be kept as family pets.

Truffle Hunting Dogs An unusual occupation for a hound, which requires some training. The pigs that were used to uncover these fungal delights took too much of an interest in the taste, and ate the golden mushrooms as soon as they snorted them out. Some genius came up with the idea of training dogs (staunch meat eaters) to do the same thing, and minimise the risk of the treasures being consumed, therefore maximising truffle bounty.

Guide Dog After vigorous training, guide dogs can greatly assist those with visual and hearing impairments (and both) by alerting them and guiding them in a number of different ways.

Sled Dogs Another unusual occupation for our canine friends. Sled dogs are imperative for transporting goods in the Arctic Circle and helping scientists and explorers in this hostile terrain.

Guard Dogs Usually the premise of the Rottweiler, Doberman and Alsatian. Guard dogs are a good deterrent and criminal buster for businesses which are isolated or have no other means of security.

Sheep Dog They work as hard as their farming owners, sheep dogs guard and guide their flock to wherever their master requests.