The Best Guard Dog
Training and Selection:
How to Get It Right!

There are many reasons to want a guard dog, from business protection, to a simple household watch dog for scaring off or subduing intruders. There are a lot of added responsibilities in training a guard dog correctly, and keeping your guard dog "sane" and personable when there's no need for aggression.

Breeding, training, and careful selection and rearing all play a part in guard dog training and selection.

What is a Guard Dog?

The role of the guard dog varies from one that simply alerts you to an intruder, to one that aggressively chases off or subdues intruders. Many people think only of the aggressive, under-socialized dog that doesn't know friend from foe, but there's much more to a good guard dog than that.

You can buy a guard dog that's already trained and specialized, including dogs trained in Schutzhund techniques, or you can select and train one yourself.

What Breeds Make the Best Guard Dogs?

This depends entirely on what you expect from your guard dog.

Almost any dog breed will make a decent watchdog. All those dogs are asked to do, is be alert, and bark when they see or hear something suspicious. This is all the typical family wants or needs. Terriers, Shih Tzus, and Poodles are great examples of natural-born watchdogs, but any trainable dog that bonds closely with his or her family is likely to play the role.

Dogs with herding instincts are even better, since they're bred to protect a pack and become aggressive towards a threat. Mastiffs are also in this category of "medium aggression" guard dogs.

Many people think of Pit Bulls and other Bulldogs. If your area's laws allow you to own these breeds, they will be eager to protect you, but you should read in detail about how to train them properly before you choose those breeds.

The most commonly-chosen dogs for full protection and guard dog roles are Doberman Pinschers and German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois and Rottweilers.

What Traits Make a Good Guard Dog?

Whoa, slow down. First, before jumping into guard dog training and selection, you need to expect an extra expense: Your guard dog will need specialty training. Asking a dog to become a guard dog, without training your dog to become a psycho, is a fine line that's best walked by professionals.

With that said, here are the personality traits to watch for when selecting a guard dog:

• High self-confidence. A dog who likes to explore, greet new people without any sign of shyness, and does not hesitate during training is a good choice for a guard dog. However, they should also be aloof, not constantly desperate for approval.
• High trainability. Dogs that are too independent and resist training, don't make very good guard dogs. Guard dog training is a rigorous process that challenges your dog to use both his brains and his brawn.
• Fantastic social temperament. You don't want to start with a dog that's already troubled, because the aggressive tendencies in those dogs will be outside of your control. This includes timid, shy, and aggressive dogs.
• Absolute loyalty. They say that dogs are always loyal creatures, but there are certain breeds that are extremely loyal - and those are the guard dog breeds. Without that loyalty, you're just training a brute, not a defender.
• Willfulness and assertiveness. Some dogs will do whatever they're told by anyone. That's not a guard dog. A guard dog should be bold and should go out of his way to get what he wants. Be careful - walk the line between assertiveness and aggression.
• Willingness to fight under threat. Obviously, when a good guard dog is challenged or his protective charges are under threat, his response should be to kick some butt. A line should be drawn, however, between a fight response, and a dog that starts fights.

If you think about these traits for a moment, you can easily assume that a good guard dog breed might be hard to control. You'd be right. Guard dog training and selection is never a matter of buying the right puppy and then patting yourself on the back. These dogs can easily assume the leadership role in the household. Without correct guard dog training, you might as well hand these dogs the keys to your car.

Guard Dog Training First Steps

In order to become a good guard dog, your puppy will need to become just a plain old good dog. Here are the things you and your dog should master before moving on to guard dog training:

• Socialization: You don't want your dog to attack everything that moves. Make sure that the puppy socialization phase involves strange people, strange dogs, and other strange animals. In truth, the puppy socialization phase lasts through the dog's whole life. Since the best guard dog breeds are often wary of strangers, this socialization training is even more important. Make sure socialization starts during the third month of life if possible.
• Obedience: I've written a long section about how to give a dog thorough obedience training. Make sure your dog has mastered it completely. Unlike "old school" dog trainers who will tell you to deprive and abuse your dog until he "gets it right," that sort of thing really doesn't work - not even with guard dogs. Sure, you might get an aggressive dog that way, but not one you can control. Use rewards and loving encouragement to build his loyalty and confidence. Clicker training is a great tool for instilling obedience.
• Set the dog's limits: You need to include basic rule-following in order to get a head start on good guard dog training. Without some level of expectations for your dog to follow, an assertive dog that's bred for guard dog duties will become too willful for you to control. With household rules and boundaries clearly taught and enforced, you become the leader, and the dog learns what you teach him more completely.
• Be the alpha. Don't abuse your dog, but don't let him abuse you, either. Don't let your strong, willful dog become the boss. These dogs - well, all dogs but especially these dogs - need a strong leader in their lives, so if it's not you, then it'll be them. A lack of that leadership example will lead to behavior problems.

Guard Dog Training Begins

If all you need is a watchdog who will alert you to trouble,
then this section is not for you.

Advanced protection training is a precise process. You have to help your dog walk the line between being a sweet member of the family, and a brutal terror to anyone who threatens his pack.

The phrase "Schutzhund training" comes from a German sport which tests a dog's ability to walk that line. Schutzhund competitions involve testing whether a dog will attack on command, attack when threatened, and also tests the dog's social temperament and obedience.

Schutzhund training programs are not just about guard dog training. The program also includes general obedience, and tracking skills. The result of a thoroughly-Schutzhund-trained dog, is a very confident and capable dog that's good socially, and good in dangerous situations.

Part of good Schutzhund training is that the trained guard dog will not only attack on command (or when provoked) but will also stop attacking on command. They are also trained to attack in a way that disarms the threatening figure. In addition to all those skills, they are also taught to prefer deterrence and submission, before resorting to an outright attack.

Schutzhund training is never complete without a thorough test of obedience and sociability. And for good reason! A guard dog should always be under control, and always be capable of sheathing the fangs.

For that reason, anyone who tries to sell you guard dog training without focusing equally on obedience, social temperament, and protection training should be avoided. There are temperament tests that you can use to make sure your guard dog is under control and is sociable. The American Kennel Club has a "Canine Good Citizen" program, and the Schutzhund societies have their BH exam, which is even more strict about ensuring a guard dog makes good response decisions.

Outside of formal Schutzhund training, there are police training courses, which are very similar. The main difference is that with Schutzhund training, there is a conspicuous armored sleeve worn by a training partner called the "agitator." Police dogs are trained with less-obvious armor, because the Schutzhund jute sleeve isn't something you'd expect to see on a hardened criminal. Police dogs are also trained to fight in a more general way, vs attacking the arms.

For various reasons, including the fact that Schutzhund is a German sport, most guard dog training programs involve the use of German command words.

For more detail about Schutzhund guard dog training, read Ed Frawley's ebook, "What Is Schutzhund" at the following web address: http://leerburg.com/pdf/Schutzund.pdf

Other Considerations Regarding Guard Dogs

The first thing to know is that Schutzhund or police dog training really isn't necessary for the average household. If you buy a German Shepherd or a Doberman Pinscher and train it to be a lovely house dog, you've already done everything most homes will ever need. These breeds will do their best to knock the crap out of anyone who threatens you or your property, without special training.

On the other hand, once you put a dog through formal guard dog training, their confidence and assertiveness will skyrocket. Dogs trained in Schutzhund or police protection, require a lot more constant, life-long training in order for them to continue respecting you as their master.

The next major consideration involved in guard dog training and selection is that there are risks. You should make yourself aware of all the following:

• Incorrect responses. One of the reasons that Schutzhund training is so strict about temperament and correct responses, is because a protection dog who gets confused, is a serious threat. Imagine your neighbor's child holding up a baseball bat after a victorious baseball game. Imagine your guard dog becoming confused, thinking this is a threatening pose with a weapon. There are a lot of things that can confuse a protection-trained dog and cause an attack response when it's not warranted.
• Insurance. Many dog insurance companies will not insure the breeds of dog commonly used for protection duties, at all. Others won't cover those breeds unless they're formally trained and certified as protection dogs.
• Local laws. In terms of the law, a trained guard dog is a weapon. Make sure you know what legal hoops you'll have to jump through in order to legally own a trained guard dog.
• Legal liabilities. If your trained guard dog ever bites someone, it's treated differently than a normal dog bite. Once again, a trained guard dog is legally considered a weapon in most areas.

Guard Dog Training and Selection - Conclusion

If all you want is a loving family dog who will scare away or fight off burglars, you don't need that dog to be trained as a guard dog. Read my articles about breeds such as Boxers, Yorkshire Terriers, German Shepherds, and Doberman Pinschers, just to name a few.

Schutzhund can be a fun sport for you and your dog, and can produce the best-trained dogs available for your family. Many areas have Schutzhund clubs you can get involved in, so get in touch with one if you're considering training a guard dog.

The bottom line is, make sure you speak to a professional. Retired police officers often train guard dogs, and visiting one of these will give you a home atmosphere and a family dog to visit as you ask your questions - this is a fine substitute, whether or not your area has a Schutzhund club. The most important thing to do is to weigh this decision carefully. A guard dog is a weapon with a mind of its own, and getting one should be treated with all the weight that definition carries.

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