Hey Dog Lovers,
Today we talk about Watch and Protection dogs, what you should know in the difference between them and what it means to have one.
- Majority of people expect their dogs to naturally protect their house, however in most cases dogs are taught people coming over are a good, positive things instead of a threat.
- A dog trained to protect the house does not need to be trained as a personal protection dog
- Basics to train your dog to protect your house:
- Teach your dog basic commands (sit, down, stay, leave it and to bark on command). Use your yard if applicable so they learn to protect the yard.
- Teach impulse control – when a visitor comes over, your dog should be able to be commanded into a sit, down, and watch the person vs. running over, jumping on them and initiating play.
- Run the property boundaries with your dog so they can learn their territory
- Leave your dog alone in the area you want them to guard (8 months)
- Have someone come up to the area you want them to guard and have them knock on fence (outside) or window (inside) *person needs to be unfamiliar to the dog*
- When the dog approaches and barks, the person needs to make a sound like they are frightened and run off, this builds the dogs confidence
- Practice everyday and reward once person runs away frightened with special treat
- To help the dog focus on the job add distractions to training, meat out and asked your dog to leave it as an example. This is customized step depending on dog and what gets them distracted.
- If your dog is showing fear when the stranger approaches and makes the noise you are going to fast in training your dog. Reset next day with a new stranger.
- Watch dogs fill both needs of protection and being welcoming to visitors that come over without having any issues
- Tips
- Breed choice: Belgian Malinois, rottweilers, Chows are good examples of dogs who have a natural genetic predisposition to naturally guard territory.
- Sighthounds, smaller breeds (chihuahuas and Pomeranians) are less likely to be natural guard dogs and may be harder to train to do so.
- If you live next to a school or a street with frequent high foot traffic a guard dog cannot differentiate between that and an intruder so barking will be non stop.
- Guard dogs are trained to bite and attack intruders, they cannot distinguish most of the time difference between a family friend and a stranger so the risk of a bite or being sued is high.
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