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 Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Tip No.1 Pick The Right Breed For You 1

Rottweiler 2

German Shepherd 2

Doberman 3

Bull Mastiff 3

Tip No.2 Use A Professional Trainer 4

Tip No. 3 Select The Right Puppy 5

Shyness 5

Defensiveness 5

Preying Instinct 5

Male or Female 5

Tip No.4 Precondition Your Puppy 6

Tip No.5 Have An Indoors Dog 7

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© Copyright 2004 - 2009 by Daniel Stevens and Libros Media Ltd. All rights
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Introduction
Owning a dog specifically for the protection of yourself, your family and your
possessions is becoming more and more common with the seemingly constant
reported statistical increases in burglaries and other home invasion style
crimes. As the public’s confidence in the police to catch the perpetrators of
these crimes diminishes it is no wonder that a guard dog is often considered a
viable alternative for home security.

It is vitally important that a security dog be trained

properly as a dog that is taught to be just plain
aggressive can end up putting innocent people
in danger and its owner in court. Some people
believe that dogs such as German Shepherds,
Dobermans and Rottweilers don’t need training
as they have enough natural aggression, this will
be no defense in court and could put your loved
ones in danger. Your guard dog has to know
when it is appropriate to be aggressive and
when it is not, and the only way he will be able to
determine that is through proper training.

This book is written as an addition to Secrets

to Dog Training – STOP Your Dog’s Behavior
Problems! You should use the general principles
outlined in that book to care for and train your
dog. If you are specifically looking to acquire or
you already own a guard dog then these tips will
make the learning process that much easier.

Tip No.1 Pick The Right Breed For You

There are many breeds of dog that are considered suitable for security or guard
work and in this section I have endeavored to help you select a breed of dog
that will best suit your circumstances. Outlined below are the characteristics of
the four dog breeds most commonly used for protection purposes. There are
plenty of other breeds that can also be used as security dogs such as the Boxer,
Belgian Malinois, Belgian Sheepdog, Dutch Shepherd, Bouvier des Flandres,
Akita or Dogue de Bordeaux. For more information on any of these breeds you
should consult your local owners club for that particular breed.

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 Rottweiler
Being a specific guard dog breed, Rottweilers do not take kindly to over-handling
or undue familiarity by strangers. They are very strong and powerful and
extremely protective, they are also highly intelligent with a sound temperament.
Because of this mix of traits Rottweilers require good socialization skills as
early on in their lives as possible.

These dogs tend to try and dominate

if you let them, therefore it is essential
that they have good training. It is not
uncommon for adult Rottweilers to be
adopted out as their bad habits picked
up in puppyhood become downright
hazardous as an adult. For your
first Rottweiler you may be better off
selecting a female rather than a male
dog as the females are not quite as
domineering. Rottweilers are also
very large dogs and will require
proportionately more food, exercise
and health care, all of which can add
up to a reasonably large financial
outlay compared to other protection
breeds.

German Shepherd
German Shepherds are renowned for their
courage, nobility, loyalty and intelligence.
They are very strong and agile with a great
zest for life, which is shown in their high degree
of self confidence and aloofness. They make
fantastic protection dogs and have a great
affinity with children.

German Shepherds make excellent working

dogs as indicated by their status within search
and rescue teams, fire departments and army
and police institutions. A contributing factor
for using German Shepherds in these roles is
their excellent scenting abilities, which allow
them to track people in a variety of situations
and conditions.

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 Doberman
Doberman Pinschers are a medium size dog
that is well built, muscular and elegant. They
are extremely quick and agile as well as
being very loyal and courageous. They also
seem to invoke loyalty amongst their owners
as I have heard of several people who would
not own another type of dog after their first
Doberman. Perhaps the Dobermans most
important characteristic is his high level of
alertness. This natural alertness means
that he makes such an excellent guard dog
as he is always taking an interest in what is
going on around him and with people in his
vicinity.

Dobermans more than most have been the subject of bad press for incidents
where they have been overly aggressive, this is more often than not a reaction
brought about by poor training and supervision. Again it is important that these
types of dogs are trained correctly from a young age.

Bull Mastiff
Contrary to some reports Bull Mastiffs are actually quite docile creatures and in
fact are sensitive and affectionate to family members. The poor reputation is
generally caused by owners who are looking to use their Mastiff as something
other than as a pet or guard dog, such as for dog fighting. Also the characteristics
described belong to purebred Mastiffs and not cross breeds which can, and
usually do, have quite different and unpredictable characteristics.

Bull Mastiffs make excellent guard dogs,

especially as they do not like roaming and
prefer to stay inside their own territory.
They are also very alert dogs who are
not given to barking senselessly.

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Tip No.2 Use A Professional Trainer
Any dog that is to be trained as a protection or guard dog should be trained
by a professional trainer. The chances of having a situation where your dog
gets out of control are far greater if you attempt to protection train your dog
yourself. Also there is a large array of proper equipment that is required to
train your guard dog correctly. However, in saying that, there are methods that
you can use, in conjunction with a normal training program (as per Secrets to
Dog Training – STOP Your Dog’s Behavior Problems!), to bring out your dogs
protective capabilities from an early age that will make him more receptive to
proper protection training after the age of twelve months or so.

For a guard dog you should utilize a trainer in a one on one capacity. This one
on one training should involve the trainer coming to your home to discuss any
issues that particularly affect you and your dog’s environment. Some of the
training should take place at the home and some, preferably the early training,
at the trainer’s kennels or dog school.

The only advantage of going to a group dog training class, besides their relatively
low cost, is that it will help with your dog’s socialization skills as it mixes with
other people and their dogs. However because of the limited amount of time that
the trainer will be able to spend solely with you and your dog the effectiveness
of specialized training such as protection training is questionable. For further
tips on selecting a trainer see the appropriate section in Secrets to Dog Training
– STOP Your Dog’s Behavior Problems!

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Tip No. 3 Select The Right Puppy
Besides the normal characteristics that you
should look for in a puppy, as outlined in
Secrets to Dog Training – The Ultimate Guide
to Training Your Dog, there are other traits
that you should look for that are quite specific
to dogs that you intend to train as guard or
security dogs.

Shyness
The first is to check that the puppy is not shy or nervous. While these
characteristics are generally undesirable in family pet dogs it is vital that they
are not present in a dog that has to be confident and aggressive when the
situation calls for it. When selecting from a litter of puppies try making a noise
or throwing something that rattles beside them, for example, your keys. The
puppy you want is the one who comes over to investigate and not the one who
shies away.

Defensiveness
Generally speaking you would not want a puppy that is overly defensive or
possessive of their possessions. However these are characteristics that make
a good security dog as you want your dog to be defensive of the family home
and its members. Look for the puppy who dominates the fight for the food at
feeding time. A puppy with good defensive characteristics will probably also
have a good bark that he may use when he is startled by something new such
as a new person entering the litters area or the throwing of a set of keys.

Preying Instinct
It is important that the puppy that you select has a natural instinct to chase and
bite. Again this characteristic is not considered good for most puppies unless
they are to be trained as protection dogs. You can tell which puppies have the
instinct by dragging a towel or rag in front of them and looking for the ones that
are most interested in chasing and biting it.

Male or Female
There are pros and cons for either sex when it comes to guard dogs. Generally
speaking males are bigger and stronger than females and also possess a better
developed territorial awareness due to male dogs more often than not being the
alpha dog back when they roamed around in packs. On the other hand the
female, while smaller, also tends to be cleaner, which is important if your dog is
going to be kept inside, and more instinctual when it comes to early warning of
possible signs of danger.

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Tip No.4 Precondition Your Puppy
You should precondition your puppy for more formal training, as this will make
him that much more receptive to formal security dog training by teaching him
the correct guard dog habits. For this these exercises you will need a puppy
tug and an old six foot leash.

► Tie the puppy tug to the leash and drag the tug along the ground so that
your puppy chases it and catches it. When he bites into the tug, strain
the leash for a few seconds before letting him have the tug.

► Play tug of war with your puppy using the puppy tug. Remembering to
let your puppy win!

► Use a friend to hold onto your leashed puppy. Hold the tug in front of
him but not so he can get at it. After a short time let him have the tug
but make sure that you place it towards the back of his mouth as that is
where his bite is strongest. Praise him when he does this correctly.

► Finally you can perform the last exercise but instead of you letting go
of the tug, twist it from side to side so that he gets used to the feel of a
struggle and biting in a position that isn’t just horizontal.

There are a few things that you should watch out for before starting these types
of exercises.

► Always use a puppy tug. If you use anything else, such as a towel or
rag, your puppy may well take to destroying similar items that he is not
supposed to. Make sure that your puppy does not have access to the
tug other than when you are performing these exercises.

► Never let your puppy bite you or your helpers.

► Do not perform these exercises when your puppy starts teething, this
is usually happens at about four months old. Wait until all of the puppy
teeth are out before using the tug again.

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Tip No.5 Have An Indoors Dog
Tip No.5 is not necessarily that you should let your dog inside all the time but
that you keep him in such a place so that he can use his protective training
when it is required. For most people this place will be inside and probably in
the same room as those you consider most at risk. Generally speaking it will
also mean that he will be indoors at night when you are asleep and therefore at
your most vulnerable.

Most home invasion style offences are thought out and planned well in advance,
the perpetrators have probably been watching the occupants of the house and
their movements. Having a dog as protection may put these offenders off
however, as mentioned previously, it is crucial that your dog is in a position to
help you when you need him. The following story is a case in point.

Wendy lived by herself in a villa situated in an affluent suburb of Jacksonville,

Florida. Having recently separated from her husband she decided that perhaps
a guard dog was in order as she was now living alone, although she wasn’t
overly concerned about her personal safety as she did live in a nice area and
knew the neighbors well. She brought a German Shepherd (Boris) and for the
first six months that she owned him she had him professionally trained as a
protection dog.

During Boris’ dog training Wendy kept him inside whenever she was home
alone. After this time she became somewhat complacent as she was now quite
used to living by herself and so she started leaving Boris tied up outside at
night. This was a good arrangement for Wendy as she didn’t have to clean the
carpet as often to get rid of Boris’ molting hair. Unfortunately she did not know
that she was being targeted and watched by a recidivist burglar with a violent
criminal history. When this career criminal noticed that Wendy was leaving her
dog outside at night he knew that he had spotted an opportunity.

On the night in question Wendy had heard Boris’ frantic barking not long after
she had gone to bed. She assumed (wrongly) that he was getting agitated at a
cat or some other animal running across her backyard so she fell back asleep.
Boris was in fact barking at the burglar who was jimmying his way through a
side window. Wendy awoke with a start as she felt a hand over her mouth and
someone on top of her. Initially she managed to fight him off and run towards
the backdoor in an attempt to release Boris. Boris was going crazy outside as
intuitively knew what was happening. Unfortunately Wendy didn’t make it to
the backdoor and suffered a severe beating before the burglar (and would be
rapist) fled when neighbors raised the alarm after hearing Boris’ barks.

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Wendy was in hospital for a week with severe bruising, a broken jaw and an
arm broken in 3 places. In some ways she was fortunate that she didn’t get
even more serious injuries. That they didn’t occur was mainly down to Boris’
alerting the neighbors that something was up.

Nowadays Wendy lets Boris sleep on the floor of her bedroom. I suppose the
moral of the story is that prevention is always better than the cure. At least with
Boris in the same room any would be attacker would have to get through him
before he got anywhere near Wendy.

Tip No.6 Teach Your Dog The “Home” Command

Teaching your dog the Home command is
extremely important when it comes to your
personal safety. The command is used
to teach your dog to lie down and stay
in a specific part (or parts) of your house
that way he will be in a reliable position to
protect you more often. Make sure that
you pick parts of your house that give your
dog good access to both you and your
family, such as bedrooms or family room,
or access ways, like by the front or back
doors.

To teach your dog this command he must already have a good understanding
of basic obedience exercises and in particular the Down and Stay commands.
By the time your puppy is four months old he should have a good understanding
of these prerequisite commands.

► With your puppy on a leash bring him into your house and lead him
to the position that you have designated as his. Say and repeat the
command “Home” as soon as you walk in the door. When you get to
the designated spot, point to it and command him to lie down and stay.
Praise him. You should be able to leave him in this position for an hour
or so although it will take quite a bit of time to build up to that. Start with
five or ten minutes depending on how comfortable he already is with the
Stay command.

► After two weeks of the previous exercise try and get your dog to do the
command without the leash on. For a start you may have to walk beside
your dog to his spot. Eventually you should be able to say the command,
point to the spot and he should go to there of his own accord.

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