Protection issue - Page 1

Hi all,

I need a advice on the Dog tamper, I have a show line dog  2.3 years old, my issue is that is totally soft with strangers and he never bark on any one even if anyone broke into the house he will try to play with him!!

I tried to train him for long time and they tried everything with him, he start to bark only when the helper start to attack him closely, but even after that if the helper try to play with him he will accept!!

He is a little bit aggressive with other dogs, but with people he is a nice cat.

I don't want him to be aggressive, but i travel a lot leaving my wife and kids alone at home and was expecting a kind of protection from.

I got him Germany when he was 2 month old and he is the son of VA3 USA andrjuscha von Nort / VA2 hill_von_farbenspiel.

Is there any hope for his tamper to be changed or it is a genetic thing that will not change, so i need to get another dog with him, and if I need to gat another dog with him for protection do i go the working line?

Thanks

I would say the dog is what it is, and most likely you should leave it that way. Did you worked with an experience trainer? Let him evaluate the dog, But it sounds as you have little to no hope. At least I wouldn't push soft dog in that direction and live him to be what he is.

Firstly, I have to tell you that I have no experience of protection dogs / work.

Shepherds generally have a natural instinct to protect, just because he's not willing to "play" your game, it doesn't mean that he wouldn't... should the need arise.  Anyway, their reputation is well known, so there's not too many willing to take the risk.

missbeeb has a point. My male is trained as my Hearing Ear dog, so he has to be 100% reliable in public, with people of all ages. Yet, if someone is approaching the house, or knocking on the door, he barks up a storm. Most people who don't know him just take one look at this HUGE shepherd, with the scary black mask, and back away. In my previous house, anyone coming to the front door had to walk right by the gate to the backyard. If the dogs were outside, I wouldn't get my mail that day. The postie was too scared to walk past the gate, with the two dogs hanging their heads over it, barking!

A good bluff can go a long way to keeping you and your house safe. A friend of mine had a house which backed on to a ravine. He also owned a very yappy little Sheltie. His was the only house that was never broken into.

In today's sue-happy society, it's perhaps better to have a dog that will not follow up its threat with an actual attack.  I'v heard some sad stories of protection-trained dogs doing EXACTLY what they were trained to do, but attacking an innocent person. In one instance, a lady saw a friend out walking her PT GSD, and ran up behind her, wanting to talk to her. She was badly injured before the lady could get her dog under control.

Just something to think about....

I hope this was the case, but he never bark at anyone when they get close to the house gate (except dogs), in many occasion he go and get his ball to play with the delavery guy  :)

To say that German Shepherds generally have natural instincts to protect, would be correct.  To believe that all GSDs will protect is folly.  As a whole the breed tends to be "protective", but there are always exceptions to the norm.  That is like saying that all caucasians in Canada are great hockey players or african americans from inner cities are capable of going to the NBA. 

You bought a show dog.  The percentage of probability decreases right there.  If you would have bought a working line GSD, your chance of having a "protective" dog goes up, but isn't a 100% guarantee.  Next time you buy a dog, go locally and look at the parents.  You have a good chance of seeing what may be in the puppy's future.

That's very true, not all GSD'S will protect, and people just assume nothing else.

For protecting the most valuable thing you have, your family,get a working shepherd,they even look more dangerous. I would want a strong hard biting no fear type dog.

Don Corleone is right on. I had a male from a solid working line, with titled parents, bought from a Sch. club with the sellers hating everything show line. He wouldn't protect anything, had no civil in him at all, and anyone could make a friend with him. I placed him in a pet home, and came upon a 6 month old showline that had a nice amount of civil, and good protective instincts, great dog. You just never know, but, stacking the deck in the working line favor may certainly help. After my experience, however, I'm sticking with show lines, but if I want protection, I will stay away from a baby puppy that I cannot evaluate for protection capabilities. Any way, it's a gamble. VS

If you mainly want a home protector you might give him a little more time to mature.  I can't speak for his particular bloodline but I have found that it is not unusual for my working line dogs to wait until three years or so to really come into themselves.  My two young males are still rather immature at two years of age.