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will my untrained dog protect me?

13K views 115 replies 27 participants last post by  codmaster 
#1 ·
My female is 5.5 months.. I dunno if she will protect me when threaten.
I dont want to take her in training because I dont want her being vicious. But yesterday whenni took her for a walk, this guy kinda went up to me to compliment her and she kinda started barking and growling, then she smelled him and licked him :O. He started laughing and I was thinking to myself if he would have attacked me would she rip his arms off lol?

Please reply!
 
#2 ·
Abbi isnt trained in protection, is 3.5 years old and ive only had her for a year as of Nov 1. I have a 13 yr old brother who I was play fighting with one day. Well he was on the floor and I was pretending to kick him and Abbi got up and went after him on the ground as if protecting me. No REAL evidence but I am very confident she would protect me
 
#5 ·
My female is 5.5 months.. I dunno if she will protect me when threaten.

Please reply!
Most likely no. But there is no way to tell without an experienced trainer doing an evaluation.
Based on your description that sounds like a fear response to an approaching stranger. Generally a fearful dog will protect itself only. Occasionally they will bite to run someone off (nip and bolt) but won't truly engage.
 
#8 ·
Not all GSDs have the protection instinct in them. Some are by nature too fearful of timid to attack. A lot of aggressive behaviour that people think is protection is a fear reaction. Puppies have baby brains and baby emotional development (that's why they are puppies), and expecting a five or six month old to protect is like expecting a 10 year old human to attack and defend an adult. The pup (and same as the child) should never put in that situation. They should grow up happy and a carefree, confident that they are safe that adults will protect them if need be. A GSD will become protective at maturity, around 18 to 24 months of age.

There has been some good discussions in the past about protective behaviour. This thread has a lot of info about protectiveness vs. fear.

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/aggression-good-bad-ugly/156050-protective-fearful.html
 
#10 ·
Awe well thanks. I dont expect my pups to go ahead and attack at a real young age jusy expecting them to know whats good or bad.. my dogs are protected by me thats why they treat me like im their mom though im not. Its just the matter of me wondering what to expect..
Not all GSDs have the protection instinct in them. Some are by nature too fearful of timid to attack. A lot of aggressive behaviour that people think is protection is a fear reaction. Puppies have baby brains and baby emotional development (that's why they are puppies), and expecting a five or six month old to protect is like expecting a 10 year old human to attack and defend an adult. The pup (and same as the child) should never put in that situation. They should grow up happy and a carefree, confident that they are safe that adults will protect them if need be. A GSD will become protective at maturity, around 18 to 24 months of age.
 
#12 ·
By protection, do you mean actually biting someone? That depends on the dog, but most likely I'd say no.

One time near my home I was standing on the sidewalk, not really paying attention and spacing out just waiting for Molly to do her business in the grass. I didn't hear or see a young man walking behind me, when he got about 2' behind me, Molly barked and lunged at him, her teeth were about an inch from his body, but she had no intention to bite,, just a severe warning. Scared the heck out of me, but luckily the young man was easy going and said, no worries.
 
#13 ·
Ooow ! I mean I read a couple threads with untrained dogs protecting and a lot of people said its instinct. For ex. A while back I had a boxer she died tho:/ and there was a dog trying to get my dad thru the fence, she tried to get it and her teeth got all stuck between the fence with the other dogs teeth.. just so happens that all her teeth fell out :(!

I call that being protective because she didnt want that dog getting my father. She was untrained as well..
 
#14 ·
I don't know that my pup would protect me if I was being assaulted, but my dad surprised us the other day. I was coming up the driveway and it was dark out, he was standing on the porch letting his dog out for a pee.

He was partially obscured by the bushes in the garden and he called to his dog.

My pup went NUTS. Hackles up, barking like crazy. As soon as she heard his voice again, she wanted to run over nad visit, once she realized who it was.

So while I'm not confident she'd actually protect me, I feel a lot more confident that some creep won't jump out of the bushes at me and try to grab me! :D
 
#16 ·
Do you really want your dog to protect you? I don't know, I figure I have to protect them. I want them to alert me, but I'll protect myself.
It's funny a week ago, I heard a knock at 4am on my door, just a soft knock and something that sounded like metal on metal, now dh was 10 hours away and I knew it wasn't him, nobody but one neighbor has a key, Oz, my gsdX or just really poorly bred shep didn't make a sound. My Saint, who was sleeping in my room, went to the window and barked - which is funny, because she never barks. We actually thought at one time she might have been debarked because she never barked and what came out of her was weird and strained sounding. This was a deep, strong woof. By the time I got to the window, I couldn't see anything. To me, the dogs are a deterrent, they are a warning to me that something is not right. I take my cell and cordless phone to bed when dh is away so if he calls, texts or e-mails, I get it. A night like last night, he worked all day, all night until 4am and is back at work today, so he has odd hours we don't get to talk much when he is gone.
Do I think either one of them would protect me with just basic pet obedience, no, hopefully after the 911 call they would be huddled down in the closet with me waiting for the cops to arrive.
Now last night, coming home from downtown I took a very dark road, it was just me and dd in a stroller, it wasn't late, only 7pm, but a part of me wished I had taken one of the dogs downtown with us, not for protection, just to have one with me as a deterrent.
I would be afraid relying on a dog for protection, and it would absolutely break my heart if anything happened to them while trying to protect me.
 
#21 ·
I think they would of protected you :) maybe its just me, but I want my dogs to protect me. Im a lil girl... if im walkin my dog and this big man tries to get me, I DONT want my dog just sitting there like its normal to have his owner being attacked.. I would die if somethin happebs to my babies.. i just hope they feel the same way
 
#17 ·
My female is 5.5 months.. I dunno if she will protect me when threaten.
I dont want to take her in training because I dont want her being vicious. But yesterday whenni took her for a walk, this guy kinda went up to me to compliment her and she kinda started barking and growling, then she smelled him and licked him :O. He started laughing and I was thinking to myself if he would have attacked me would she rip his arms off lol?

Please reply!

Would you expect a 2 yo brother to protect you? Your puppy is a baby and currently needs your protection!
 
#26 ·
My oldest dog is a samoyed mix. She is a wise soul, but generally loves everyone. I doubt highly she would attack someone, but she wouldn't run away either. She is confident and she would be right in their face, aggravating the heck out of them.

My golden is a happy go lucky dog, just like a golden should be. Since I live alone, I was looking for more of a protector(that is how the GSD came about) and who would be afraid of a golden? As he's getting older I have come to the conclusion that he would try to protect me. About a month ago I had him outside, it was pitch black out and a kid came running at us. I'm sure this kid was up to no good. The golden lunged forward, barking, and growling at him. The kid said oh poo poo and got out of there really fast. As soon as I told the golden it was okay, he went about his business. I don't want my dog to bite anyone, but his size is a huge plus on my side.

My GSD has all the traits that she should have for a GSD. She has been evaluated for schutzhund and did very well. She is a very confident dog and she adores me. I think those two things alone can make her go into protection mode. I don't see it now, but once she matures I do believe that she would also try to protect me. She is very alert and very quiet...I would not want to meet her in a dark alley:)

While I think that two of them would attempt to protect me, I don't expect it. I would also be very upset if something happened to them because of me. They are my dogs and I believe that I'm the one that protects them. They respect me, they are loyal to me, and I would be letting them down if I didn't protect them.
 
#27 ·
It still amazes me how many people I've met who want their dogs (especially GSD's) to be 'the ultimate hero' even if it's not necessary. They almost seem disappointed if they dog isn't. I'm not talking about in the case of a real threat either. I think it has more to do with their ego and image.
 
#36 ·
I dont care whether its a "hero".. i protect my dogs, they come to me for protection. To them, im there hero! I want my pups to be LOVING, caring, and friendly. Not scary looking and having people scream in terror.. I dont want that. But i dont want a dog who is not going to protect me if a dude tries to take me and run.. I can only defend myself so much

It would be a complete let down if my dog cant be a hero for once if im getting attacked and they just run off.

You WOULD NOT!!!! Like that!
 
#28 · (Edited)
i had a samoyed also growing up what a great dog wow but yeah I don't think it would protect me, neither would my other gsd or any of my dogs only my current dog would but thats cause i told the breeder i wanted a dog that had the gentics for this and i keep training for it. BUt like someone said dogs like this have it in them from the start training only helps maintain or bring it out or whatever. My trainer said from the first day he saw her she had it in her and would have no problem biting him for real. Shes not a sharp or aggressive dog though at all.

I think certain lines of gsds would be more prone to protect their handler than other. There is such huge variation in gsd's these days. But also you can find the odd mutt or cattle dog that will fight someone to death for their owner. At the same time many many gsd's will flee. Most dobermans and rotties will press up agaisnt their owners legs show teeth and then bolt and run in terror. I think breeders of working lines, good breeders of working lines are still keeping that strong protection drive in their dogs and for personal protection all the time, they also place a lot of their dogs in police deparments as patrol dogs. A lot of these dogs without training I dont doubt for a second would chew a person up in a bad situation. Gentics I think plays an important part, of course not always but i mean that is why when selecting a pp prosect we choose from good working lines and good breeders. That is why police departments pick good breeders of working lines for their police dogs. It is not written in stone of course but there is a reason why we run to working dogs when we all want a protection dog.
 
#29 · (Edited)
You never see someone saying hey I need a serious personal protection dog does anyone know any good american show line breeders out there? Most people flock to gsd's for personal protection you got to get use to it because right now they are the best breed out there that is practical.


The reason why people all expect the gsd to be the hero is because they are k9s and the number one practical dog out there now for pp. They have taken over the rottie and dobies role which are pretty much ruined here. Mals are too hard to handle for the avg owner. IF someone is out there looking for a serious personal protection dog the german shepherd is the number one choice. So people need to get use to this as this is the breed for the job. The thing is the breed just has so many lines so someone with an american show line just does not understand how a german shepherd could be a real protection dog. But someone with a good working line can understand it. They are worlds apart in their ability they are almost not the same animal. IF i had an american shepherd I would never expect it to step up to the plate, just like i would never expect a samoyed or a lab or a husky they just are not bred for it.
 
#32 ·
IF i had an american shepherd I would never expect it to step up to the plate, just like i would never expect a samoyed or a lab or a husky they just are not bred for it.
I believe my GSD is half American and half German and she has it in her, I've seen her in action, but I still wouldn't expect it. As far as the samoyed...out of all of my dogs that is the only one that has bit someone. It wasn't a stranger, but she still bit and she did cause damage. So I'm not to fast to say that a particular breed will or won't bite...any dog can.
 
#30 ·
Beyond the initial, "Ohh crap, she's got a scary dog, I better think twice" reaction, I don't want Spirit to protect me. I would hate to see him hurt, or worse. Sure, our dogs have teeth but they're no match for human weapons.

Protection is ultimately my responsibility. I think twice a lot :)
 
#33 ·
yeah i would not expect it but I dont doubt it when people tell me theirs did. I know someone with a lab that stepped up to the plate and took a man down. It has and will continue to happen. But was just talking general. IF your gsd has taken someone down for you or other breed I would believe it for sure.
 
#38 ·
Everyone basically took my question and concerns In a different matter::

All im saying IS : as my dogs get older.. will they protect me if someone tries to kidnap me, take my money etc. I dont EXPECT a puppy too... but the younger i start the protection training the better it would be.. thats why people train puppies ! Its easier and better so that when they are older, they know what to do.

I do NOT want a vicious, malicious, nefarious dog! Teeth all out, in an attack stance, nothing like that- type dog.. but I want my DOGS to know what situations are just not good..

One night, shadow and I went for a midnight walk.. she didnt want to go this one direction where we usuallu go so we didnt go and headed back home. Its really weird, and idk what it could of been but it was a weird situation for me..

To be honest, abd seriously put yourself in this situation: if you were walking your dog and someone tried to rob you, and you were fighting back but he pulled a knife out, would you NOT look to your dogs for help?! You would. I would. We all would.
 
#41 ·
if you were walking your dog and someone tried to rob you, and you were fighting back but he pulled a knife out, would you NOT look to your dogs for help?! You would. I would. We all would.
I would hand him the 3 year old cell phone in my pocket and the $5 I carry if I ever need a cab and pray he got lost.

I guess I do not understand it because I do not live somewhere where this is conceivable and in my younger days when I did run the streets of cities like Toronto and occasionally New York, I did not have a dog, but had taken enough self-defence, self- improvement classes to not give off the please snatch or rob me vibe.
 
#43 ·
There are many factors that play into whether your dog will protect you or not.

How confident is the dog?
Has the dog been trained?
How determined is the attacker?
How prepared are YOU?

Maybe your dog will bark and growl at an approaching stranger but if that stranger takes out a club and smacks your dog with it will your dog tuck tail and run or will your dog fight back.

MOST dogs, unless they are TRAINED, will run. Sure, protection is in their nature but SELF-PRESERVATION will take over unless the dog is trained.
 
#45 ·
When people start puppies in protection training, they teach the dog that chasing and biting and holding on to a tug or rag is all in fun. It is a big game aimed at developing the motor skills, teaching self control, and building the pups' confidence. Setting the dog up to react in a scared aggresive way to a stranger is not training, it is traumatizing for a pup. I know you did not set up your pup for this, it just happened, but it sounds like you are glad it happened the way it did, and glad your pup reacted the way he did, not sure if you think this is how pups are trained?

If you want the peace of mind that your pup will react appropriately to a threat when older, then take him to a trainer, and work with him.

You can learn on how to do this properly in a positive and rewarding way for your pup.
 
#46 ·
Lmao! Oh lord. I never said I was happy.... did I? Nope.

So anyway I really hate it. She goes up to dogs and does the same bs! And all she wants to do is sniff. Its annoying and I HATE IT. Who said I liked it?

As my question STATES: will she protect me in a serious case?

I didnt say if it was for any lil thing..
 
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