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Question

I am getting kind of tired reading about "all those poor dogs, and it is the owners fault" and how "anyone who trains a dog in protection is a scumbag" just trying to show off their lack of self-esteem. Has anyone here EVER had a dog that was PROPERLY trained in protection work? If so, what kind of experience did they have with it?

Answer 1

NOT interested in one myself. DO know people who do-schutzhund,etc.

The dogs so trained are MORE stable & "safer" than the average "boob-in-the-street's" nasty wittle mutt.

It's NOT "aggression"!!! It's a channeled & directed PLAY activity. Like all the other originally-bred-for tasks dogs do that the ignorant are so afraid of/squeamish about....herding,hunting,terrier work....It reminds them that there's a REAL,flesh & blood world outside their computer screen.

Answer 2

I can tell you that a dog trained in protection or schutzhund is far less likely to bite then the average pet dog. Schutzhund takes a lot of training and it is a lot more then just bite work. Obedience is the first part and it is similiar but much more demanding then AKC obedience, then there is tracking and the dogs have to much more precise then I have seen in AKC, and last is bite work. I think people just assume it is bad because they hear about bite work. To me it is beauty in motion watching as the dogs go after the decoy and hold and bark, some of the dogs have so much intensity, or to watch the full attack and see the dog stop bitting without hesitating on the handlers command.
I became interested in Schutzhund while looking for a GSD pup. The breeder wanted to keep puppy buyers interested in schutzhund so he put on a little demonstration. I was hooked. I never saw a dog work with such enthusiasum. I started going to trials and mostly every dog I saw worked happily and with a lot of enthusiasum. I will say it was not easy training for this sport but it was fun and my dog always had a great attitude when it came to working.

The bottom line is Schutzhund is a SPORT it is not evil or dangerous.

I do not know about dogs trained for protection only except I know not all dogs can be used for protection, it takes a certain kind of temperament.
I would not get worked up over the ignorance of others, I get put down because I do AKC obedience with my dogs. I get to hear how all I buy dogs for is to look good and to make them work and that I should just let them be pets. Although I really do not understand what they mean by let them be pets because my dogs enjoy life far more then most pet dogs.

Answer 3

Yes, protection dogs are very useful if well-trained. The right kind of owner will train a dog to utilize its power rather than abuse it. I had one Rott that was Shutzhund trained before I bought her. The amount of training she had was amazing. Its important with these dogs to follow through on their training, a dog that just attacks at random is no good.
I read about a man that had four Dobermans. These dogs patrolled his approximately 50 acres of land. He traveled quite a bit and had automatic feeders, but there was enough wildlife they hunted and he encouraged it. These dogs had an "on" command for when they should be on duty and an "off" command when they could relax. They would stay on duty with this sole command for days and even more than a week. They were not allowed to greet him or show affection while they were on duty. Only when he gave them the command to relax did they play and greet and do things normal dogs do when their owner returns.
The coolest part about the training of these dogs is that they were trained to wait. They would not run out and attack an intruder as soon as he arrived. Instead they would hide in the shadows and watch for a few minutes. When the intruder was sure there were no dogs present and was far away from the fence, that's when the dogs would go in for the attack. Very cool, amazing training.

Answer 4

My boyfriend had a rottie trained wonderfully in protection work. He tells me that when he was outside and going for a walk and such she was always EXTREMELY alert and watching out to make sure that he allowed people to come near him. He would always alert him if they were out at night and someone was coming near.

In the house she was the biggest suck ever. She was like any other sucky female who loved to be pet, to play and to have belly rubs.

I can't say that having a dog trained in protection is a bad thing, but my bf went to a professional to have him trained. It is the people that try to train a dog in protection in their backyard or from a book they read that scare me. As I said, my bf could go for a walk and she was fine around anybody. It was only when he got really nervous that she would be alert, and she would never attack unless she was told to. So many of these people who train their dog in their backyards don't have these commands and the dog will attack anything within 30 feet of it.

Answer 5

HI
My uncle trained dogs for the military and now that he is retired he still trains them for protection of his house, they are german sheppards and are nice pets also, they don't don't attack but they hold the person at bay with their nose. I think it is good for a dog to be trained what they were breed for. Unchecked this quality that were breed for could turn to aggression so they definitely need to be trained it is in their instinct.
Lammy

Answer 6

i haven't but Ive had dogs all my life(I'm 28 years old)and i know that when a dog attacks or does something bad to people, its the owners fault

Answer 7

yes, i had a rottweiler that was a police dog. very loving and affectionate with people. wasn't fond of small dogs, but never attacked any. he died a few years ago of old age.