The article provides some insight about the training a dog for personal protection techniques. The training of dogs for personal protection is not a difficult process, but it is certainly challenging. Most of the dog owners lack the patience to train their pets, but if you want to get success in this field then you have to give your entire time and energy.
Dogs are some of the most devoted and loyal animals on earth, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be trained for personal protection. As much as you love your dog, there may be times when you need him to protect yourself or your family. If you’re going to consider using your dog for personal protection, you need to train him properly to do so.
Training A Dog For Personal Protection
There are many reasons why you may want to train your dog for personal protection. The most common is that you want to keep yourself, your family and your property safe from intruders and other dangers. Another reason could be that you want to be able to take your dog with you as a part of a team when you go hunting or hiking.
There are no set rules when it comes to deciding whether or not you should train your dog for protection. However, there are some things that need to be taken into consideration if you intend on doing so. These include:
- Your dog’s breed. Not all breeds are suitable for protection work and many people tend to prefer certain breeds over others due to their appearance as well as their temperament;
- The age at which they’re trained;
- How long they’ve been in training;
- How often they’re trained;
- How long before they’re ready for use in the field;
Training a dog for personal protection is a process that requires patience, commitment, and consistency. The first step in training a dog for personal protection is to set up the right environment for your new pet.
Your dog should be introduced to its new environment gradually, allowing it to become familiar with the sights and sounds of the place before allowing it to explore freely. This can be done by taking your dog outside on a leash at first and letting it walk around as much as it wants while you’re holding onto the leash. Once it has become accustomed to this area, you can release it from its leash so that it can explore at will.
Once your dog has gotten used to its new surroundings and has learned not to take off after other animals or people, you’ll need to teach them basic obedience commands such as sit, stay and come here. You should start with these commands in order to establish some form of communication between yourself and your pet before proceeding with more advanced training techniques such as retrieving objects or protecting property from intruders (such as burglars).
Once these commands have been mastered, you should begin working on other skills such as jumping over obstacles or walking up stairs without falling off balance while doing so (both of which are useful in situations where there may be an
Training A Dog For Personal Protection
A Personal Protection Dog Is Trained to Guard You at All Times
Do you walk alone at night? Are you in need of a personal protection dog, the kind of animal that will attack someone who threatens you?
According to the US Army Field Manual FM-740, an attack dog cannot make friends with anyone but his or her primary handler. An attack dog is fed by a single handler, exercised by a single handler, and never touched or given affection by any other person.
Weigh Your Options Carefully
Is this really the kind of dog you want? This behavior, and the type of training that you need to perform, can be a real problem when dealing with pet dogs. Most dog owners do not want a dog that will only respond to them. They want a dog that the entire family can enjoy. Even a person who is alone most of the time cannot guarantee that she will be home every day.
Do you want to own a good personal protection dog and also have a great pet? Do the goals contradict one another? These training methods are not for everyone, nor are they suited for all dogs. A dog selected for personal protection needs to be well socialized, confident but not aggressive, and have an interest in his owner’s every move. In Schutzhund training (“schutzhund” is the German word for protection dog) some of the dogs are still good household members. This is unusual, though.
Most are not.
Some dogs will be fine as watch dogs but are not built for personal protection.
Five Tips for Training Your Dog to Protect You
If you are sure that you want a personal protection dog—and not a pet—what do you need to do? Here are five tips for training a dog to protect you.
1. Teach Your Dog Obedience Commands
The first thing you need to do is teach your dog basic obedience: Your dog must respond to all basic obedience commands. He should sit, lie down, and come to you 100% of the time when called. Your dog should heel without a leash. In addition, your dog should learn and respond to the “bark” and “leave it” commands.
Important note: If your dog does not follow these commands consistently, or if you are not able to teach her new commands, you need to stop trying to turn your pet into a personal protection dog.
2. Socialize Your Dog
You also need to socialize your dog so that she does not fear new and unusual situations. This is best done during the sensitive socialization period (up to about 16 weeks) but of course, this is not possible for all dogs.
Socialization can take place every time you take your dog for a walk. If you see a strange object, especially if the dog is nervous, take her closer so that she can investigate. Your dog also needs to recognize what a normal pedestrian looks like and not feel threatened, or feel that he needs to threaten, any other person he happens to meet.
Important Note: Not every dog is able to distinguish who is safe—and so of course not every dog should be trained for personal protection.
3. Teach Your Dog to Bark on Command
Encourage your dog to bark at the approach of any stranger. (If you need more help with this, here are my tips for training your dog to bark on command.) A dog that barks at a stranger can be more effective than a dog that responds to an “attack” command but does not bark.
Some dogs are not good at learning this command. I have a Pit Bull that I trained to bark at the word “urubu” (vulture) since she gets excited and barks at them on the beach. Now, when I want her to bark, I just say the word urubu.
Take note of what your dog does naturally and sometimes he will respond.
Barking comes naturally to many dogs, but you may need to teach your dog to stop barking when given a command. When he has barked once or twice, you can tell him to sit and then order him to stop. If he does not stop, order the dog “down.” It is very difficult for a dog to bark when he is on the ground.
Important Note: If your dog will not bark on command and does not even bark at strangers, he is not a good choice for a protection dog.
4. Teach Your Dog to Defend You
For the next step in the training process, you need to find someone the dog does not know. The “stranger” approaches during the walk, walks up and challenges your dog. He can be wearing a dog attack suit, an oven mitt, or even a quilted blanket on his arm, but he may not even need it. When you give the command and your dog barks at him, he needs to act afraid and run off. Your dog will become more confident.
Personally, I think this is a good place to stop. Your dog has already learned to bark and appear threatening to anyone that threatens you when out walking.
Think Long and Hard Before Training Your Dog to Attack
If you decide to go further, please realize that a dog that has been trained to attack is not a great pet to have around the house. There are many anecdotes about docile family attack dogs and there are also many anecdotes of attack dogs that have injured someone in their household (usually one of the children). There is also the possibility that your dog might bite someone who is just coming up to talk to you; you can be sued and might lose everything you have because your dog is a trained attack animal.
The next time a different “stranger” approaches your dog and makes threatening gestures he will probably start barking even before you give him a command; if you want to proceed you should loosen (but not release) your dog’s leash.
You can then allow him to go up and grab the stranger’s protected arm. (You may need to encourage him by telling him “get him” in an excited voice, but some dogs will go ahead and approach the stranger alone.) If your dog does not approach the stranger, that person should put his padded arm close to the dog, threaten the dog, and encourage him to bite.
Important Note: If the dog cowers or shows fear of the stranger, he is not suitable as a personal protection dog.
5. Teach Your Dog to Back Off
This is really one of the most important parts of training a personal protection dog. He must be willing to protect you but he must always be willing to leave the person alone.
For example, if you choose to train your dog to attack (which again, I do not recommend), as soon as your dog puts his teeth on the “stranger” in the scenario above, he should be told “leave it” and given praise.
Important note: If your dog does not respond to the “leave it” command at this time, he can become vicious later and you will not be able to control him. If this happens, you must stop considering him for any personal protection training.
Personal protection dog training.
Breeds and Other Considerations
Some dog trainers do not recommend personal protection training for Rottweilers, Pit Bulls, Mastiffs, Dogo Argentinos, etc. These dog breeds will protect naturally, and additional training is not usually necessary.
On the other hand, it will do you absolutely no good to try to train a Basset Hound or a Chihuahua. So long as you can control the dog, I do not see a problem with training any of the other breeds.
Training Your Dog May Change His Personality
I do not believe you need to surrender thousands of dollars for a personal protection dog, but you do need to realize that training your pet is going to change his personality.
Your dog may fail to serve as a personal protection animal and still be an excellent animal. The statistics of the SBK, a group that often tests dogs used for personal protection, indicate that the majority of dogs that are tested using the Dog Mentality Assessment Test do not pass. I have never had a Siberian Husky that would serve to protect me. My Pit Bull cross seemed to understand the requirements almost right away. Not one of them was a better dog than the others; they were all individuals and had different skills.
A Personal Protection Dog Can Be a Liability
Do not forget—a personal protection dog may also be a liability where you live. If he were to bite someone, and it became known that he was a protection dog, you would be more likely to be sued. You would be more likely to lose a lawsuit if your dog has been trained to defend you