Will your dog REALLY protect you?

[elisabeth_00117]

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.

[Anubis_Star]

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.

[3dognite]

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.

[skew12]

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.

[Wild Wolf]

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.

[FrankieC]

Some have posted they are not sure if their GSD would step up. I felt the same about my Riley... the love everyone and everything GSD. One day, the chips were down and he had totally had my back! Don't count them out.

[Lauri & The Gang]

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.

[RowdyDogs]

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.

[Loneforce]

I don't expect my dog's to protect me, but I will protect them no matter what.

[Lauri & The Gang]

Originally Posted by Loneforce

I don't expect my dog's to protect me, but I will protect them no matter what.

Same here. My dogs are my early warning system. They give me enough time to get to my shotgun.