Dog as home protection.

[reno316]

With dogs it is about training and instinct. I used to train Shutzhund (for the uninitiated that is the training that military and police dogs get) and a properly trained dog knoes when it should be in family mode, and then can flip a switch to protection mode when needed. Shepherds, Rotties, Dobermans generally do not need much training to encourage this instinct, if they are descendant from good working stock. They know if someone belongs or not and are excellent judges of character. I can recount many stories from my childhood, before I started training working dogs of Shepherd's we had that had no training that knew something was not right and protected the family with a single-minded purpose. Not to say that they are a catch all. A determined intruder can find a way around any obsticle you put in his way, bit generally if you have a pack of big naturally aggressive dogs they will go to easier pickings. BTW I had a buddy that in his youth was a criminal, did a lot of burglaries. He said the same thing about giving my dogs a steak. So, I challenged him to do it when I was not there. He said that he nearly was eaten by my boys.

Excellent points, Dave. I especially liked this line: "generally do not need much training to encourage this instinct, if they are descendant from good working stock." I couldn't agree more... proper breeding makes a WORLD of difference.

You and I both know there's a huge difference between show lines and working lines. Unfortunately, many people don't. They think "A German Shepherd Dog is a German Shepherd Dog is a German Shepherd Dog".

(P.S., Know any good Mondio Ring trainers in the area?)

[UncleDave]

Sorry I am not hooked up with the Shutzhud community here I trained in northern California.