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Will your dog REALLY protect you?

8K views 50 replies 38 participants last post by  Go Fetch 
#1 ·
This is the infamous question passed around. Many owners, especially of our breed, are under the impression that their dog would protect them.

I however, and many others, feel that it takes a certain temperament and to an extent a certain amount of training before a dog would truly "protect" it's owner. Other dogs will either pick flight out of fight or flight in fear, or in turn WILL attack the assailant but only out of a fear aggressive response triggering them to attack to protect themselves or their security bubble. One of the biggest reasons that I opt to pick a breeder over a rescue because I as a young single female living on my own am looking for a companion AND protection animal.

A 6 year old did a very interesting video on the subject. Now of course, I would like to see this done in several different ways. Maybe a larger scale. And then actual owner's handling the dogs instead of a stranger as this could trigger a different attitude. Also, would the emotion the owner is giving off trigger a different response? Obviously this little girl isn't in TRUE fear, could a dog sense fear and respond differently? But I think in general it shows the fearful response the average pet dog would show to a true attacker.

Your thoughts?

 
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#2 · (Edited)
This has been previously posted.

I had a dog who stepped up to the defense plate several times and she's a simple pet.
 
#4 ·
Yeah, like I said it's just an interesting thought. I had a friend that tested this theory with her pit bull. She had some friends of her son "abduct" her in their van while walking down a dark street one night. Although her pit barked, she otherwise proceeded to just stand there while these strange men "forced" her into the van and even drove off a block. This was a dog that had also shown "protective" tendencies in the past, she had once barked at a group of strange drunken men that had approached the owner one other night while out on a walk. But when push really comes to shove, would even a barking dog truly attack and "protect"? Of course, this friend also thought up the theory "Maybe my fear would of otherwise motivated? Obviously when these men I knew were "abducting" me, I could only act angry or fearful, but I knew I was safe and maybe she sensed that?"

Zeke will bark at some people if there is an odd vibe about them, but in general he loves people. I don't know if he would truly attack someone to protect me or not. Luckily with our breed, them barking alone is usually enough to deter someone. But maybe we shouldn't depend on them as much as we do?

I KNEW Luther would, because he did in the past. Of course he was also fear aggressive and did have a history of biting people, so not exactly the best dog in general. But I do really miss the amount of devotion he showed to me. He would not leave my side while I slept. One morning my dad stormed into my room joking around "If you don't get up I'm going to hit you!" Luther proceeded to jump ON TOP of me and lay there growling at my father, whom he otherwise adored in general.
 
#3 ·
That video seems a little silly, like a commercial for their business.

My Aussie was ready to defend me once... never heard a growl like that from him before, I certainly wouldn't have messed with him!
 
#5 · (Edited)
I have seen this before and I remain sceptical (partly because the people producing it are trying to sell something)

While I will agree that if you want an attack dog or expect a lot of threats then a trained dog would be better I don't think you can write off the humble family pet as useless for defense.

1) I suspect it is the handler as the 'attacker' in that video
2) it is not a real attack (if I can tell so can the dog)
3) we don't know that dogs particular temperament
4) Is the girl he dogs owner or has she just been asked to stand there with a random dog (what reason does it have to protect her)


Would I want a dog that would jump in and start ripping off limbs if it saw my son play fighting in the garden with a friend?

There is a lot more that a dog does to protect you than bite. Lets face it, if someone was nuts enough to try and kidnapp her while she is standing there with a German Shepherd then she is in serious trouble anyway. I hope that my dog never has to do more than growl and look mean in defense of my family
 
#8 ·
1) I suspect it is the handler as the 'attacker' in that video
2) it is not a real attack (if I can tell so can the dog)
3) we don't know that dogs particular temperament
4) Is the girl he dogs owner or has she just been asked to stand there with a random dog (what reason does it have to protect her)
I completely agree with these points. Like I said, I would be really interested to see this experiment in a different setting. Actual OWNER'S handling their own dogs, and maybe in a more realistic setting, like watching down a dark street. I still believe though that most dogs will NOT protect their owners outside of barking if it actually came down to it.

BTW, my friend and her pit - her female was smaller, only 30lbs or so, but no she DID not muzzle her. Scary test, if you ask me lol. I always thought, if I knew someone with a bite suit, I might like to see what Zeke would do if he was home alone and someone tried to break into the house, or if someone "attacked" me while I was out with him. But I would never risk it with no protection for the attacker, and even a muzzled 95lb dog can do some damage with their body. ****, some protection companies train their dogs with basket muzzles on so they learn to use their FULL body, not just their bite, in an attack and take down.
 
#7 ·
I would never expect Juno to protect me. There is an element to her personality that is very defensive and she is incredibly protective of her family. But to the extent of actually doing anything beyond hackles, barking and lunging, I don't know. I recognize that a lot of her reaction is driven by fear and it's not really controllable.

She did chase off two stray dogs that aggressively were barking at my children though.
 
#11 ·
That's one of the worst videos ever, I'm sorry. I can't have a legit discussion on this topic when that video is involved!!

As for my dog, I'm fairly certain he will "protect" me (if protect = bite). We've tested this more than once, double blind meaning *I* had no clue an attack on me was coming and had no way to unintentionally cue my dog.
 
#12 ·
Everyone is of course right, the setup in that video is horrible even if it may be stemming from a valid point.

I remember this video I saw a couple years ago as well, I think it's thought-provoking. If there's one thing our dogs may be willing to protect over us, it's their "territory", right?

 
#13 ·
That one doesn't really work for me either. My dog is not a "family dog" really, he's a German Shepherd, bred and *trained* to protect. I can only speak for my own dog but he doesn't fit either video. I would never expect my family dog mixed breed rescue to attack someone, even a stranger coming into the house.
 
#15 ·
None of those videos work for me either.

GSDs can be intimidating in appearance and growling alone.
Sometimes that's enough of a deterrent against an assailant.

However, as far as the question posed: Will Your dog really protect you?

If you are talking about a dog who protects (protects=bites) because of the reasons you mentioned above and only while its on it's own territory...Then my answer is no.

If you're talking about a dog who has been truly 'trained to protect'...on or off it's own territory (and will continue to bite or fight even if injured)... Then my answer is yes.
This type of trained dog will fight to the death or until incapacitated.

For me, it's all about the training.

JMHO,
Kat :)
 
#16 ·
Lisl has already shown that she might be capable of this behavior.

Several times on our socialization walks and business visits downtown she will sometimes walk quickly in front of me and growl and/or bark at a stranger inside one of these places.

She seems very selective in who she does this to, and it is only very occasionally this happens. She's never done it on the street except to a motorcycle the other day.

It's almost as though she might know this could be a bad person, or the smell isn't right to her, or some other reason. On most of these visits these people are strangers to me too. Maybe she knows something I don't.
 
#17 ·
Be careful here, sounds a lot more like a fear-reactive puppy then a protective dog. It's one thing when a well socialized adult reacts out of the ordinary with a specific person and another when a younger dog or puppy shows fear or is reactive.

I'm sure there is a lot of advice people can give you, but this isn't the thread for that. Start a new thread and you may hear lot of ideas on socialization and working with a puppy that shows reactivity
 
#18 ·
Maggie loves people way too much I don't believe she will protect us just yet although when she gets older I think it might get better?

Being a veteran Law Enforcement I always carry concealed so my biggest worry is Maggie getting in the way of me protecting us.
 
#19 ·
#21 ·
Zefra - without a doubt. And I would probably feel bad for the "bad guy" as she may be little but is one feisty little bitch who relishes in the fight.

Stark - I think he would bark but I don't think he would follow through. If pressure was applied to him in any way, he would probably back down.
 
#22 ·
I guess I should of added... obviously I believe a specifically bred and trained dog WILL protect. I'm asking about the average pet german shepherd (or any other dog) with no specific protection training.

I like to think Zeke would but I honestly don't know... I would like to test it though one day lol.
 
#23 ·
My GSD would (and has) protected my kids and myself. When my spouse came home from Iraq, Rebel was a very young 3 year old and Bob had been gone for 18 months. It took a few months before Reb was comfortable with him being around the kids and I.

And we have some funky neighbors who are rather, well, mean. And Rebel always stays between me and them, even if I'm trying to get in front of him, he places himself between me and the threat. So yeah, pretty sure he'd protect me.
 
#24 ·
there are exceptions to the rule. an untrained dog may step up and protect you and a trained dog may fail you. however both are unlikely. though i do believe if you have a desire for a dog to perform a specific act, you'd better train them properly for it. sure some dogs are "naturals" at certain things, but to rely on something as important as safety for your dog to instinctly take charge, it's a gamble i wouldn't take.

that would be like buying a gun for self defense, never firing or practicing with it, never learning it's manual of arms, and just throwing it on the night stand expecting to be able to manipulate it properly in a high stress situation. yeaaaa good luck with that. very few people can pick up a gun and shoot under stress without training.

also, i wouldn't rely on solely the looks of a GSD to get the job done. that may not be enough. just like the noise from the racking of a shotgun doesn't scare away every criminal.

I'm not saying every GSD has to be protection trained, but that one shouldn't be your only line of defense. there should be layers of protection. not only built into your home, but also onto your person, whether thats in the form of OC spray, a knife, or a gun. things rarely go perfectly in a self defense situation.
 
#25 ·
I absolutely despise that video! Asking a dog who doesn't know you to protect you from a fake threat? Plus you're taking working dogs seemingly bred well and putting them against seemingly poorly bred show lines? *Facepalm*

Hunter has protected me before. I live in a sketchy area and took him for a brief potty walk around 1 am. I turned to walk down a alleyway between two streets and a man followed behind me. Hunter kept looking back at him, alert and quiet. He asked me for the time, I ignored him, he went on to say "I know you have the time, (censored)." I got extremely nervous and he then started to speed up (almost at a jog), so I gave Hunter the command for the bark and hold (he has only done foundation protection work at this point) and he immediately turned around to face the guy, pulled forward on the leash and gave off this rapid fire, deep barking. It stopped the guy and made him turn and run. If I would have dropped the leash, I have no doubt Hunter would have chased him and possible bitten him. My young dog has a serious defense streak.

I think it helped that I gave my big German Shepherd a command and he confronted the guy - must have made the guy think he was PP or police or something. Obviously Hunter appeared aggressive and trained.
 
#27 ·
Would my dog protect me? Well, I think he would bark and show some good defense against a bad guy.

BUT, if the bad guy came at him and started hitting, kicking, punching?? Nope. I don't believe ANY dog would stay and fight unless trained to do so.
 
#28 · (Edited)
I think it's very difficult to judge whether an individual untrained dog will protect you unless it is in that situation. If we're talking just barking and maybe even biting someone who breaks in but then is backing off, then I think that most dogs will. However, I think the key comes if the aggressor fights back--a lot of untrained dogs will back off then.

One of mine, who is a total pet, I know would protect me because he has. He bit an ex of mine who tried to hit me during an argument, and wouldn't back off even when the guy was hitting him trying to get him off (and yes, that was the night the guy became an ex!). This dog is the nicest, friendliest dog you've ever met, too--he's the kind who loves strangers and all that.

Hector, my GSD, I think would protect me, though I'm not sure. We were running one night and some kids (like high school kids) jumped out trying to scare me. Hector lunged and tried to bite the closest one, and would have succeeded if the kid was a tiny bit slower running off or if my leash was a little longer. Since he reacted aggressively to that aggression, I suspect he'd be likely to protect me--but that could be wishful thinking and he might have just been startled! As a side note, it was a very dark area and I'm pretty sure they were high (I smelled marijuana in the air), so I don't think they realized I had a dog with me. I even heard one of them say, "Where the &@#% did that dog come from?!" as they ran off. LOL

The other two are reactive and are my "dangerous" dogs, as in the most likely to bite someone--but they're also the ones I think are not likely to actually protect me, because their bitey-ness comes from fear and they'd prefer to run away rather than bite--they only are aggressive if they don't have retreat as an option. So I might be safe if I have them leashed to me, but otherwise I wouldn't count on it. ;)

Anyway, the protective benefit of dogs is as a deterrent IMO. Most criminals are looking for an easy, relatively low-risk victim, and the mere presence of a GSD is going to scare them off. I really have no fear when I'm out with my dogs, or even leaving them home alone. Heck, once before I got my GSD and I just had 3 blue heelers (one of whom was a foster and was only about 3 months old), there was a crime spree in my usually very safe neighborhood. Both my neighbors' houses were broken into and several other houses on the block were as well. The ones that weren't all had indoor dogs. Didn't matter if it was a couple of yappy Chihuahuas, a pit bull, or an elderly and half-blind Labrador (those are the 3 houses whose dogs I knew LOL), they were left alone. I thought it was a very useful illustration. ;)
 
#33 ·
My dogs aren't utilized as defense tools. I've made sure that I have the proper tools for personal defense.

But, I've no reason to believe if I were attacked and was fighting the attacker, my dogs would join in. Would they create a direct bite to the jugular and take the attacker down? No. That's silly. Would they, in their excitement bite me? I'm thinking that would happen.

If I were to turn and run from an attacker, would my dogs hold them off long enough for me to make my get away? No, they'd run with me. They look to me for direction.

My first GSD was a show line dog. I was in my early teens. She loved everyone. Never met a stranger. Never even showed fear aggression. Social butterfly from the get go. She hated water. I was attacked by a stranger in a swimming pool. He was attempting to rape me. The dog jumped into the swimming pool & bit the man in the face. Why? I wasn't able to scream or shout (he held me under the water). How could she have known? What was her trigger? My friend was there and she jumped in to help me. The dog jumped in first. Why? It has to be because of the relationship established with the dog and genetics.
 
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