IS it true that if ure too nice to a dog it wont be a good guard dog?

Question

I have 17 week old german shepherd female puppy...is it true that if i pet her and cuddle with her and play with her too much...her guarding instincts will go away and she will become like a sissy(for lack of a better word). Also can neone please tell me when at what age will she start shwoing her protective ness and guarding instincts like barking at strangers and intruders and even if she has to bite a theif...please tell me at what age and please only people who know answer and btw i love and care for my dog so hold any lectures u have on "treating dogs"

Answer 1

Here is the bottom line on this. Socializing the dog with you will have no negatine effects on her protective instincts, if she indeed has any. The dog is too young to be protective of anything. She has to mature before you can determine if she has any potential to be what you expect of her. As far as socializing with other people, my feelings on this are a little different then most people. I take my dog everywhere I can and let him interact with people, from a distance. Petting or touching my dog is NOT allowed, except under special circumstances. Any adult dog of mine will be able to go into a crowd of strangers and not have any problems at all. He just will not pay any attention to them, but will not bite anyone either. There are two times in life where a trained dog is allowed to bite, when told to do it and when protecting the handler, PERIOD. Under no other circumstances is the dog is allowed to engage a human. Please do not listen when people tell you that your dog will protect you "naturaly". There is no such thing as most dogs will run away from a string threat. Plus most people have no idea about dog psychology or pack drive. If you are the Alpha dog in the pack, no lower pack member will dare start or finish a fight without your approval. To do so, means disrespect to the Alpha male and that is something that no pack member wants to deal with. Remember that the Alpha dog has no interest in "love" from his pack, but, he has a very deep interest in respect and he will deal with immediate and very violent ways of getting it. Now, there are dogs out there that will bite and protect, "naturaly", but, you cannot live with them. My dog is like that so I know. Females, generaly, are not as hard as males in protection, they have more of a motherly instinct. I have a female shepherd that I will put against any male shepherd anytime, but that is an exception, not the rule. The funny thing is that I prefer female dogs because you do not have to put up with as much crap as with a male dog in terms of challenges for status. Let the dog mature and have her evaluated by someone who is qualified and then see what she has to offer. Good luck.

Answer 2

If you love the dog she will love you back and want to protect you. Our GS was 8 weeks old when we got her and our daughter was 2 1/2 yrs old and by 17 weeks the dog had started to "herd" our daughter away from anything that the two should not have been near. The only thing we had a problem with was the fire ant hills, my daughter would try to stick sticks in them and the dog would use her nose, thankfully we were always able to get to them in time. Our dog is now 3 and is very protective of both of our kids and myself. My husband travels a lot for work so when he is gone Sheba will give up her spot on our bed and sleep in the hallway between the 3 bedroom doors. She is very gentle with the kids and I think that she thinks of me as the alpha (most of the time). My husband is a K-9 handler but our dog is not trained for protection but her instincts are there. My husband doesn't think she would ever attack an intruder, she barks, growls, shows her teeth and puts her hackles up with strangers, but can be controlled with voice commands. However, he likes that she is with me when he is gone, he and my father (who raises Huskies) both agree she will give me time if I need it. They don't need to be mean or bite if they sound good and Sheba sounds like she would rip an arm off. Also as your puppy gets older watch for signs of hip problems, this breed is prone to them, the earlier the catch the more treatment options you have. Ours was found around 2yrs and the vet says that since we caught it so early we can treat it with medication to keep her pain and maybe even surgery free until she is an old Shep. I hope this helps and sorry it is so long, I just get talking about my "3rd kid" and I have a hard time stopping.

Answer 3

That's a myth. Love your dog. Pet her. Cuddle her. Make her a part of your family - you'll be glad you did.

Dear, I could go into all kinds of facts about guard dogs, but you aren't interested in them. Bottom line however is that you do not want a guard dog. Guard dogs are dangerous and need to be handled by professional trainers - ONLY. Are you a professional trainer? Hint: If you were - you wouldn't be asking these questions.

This is because a dog that will bite a bad-guy will also bite your sister's visiting child - who happens to be your Godchild. Trust me. You can replace anything a thief would take. But can you face the parents of a child your "guard dog" harms?

You are money well spent buying a good alarm system that calls the police/fire/rescue people instead.

The VERY BEST THING YOU CAN DO is take Sweetie to obedience class so you can have a nice polite well-trained companion. Obedience classes, regular vet care and spay/neuter are three of the best things all dog owners can do for their dogs.

IF - a bad-guy should try to break into your home, Sweetie will bark and warn you about it by instinct. She will also probably protect you instinctively without any prompting at all. But mostly she will bark, giving you the chance to get away and call the authorities.

But don't try to deal with a guard dog. Guard dogs are not for novices. They're for professionals only.

Answer 4

Not true. When I was writing a paper about dog language and dog-interaction, I came across a case where a owner had two gsd he had bought for protection and guarding. He kept them outside and only interacted with them during feeding and training - only the dogs did not guard or protect his property nor his family. He was told to take the dogs inside and interact with them more, not just training, but also playing and cuddling. The result was that within a few months, the dogs were doing their job.

If you think about it logically it makes sense. Whenever a dog guards or protects a property or an owner, it's putting itself at risk. Usually the stronger the human/pack/territorial bond is the more inclined the dog will be to guard and protect.

So pet, play and cuddle is good, just remember to combine it with adequate amounts of training and activation.

As for when she starts to exhibit guarding and protection insticts, I addressed that in my previous answer to you.

Also remember you might not see any protection instinct until a trigger situation arises.

Answer 5

I don't think that you will be able to get rid of her guard dog instincts because of playing and cuddling but you could encourage the dog to aggressive if you reward her aggressive behavior. You want to be careful because they will be able to sense danger you do not want a huge dog barking at every stranger or biting a kid who is just retrieving a ball from your yard.
I know it seems weird but they will be able to tell the difference if someone were breaking in when you were not home or sleeping it is not the same as barking at the mailman and everyone walking down the street
My dog has been very protective and we realized that his barking at everyone who approached us was get tin out of control we hired a trainer and he told us about the ability of the dog to sense danger he should bark at or protect you from someone who is trying to hurt you but not if your neighbor pats you on the back. Besides so many people are scared of this breed a lot of thief's are detoured by you having one.

Answer 6

In my opinion, its very good to cuddle, play and socialize puppies until they are about a year old. After you have taught it to sit, lie down, come and other basic commands, then the real guard dog training begins. When any "working dog" is working, you can't play with it or cuddle or love it up but when its officially "off duty" you can pet and play with it but not quite the same way you would a dog that never works.

All dogs need a good sense of belonging and safety to created calmness and rational thought when making bite or don't bite decisions. Establish that feeling when he's a puppy and he will be a cool, calm and collected watch dog and still have a sense of friendliness to his "pack".

I'm no dog expert but love animals and have a little sixth sense about them.

Answer 7

This is a legitimate question and one I face in my training classes. I often have owners who don't want me to teach their dog manners because they are afraid their dog won't be protective when it has to do so.

This isn't necessarily true. A dog will protect its pack. You have a GSD, and they have a natural tendency to protect. You won't make him a "sissy" dog by training him to be mannerly and obedient. She will show her instincts when she needs to do so. That may be early or a bit later in her development, depending on the personality of your dog. But, she will do so.

I'll give you a personal story. I have corgis. My Cardigan is a trained service and therapy dog and is certified as both. He is obedient and well-mannered, absolutely loves people and will play and do tricks constantly. However...the night after Christmas someone came into our yard. He barked and barked. It was that different bark that says, "Stranger!" I looked out my window and there was a guy trying to break into our cars! I snapped on a leash and out the door we went. I didn't even have to tell my dog to "sick 'em." He went right after the man and ran him, not only out of our yard, but down the block before being sure he was gone. My dog then returned to the yard triumphant. He's not been trained to do that. He assumed the role because of his place in our pack.

Your dog will do the same. The only thing that will change this is if you use negative training measures. Fear doesn't make a dog protective. A sense of belonging and position in the pack encourages a dog to protect. Don't succumb to those who would tell you that you must be aggressive with your training. It will backfire on you.

If I can help, feel free to email me.

Cindi G.
Pet Trainer

Answer 8

PET,CUDDLE,LOVE ON,PLAY WITH till she can't stand it !!!
As I'm laying here on my living room floor typing I've got 1 GSD with his head laying across my legs,the other male is laying with his back up against my right side,and my female GSD is laying where she can look over my shoulder at what I'm doing.Cindi said it better than I could have,so I do agree with her.Showering her with love won't sissy-fie her,she will love you more and be more protective of you,the instint to protect is already there,when she will act on it is another story,I've had one that started showing signs between 5 and 6 months old,but at the same time he only barked not being sure yet of whats what.The one male here will only get protective if my wife is startled or mad or scared,he reacts from her emotions.My female doesn't get along with human adult females,except my wife and ALL children,she growls at the rest of the women.(since she has never tried to bite a woman only growls I never tried to stop her,since she goes where ever I go it's a long time joke that my wife knows I'm being a good little hubby,lmao).But please do have her trained,it's not that she needs training on how to bite,but she needs to learn when to release when told to and so on.And if I may make a recemmendation,teach her that the cops,firefighters,emt's and so on are her and your friends,my first "real" K9 partner was Schultzhund 3 trained,she was taught that and one night in the winter I slipped on the ice when we was out jogging and she kept people away from me,but she backed off and allowed the polizie and emt's come to me without any fuss what so ever.Good luck.

Answer 9

We have 2 dogs one a chow and one a pit. They are the most loveable dogs because they were loved on. In the past if they have sensed any danger toward me, my kids or my husband they have acted on their instinct. As for gaurding you, your dog has that natural instinct. Your dog will protect you from a stranger if it senses danger. This could happen at any age. Dogs have a pack instinct and they will protect you because they see you as their leader and friend. So give your dog all the love in the world that is what they are there for and they will love and protect you back.

Answer 10

TOTALLY False.I have a German Sheperd, thats about 12 months old hes a male and hes so timid and nice and gentle.We got him as a puppy and i have two children at ages five and 12,and he dosent bite or jump,BUT my cousins17 year old son came over and grabed my son and threw him in the air and our German Shep Jumped and bit him! If you ask me,Loving and petting your dog makes you best friends and makes him more protective over you,your family and your home.Trying to tuffin up your dog makes him angry towards you.Your dog can start anytime,but right now shes playful and just having fun as a puppy.Dont let anyone tell you to be good gaurd your german shepherd has to be scolded and hurt...