Protecting the house and car - Page 1

I have a 1.5 year old male and a 9 month old female.  Both started protection in schutz.  (obv the male is further along)  They do bark and run to the door when someone knocks or they hear something, but I think if anyone really came in the house they would run under the bed and bark.  They seem to be a bit more courageous when my wife is home alone, which is great. 

Can you actually train a dog to go in defense or is it they have it or they dont?   

Thanks

Off the top of my head I would say that you are training for Sch not personal protection.  Some dogs can be trained strictly for sch and generalize their training for PP.  You may need to train for PP if that is what you want.

Part of PP training would be suit work, muzzle work, and a home invasion training senerio, afew of them.


 

todd your dogs are still young not  fully mature yet i would not expect a dog to do serious protection and be able to protect for real until 2 years at least?? I know some can before and some will be able to after JMHO

see this goes right back to the discussion that some people think that just because a dog will work through the protection phase of schutzhund that it means that dog will protect the house or protect in real life.  I think that if your dog is running and hiding under the bed than it would be tuff to say the least that you would be able to trust that dog in a for real stressful situation. But since he is learning the "routine" in the protection phase of schutzhund than he is giving off the impression that he would be that way in any scenario. 

Destiny4u, you made a good point with the dog not being mature......I don't think that running and hiding under the bed is a issue with maturity....that is fear.  I think that most would agree that fear in a dog is a result of either bad genetics or a problem with socializing.  either way its fear.  And at that age to have that level of fear to run and hide I would be concerned.
JMO
Jerry

I think it is too young to worry about defense yet.
Also you are doing Sch and stick with it as it will help them gain confidence in what they are learning.

After you are done with Sch then work with a trainer on PP.

Thanks for the responses but let me be a little more clear on what I did.  I came home at night put on a hat, hood, and jacket and "snuck" around the back where they could see me through the sliding glass door.  Both were barking and noticed me right away.  I walked up to the door very suspiciousely and came in.  The 9 month old female must of smelled me because she relaxed and was acting normal but my male (16 months) still didnt recognize me and his puff on his back was as high I've seen it.  I lunged at him and he ran in the other room.  He never really ran under the bed but he might as well have.  This dog is as level headed as it gets, not afraid of anything, been everywhere a dog can be around people, animals, dogs, etc.  He has never shown fear like that ever!!  I dont want to damage his nerves so i wont mess around anymore with that.  

I do notice that in Schutzhund all the dogs are in prey, happy, tail up, full bites, etc.  This is why I dont get why its called protection, it should be called "chase and bite the bad guy who you think is a rabbit".  its fun and I love it but its not actual protection. 

Todd

Imma type this in the nicest way possible.....

YOU ARE A MO-RON.

Both dogs smelled you from the beginning!  All you did was scare your oldest dog who knew IT WAS YOU.  Good job there buddy, way to build a good bond with your dog and have him trust you.  You can now consider yourself as a person who is damaging his nerves. WHAT IF your dog would have attacked you!?!?  Would you have been happy then???  OR   Would you have came on here telling us that your dog bit but shouldn't he have smelt you and not attacked???  No win situation for the dog.

You can have a dog that is great at protection and great at Sch, you just have to train for it.  If you prefer a dog for PP then stop Sch and train just for that if that is all you want.  There is no need to be in a hurry to make your dog into a killer.

I know you had the best intentions....but that was retarded.  lol.

Ace,

That is a bit harsh.  This a person that is new to dogs in this context. 

Todd,
Yes schutzhund can be trained from mostly prey, and some are trained in this manner and some are not.  This does not speak to the quality of the dog.  It is just how some are trained.  Some of the dogs trained in this disipline are palying tug due to training or genetics and the others under the correct circumstance will give you (the bad guy) lacerations.

i agree with ace what if your dog freaked out and bit you for real?


u also tried to put that amount of pressure on a 9 month old?