The mainstream dog-loving population doesn’t really need a dog to be a fang-flashing deadly weapon, and the responsibility and liability of caring for a protection-trained dog is huge. Once you’ve taught your dog to bark on cue, simply cue her to bark if someone is approaching who makes you uncomfortable. Alternatively or additionally the cue to bark could be an even more subtle signal that your dog would notice but the other person probably would not, such as a fake sneeze, an upward tug on the leash (assuming you don’t normally tug up on your dog’s leash), or whatever makes sense to you. It could be “What do you want?!” in a slightly alarmed tone of voice – something you might say to a suspicious person approaching you. Your cue should be a word or phrase that doesn’t tip off the person but might be natural in the situation. It doesn’t even have to be an aggressive bark – someone approaching you with evil intentions will be put off by a dog barking – they’re not likely to stop and try to analyze canine body language to determine if your dog really might bite them. You don’t want a dog who is driven by fear or suspicion making poor decisions about who to attack!Īt the simplest level of protection training, dogs are simply taught to bark on cue. Protection training is a very precise and careful process, starting with a dog who is exceptionally well-adjusted and well-socialized. That’s different, however, from the dog who is purposely trained or encouraged to be aggressive toward threatening people. Homes where dogs live (especially vocal dogs) are less likely to be burgled for the same reason. Many humans with ill intentions will steer clear of any person with a dog, not wanting to risk a possible encounter with an unfriendly canine. Some people hope that their canine family member will serve as some degree of protection, and sometimes, randomly adopted dogs often do. Perhaps you want your dog to be protective. So, it can happen – but it’s unlikely that’s what your dog is doing.ĭogs who are anxious about strangers should not be considered for protection-dog training, as their judgment about potential threats is generally poor. And Sparky recovered from his injuries and continued to be a friend to every other human he met for the rest of his life. Sparky launched himself at the mugger and was shot as a result, but the mugger took off leaving my friend unharmed and in possession of her fanny pack and all her valuables therein. One evening as my friend was walking with Sparky, they were confronted by a mugger with a gun, who demanded my friend’s fanny pack, which contained her wallet. Years ago, one of my friends/co-workers at the Marin Humane Society adopted an outgoing, people-loving, medium-sized mixed-breed dog from our shelter, Sparky, who had never dreamed of biting a human in his life. In many years of working with dogs, I’ve heard about this happening only once. Are Dogs Truly Protective?ĭo dogs without training ever truly protect their humans? It does happen, but it’s rare. Lunge, snap, and perhaps even bite are added to the behavioral repertoire.
At some point when an approaching stranger doesn’t react quickly enough to growling, she escalates to a lunge.
“That worked I’m going to try that again!” The growling behavior is reinforced by success the dog realizes that she can get people to leave her alone by growling at them, so she growls more when people approach.
As they get a little older, they may respond with a growl instead of just shutting down. Shy pups tend to shut down and suffer the attentions of the people who want to greet or comfort them. These are usually the dogs who were somewhat shy as a pup. Most of my clients with these concerns have dogs who are from eight to 18 months of age. We often see this behavior emerge in dogs during adolescence, as they approach maturity. She is probably a little cautious around (or even overtly fearful of) strangers.Įscape is usually the first behavior choice for a fearful dog, but if she’s on a leash and can’t retreat, she communicates in the only way she knows to tell the scary person to stay away. I tell my clients that a far more likely explanation is that their dog is being defensively aggressive. Sadly, dogs who bite people tend to lose their homes, if not their very lives. I suspect it might secretly make them feel better to think their dog is looking out for their best interests, even if it manifests as an undesirable behavior that risks the well-being of the dog as well as the person on the receiving end of the aggression. At some point during our consultation at least half of them suggest that their dog is trying to protect them. I see an average of a dozen clients a month who come to me because of concerns about their dogs’ aggressive behaviors.
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