Article on Teaching a Dog to Protect You
Reader Opinions...
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Post 1: Anonymous
i think that a dog that is locked up all day and is not
social is going to be mean no matter what (i know by experience) so if i
were you i would let your dog be as social as can be becasue if not you
will regret it in the long run.
Post 2: Anonymous
We need more people like you on this planet... thank you
Post 3: Webmaster
Thank you poster #2, for the kind words. :-)
Post 4: Anonymous
I would be willing to adopt a breed as opposed to paying for
one if I felt it could protect my family. As far as training is
concerned, the idea of love being the answer sounds a little 60's to me. It
makes sense that a dog would naturally protect it's loved ones,
however, I'd like to have a little more control of a situation than just
asking the dog to stop tearing someone to shreds. The world is full of
people that a dog would sense might need a good biting. Unfortunately, I
can't bite everyone I know needs to be bit and I would like to extend
that control over a situation in an effort to avoid being sued every time
my pet decides to administer justice doggy-style. The reason I am
attracted to paying for a trained dog is the peace of mind that this dog
has learned to control it's instincts and finds it reasonable to take
it's cues from me or another human member of the family. I am currently
trying to decide what to do about the guarantee of a home intrusi!
on. I have an alarm, I have a concealed weapon (in an effort not to
leave weapons unattended) and I would like a dog that can be inside with
my little female shelter dog that has a lot of trauma from being
abandoned several times. I've paid my dues and I want to feel safe when I'm
at work. I believe a dog who knows how to guard and protect would be
the last thing I'd need to satisfy this need.
Post 5: Anonymous
You are absolutely correct. My wife and I have a Black Lab,
although not agressive at all. Our boy has in one ocasion tried to protect
my wife, when he was just six months old. Our boy just sensed
something about a person and would not allow that person to go near my wife.
Post 6: Anonymous
i have a pitbull and when i got it people told me not to
feed it this and that. they said don't play to rough with it or it might
make it mean. my dog is the nices pitbull ( when it is not tring to
protect me ).i can walk it down the street with out it stopping to fight
and attack people or other dogs. people say it might bite someone but my
dog has had many chances to bite people walking by, petting it, talking
to me, and walking down the street. it has not even growled at anyone.
people look at the bad things that the breed has done and classify it
as a "bad" dog, but many are not. it is the handful of dogs that have
attacked people, or other dogs. any dog can attack people or other dogs.
does that mean that people will put it in the range of the pitbulls or
other "mean" dogs like that.no, they will say that it was the dog, its
blood line, or it's owner.
Post 7: Anonymous
My suggestion is to also walk your dog to the door. If it is a friend say " OK, OK, Good Boy"" maybe someday it won't be a friend
and Fido will know it's not O.K.
I have done a lot of attack dog training , and don't feel the average person need's that degree of protection. There is a great deal of responsibility to having a real man stopper.
Post 8: Anonymous
I HAVE A VERY LARGE MALE PIT BULL. I COULD NOT ASK FOR A
MORE DEVOTED FRIEND. WHEN I COME HOME LATE, HE IS UP AND WAGGING HIS TAIL
AND READY TO SNUGGLE UP ON THE BEAN BAG. WHEN I AM SICK HE NEVER LEAVES
ME NOT EVEN IN THE SHOWER HE IS RIGHT THERE. WHEN I HAD THE FLU AND
PASSED OUT IN THE KITCHEN HE LAID RIGHT THERE NOT EVEN MOVING TO ANSWER
THE DOOR WHEN MY HUSBAND CAME HOME. HE HAS ONLY OFFERED TO BITE ONE
PERSON - THE IDIOT THAT TRIED TO REACH IN THE CAR AND PULLED MY HAIR TRYING
TO CARJACK ME. HE DOES NOT PLAY GENTLY WITH OTHER DOGS HOWEVER, HE DOES
NOT TRY TO FIGHT, HE JUST PLAYS DOGGIE FOOTBALL. SO MUCH FOR THE
NEGATIVE PRESS ABOUT PIT BULLS, MINE IS A BETTER FRIEND THAN ANY I HAVE EVER
HAD, AND I AM QUITE SURE HE WOULD LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR ME AS HE DID
FOR MY SON.
Post 9: Peter D.
Wow! You surprise me! After reading your previous rubbish, I
see you do actually have some common sense. Apply this to your other
views and you may actually make a difference.
Post 10: LJ Corley
Having experience with one Rottweiler for eleven years I
feel all that you say is true, Ruby was a runt female and lived with us
as a family member. She was a great friend, a good companion and
certainly a strong defender of our home. I didn't have to teach her
aggressiveness she had that in abundance but I work hard with her to act
correctly with children and other animals. My wife and I are looking for her
incarnation, Rottweilers are a great breed and have been shamed by jerks
with macho complexes.
Post 11: Kris
I am greatful to have "stumbled" onto your web page and I
take your common sense advice to heart- and agree!!! Just a few weeks
ago a approx.4.5 month only red-headed "puppy" walked up to me while I
was watering flowers. (Tried advertising etc. to find owner with no
luck.) I took him in not knowing what kind of breed he was. He's growing
and tripling in size and he's just received his shots and is now
neutered. My vet informed me I am now the proud owner of a Pit Bull. He's a
gorgeous red haired, Benji eyed, short hair and plays wildly with the
other dogs (Schnauzers and a Chinese Pug). The male Schnauzer (also
neutered) takes him down when he gets too wild and for now he lets him.
Now I'm beginning to wonder if I can handle him as he loves to nip and
chew. Does this go away or get worse? He's amazingly sweet and loves
frisbee's. Very smart and a beautiful body. Any more common sense
advice is appreciated.
Post 12: Webmaster
First off, I would like to say that generally speaking, the best Pit Bull owners are the people that don't go out looking for a pit bull. Half of the dogs I have had (also pit bulls), come to me in the exact manner that you ended up with this dog.
Anyway... I'm not a dog trainer, but I have had many adopted pit bulls. So here's a few tips I feel qualified to give...
1. You don't need to learn to be a dog trainer, but it would be wise to make sure you teach your new baby the basic commands and that he obeys them well. Don't give a pit bull an inch or they will take a mile, but on the other hand, don't dicipline them firmly by spanking them, just reward them with great praise and/or treats when they do what you ask...(every time). Let no good deed go un-noticed and all they will want to do is make you happy and therefore, they will listen because they want to.
2. Make sure that when your new baby is playing with the other children, that he always lets go or stops for a moment if one of the others yelps. If he does not let go instinctively, make sure you tell him NO! and physically make him stop if you need to. Pit bulls can sound ferocious and so can other dogs, but as long as nobody yelps, things are usually okay.
3. It is always smart, no matter what kind of dog you have, to carry a bag of black pepper when you walk your dog. If another dog ever attacks your dog, or vice versa (don't worry, your new baby won't start fights with other dogs if you socialize him with different dogs while growing up), the only sure way to get any dog to let go (including a pit bull) is to make them choke (with water) or sneeze (with pepper). I like pepper because it's lighter and easier to carry than water. With water if you spray it into a dogs mouth to make them choke, they may only choke for a few seconds. With black pepper, you blow a little right at the nose, and you can be sure that dog will be very busy sneezing for about 5 minutes. This is the most humane way to break up any dog fight and will ALWAYS cause a dog to release it's grip.
4. Do your best to socialize your new baby with as many different nice dogs and nice children as possible while growing up and you will end up with a normal, happy, well adjusted dog like any other.
In response to your question about the chewing. Pit bulls are one of those breeds that loves to have something to chew, always keep something durable on hand such as a "kong" toy. If you have problems with him chewing things you don't want him to, aside from teaching him not to "just chew things", you can always spray something like bitter apple on things you are concerned about. There are other spray products sold at most pet stores that will also keep pets from chewing furniture and things.
That's about all I can offer you. Small dogs tend to be intelligent, agile, and versatile, I think you will be very suprised how intelligent, agile and versatile a large pit bull can be.
Post 13: Anonymous
My opinion, is that your Opinion, is not an opinion, but
complete FACT. So many people make the mistake of taking a dog, who is
already bred for protectivness and guard work, and try to train them to be
mean, this only destroys your dog. Please socialize your dog and treat
him with love, and he will protect you and those he loves till his own
death, without ever being viscious towards friendly people and friends.
Post 14: Susan M.
I found this website searching for rescues. Since I'm
familiar with the terrors of overpopulation, I was immediately repulsed by
this site. I read the Dog Training tips page anticipating ripping you
(the webmaster) a new one, particularly when I also saw a page on "How To
Teach A Dog To Protect You". It was only after I began to read that the
light came on. By the time I read the webmaster's responses to some of
the opinions, learning your diabolical, brilliant plan, you have become
a new hero. Although I do not understand how anyone who actually reads
your pages could miss the point, I think some confusion is caused
because some of your "tips" are twists on humane tips and others are ironic
twists on inhumane practices. Anyway, you are a genius and a credit to
our kind. Thank you for this wonderful, awsome redirect.
SpayNeuter
Post 15: Webmaster
You are too kind Susan, but thank you.
Post 16: Anonymous
id like som help, or advice, i have a 6 month old rottweiler
an hes to frendly with people even stangers and other dogs, latly this
has been anoyin me because evry one calls him a sissy, so if anyone
reading this has any advice on how to make him more agresive please e-mail
me opel_31@hotmail.com, thank you.
i would also like to know how i would go about training my dog to
attack on coman, so again if anyone is reading this plse e-mail me.
Post 17: Anonymous
I am a professional dog trainer, with over 30 years of
exprience; and I started training dogs for law enforcement. Thanks for the
good advice you are passing on to potential dog owners.
Post 18: Paul.J
This short article was simpley too short about training guard
dogs. It takes other elements to train a guard dog, love is one. I like
articles that are more thorough and spesific that shows some level of
broad knowledge.
Regards Paul.J
Post 19: Jim B.
It's funny how many people seem to completely miss the point of some of the articles here. Paul J, did you not see that love was mentioned in the article or did you miss that along with the point of the article?
Post 20: Shane Davis
I agree with your statements about how to teach a dog to
protect you. I'd like to add that most animals are smarter than most
humans. Our companions (dogs) are highly sensitive to things we humans are
not. In order to understand more completly what a dog is we must
attempt to aquire a sensitivity to the natural world as they do. We must
always think in the second person. How does my dog feel? How does my dog
see that, how does my dog respond to that? etc., etc... Always viewing
the world through their hearts and eyes will connect you like nothing
else. Soon you will have your dog responding to your eyes and
silentmotions. We are a mere learning tool for them as they are for us. You will
have an extemely loyal and intelligent companion forever.
Post 21: Anonymous
yeah i know what you mean i have 2 pits aand the love you
show them is the love they will show back to you!
Post 21: Genevieve
To Opel who wants to train her Rottweiler puppy to attack on
command, please read these articles carefully before your dog hurts
someone through your ignorance. I have pit bulls, but I do not tell
anyone, because of people like you giving them a bad reputation by plain
ignorance. Rotweilers and pit bulls do not need to be taught agression, it
is natural. What is not natural is the type of agression you seek.
Judging by your grammar and spelling, your dog is going to be unmanageable
as it is, let alone if it were trained to attack on command. Turn your
dog in to a Rottweiler rescue before someone gets hurt and your dog
ends up destroyed.
Post 22: Kenneth
My name is Kenneth. I have a Lepard dog, Boxer dog,
English Mastiff, and a German Shepard. I love dogs unconditionally, but
each of my dogs is for a purpose as well as companionship. I have read all
of your opions prior to my writing this, and all of them are valid,
though some of them make a weak point.
Starting with Opel's inquiry; if after reading all the opions you
still want to make your dog meaner, you must be willing to do at least two
things when achieving your goal. You must increase its discipline
accordingly, and it must be unconditionally strict. When you make a dog
meaner, it can never go back to the way it was, that is to say once it
tastes blood, it will desire it for the rest of its life. Second you must
take full responsibility, if hurts someone unjustly, YOUR FAULT not the
dogs. It wast just doing what you trained it to do, that is what the
discipline is to control. But here is my problem with what you are trying
to accomplish; your reason is far to weak for your desire. My hunting
dog is the meanest i have ever seen, but i also don't take her off my
ranch to be around strangers in parks. My friends bring their dogs to
play with her. But with everyone that comes by, they must be introduced
to her, or she will not be kind to them, that is not what you want if
you are in the city for sure. But in her defense, she is the sweetest
dog once she is told a person is ok to be here, and she never forgets,
so it only takes one intro; but that is dangerous. And getting to
exscept strangers the first time was hard to train into her as well. Dogs
don't understand "i want it to beat up my friends dogs", they
understand, "I want them to kill all stranger dogs". Dogs will set their own
pecking order, don't try to get yours on top of it, because dog fights are
very brutal and dangerous.
On another note, the person who wrote the front page opinion is an
intelligent individual. I agree with what they had to say for the
most part. I found the authors opinions on protective dogs a great deal
insightful.
Thank you,
Kenneth
Post 23: Anonymous
Opel... if you have a 6 month old rottweiler that's friendly
with people ... even stangers and other dogs... it sounds like you are
doing something right. Don't let your stupid friends make you treat
this dog any differently.
Dogs should be friendly, you don't want to have to worry every time a
child or another dog is around, do you? If your dog bites them, YOU are
responsible. Could you live with yourself if your dog mauled and
killed a small child? I'm guessing, no.
By treating your dog well and give it lots of love and making sure it's
friendly to other dogs and people, you will have a great friend for
many years. Don't let the idiots confuse you... a friendly dog will still
protect you if the need arises. You don't want him to be aggressive
when there's no need to be, do you?
Your dog, because you have treated it well, will lay down its life for
you if you are threatened. That's the only time it counts anyway and
there's no way to test what I'm telling you, but trust me that it's
true. Because the dog sees you as the leader of its pack, it will protect
you to the death. If you're not threatened, why would you want your
dog to act aggressively, that would just be a lot of work trying to
control it.
Good luck, hope that pup of yours stays just as friendly and great as
it is now.
Post 24: Anonymous
Opel, the best thing I could suggest to you is to give your
dog to someone who knows what they are doing before you seriously damage
that dog, yourself or someone else. I don't think you belong owning a
dog, a cat, or even a goldfish.
If your dog is friendly with people, it is doing what it is suppose to
be doing. It's people like you who seek to make their dogs aggressive
that give dogs like pits and rotts bad names. Do everyone a favor and
stop trying to own animals, you don't have a clue what being a pet owner
is all about. You are the type of person that will end up being in the
court system being forced to take responsibility for your dog gone bad
if you actually go through with your insane quest to make your dog
mean.
I have been around supposed aggressive dogs my whole life and have
learned one thing first and foremost. If a dog feels that you are worth
protecting it will protect you. If you give that dog no reason to want to
protect you, it won't. Maybe your dog is being friendly with other
people hoping one of the ones he is nice to will take it home and treat it
right.
My uncle and dad bred and raised dobermans when I was younger and any
of those dogs would have laid down their lives for any of us in the
family. I have a friend who has a couple rotts that will protect him till
the day they die. They are not mean, they do not know how to attack on
command, they just know that they are treated with love and respect and
that is what they give back. I have owned German Shephards, and a
pit/chow mix that I never once had to train to protect me or be aggresive,
they did it on their own if I needed protection, such as someone walking
in my house drunk at 3 a.m. while I was sleeping one night. I have a
pit bull now that I took in just 6 days ago from an abusive situation and
that dog already has a desire to protect me and my house, I show him
the affection he never had his whole life while he was kept locked in a
closet. When I got him you could count every bone in his body and even
now still when I take him for a walk his feet are so sensitive from
never being outside that his feet bleed just from walking on ice or playing
on carpet with my brother's German Shephard. He has had a broken leg
from abuse and then ignorance on how to care for it but he is the kindest
most loving dog I could ask for. I don't ask him to be aggresive, but
already he has shown that if he feels I am threatened, he will protect
me.
I have always raised all my supposed bad dogs around cats and kids with
no problems. The only problem I ever had with a Rott was an ignorant
person who thought it was fun to teach his dog to be aggressive and
attack. The most horrifying thing I ever witnessed was to watch an ignorant
person's Rottweiler attack and kill my cat that had been a family pet
for 12 years. That dog shook my 15 pound cat in his mouth like he was a
piece of paper. My cat didn't know to stay away from the dog, I had
raised my cat around Rotts and other dogs it's whole life. The owner of
that Rott took his dog away laughing while I buried my beloved pet. I
have no respect for anyone who seeks to train a dog to be aggresive or
attack on command. Most people who want their dogs to do that are doing so
because they are involved in illegal things and want protection or are
just too stupid to know better. And either way, they don't belong
having any pets and should be treated in the same cruel way they treat
animals.
Post 25: Anonymous
PEOPLE!!!!! Dogs are PACK ANIMALS!!!! When you take them in
and they are cared for and now belong to your "pack", they will defend
and protect with their life because as every wolf knows, the safety of
the wolf depends on the safety of the pack; and the safety of the pack
is above all other things. In the wild, a lone wolf is very vulnerable,
and usually doesn't live long. Dogs still have that instinct; that
without the pack they cannot survive, so the health and safety of the pack
is of utmost importance, and more important than 1 of them. This is why
a dog will lay down his life for his owner. And yes, of course, the
better you treat them and respect them and love them and bond with them,
the stronger and deeper that desire to protect you will be. Look, I've
trained dogs for years, in obedience, and in Schutzhund training
(generally referred to as law enforcement training, or "bite" work), and the
one thing you NEVER want is a MEAN DOG. You NEVER NEED YOUR DOG TO BE
MEAN, BECAUSE A MEAN DOG IS AN OUT OF CONTROL DOG. If you want your dog
to "attack on command", why not first try obedience training? Why not
talk to some trainers about it, do some research on it? Look up
protection trained dogs and see just what you might be playing with. More than
likely it's not anything that you really want. First, any trainer worth
his salt will not touch your dog until it is very solidly obedience
trained. And then the trainer will assess if you should need any further
training, and if you as an owner are responsible enough for that. If
you already have a dog with a rep for being "scary", just train your dog
in obedience, teach him to sit quitely when you tell him, and his
quiet and serious attitude while on leash and "working" will be enough for
any person to be wary of. Rottwiellers are actually a very gentle and
loving breed, even goofy, with their "pack" members, but don't be
fooled, once your pup is grown up he will be a serious protector when he
needs to be. It's bred into him, it's part of his bree!
d. Focus
more on YOUR education and how to properly educate him than on any
"guarding" behavior, and you will be just fine. You can't be too educated
when it comes to dogs.