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How do I make my dog more protective?

3K views 30 replies 17 participants last post by  Saito 
#1 ·
So here's a problem I seem to be having lately. My dog used to growl and bark at people who walked outside my window during the summer, but now he just stares and starts whining when he sees people pass by and get out of sight. Worth noting there's a lot more people present where I live now since I live in a college town.

He also seems to welcome guests my roommates bring with Open Arms, accompanied or not.

Worth noting my dog may or may not be a mix. He looks and acts like a Working Line GSD but he might have some Lab in him.

Should I keep him away from people or what?
 
#2 ·
I like my dogs to be neutral to people. That being said, I do like when they alert me when people are right outside my front door. But I don't want them barking through the windows. And if you have a high traffic area outside your place I don't think you want your dog barking and growling at everyone that walks by, it might become a nuisance to your neighbors as well
 
#3 ·
It's possible he doesn't realize the new place is home and his territory.He's feeling like a visitor.And Millie is right,you don't need an excessive barker.Do you really want him to be hostile towards well meaning visitors?That's a whole other problem.
 
#5 ·
To clear up some things, I don't want my dog to be aggressive towards strangers, I just want him to be more wary of people. We've been living in the same place now since I got him 7 months ago. Big difference now is he's having a lot more people ask to pet him and I don't wanna be that guy who says no because I used to want to pet every dog endlessly before I got mine. I just don't know if he's lost his suspicion of people with the more positive experiences lately. When it comes to dogs though, he is sometimes overprotective, but that's a different problem. He's never been truly tested for protection.

On a positive note he mostly ignores people who I pass during walks unless they wanna pet him or have food.
 
#6 ·
Growling and barking at people is aggressive action. It sounds like you have socialized him to other people and now he's happy with them. That doesn't mean he won't be protective for you. And even if he barked and growled at people all the time when he's with you doesn't mean he would actually do something if you needed him to, say if someone was trying to hurt you.


I had a GSD when I first graduated college and had my first apartment. She was well socialized and loved everyone. Then one day my landlord started forcing himself on me. She attacked him. Another dog I grew up with barked and growled at people, but would have only continued to bark and growl at them had someone tried to hurt me. From a few feet away.


Generally, having a dog that looks protective will protect you in that alone, the image. My landlord knew my dog and she had been very friendly with him up to that day. But others were often afraid of her. Because she was a GSD. To be honest, your a guy, so why do you want him to be more protective. I can see it more with a girl, but... If you are having people over, you want a dog you can trust.
 
#7 ·
You can't.

Protectivess, aloofness, and suspicion are all genetic traits. You can't teach those things.

Protection training is less about teaching a dog to be protective and more about instilling control and practice than anything else.

You sound like you have an awesome dog, but from your posts, I'm a little worried that your expectations from him are a little unrealistic. It sounds like you want a tough, dominant/alpha, protective, macho dog and you are trying to fit your square pup into that round hole.

Appreciate him for what he is. Keep up the obedience. Teach him leave it so when you don't want him to go say hi to someone he ignores them. Otherwise - nothing wrong with a big friendly dog :p
 
#8 ·
I know he's protective, but what I'm curious is the extent. Is he an all bark but can't back it up kind of dog? I know he's overprotective against dogs, but I'm curious how far will he go against people. Or maybe he's a speak softly, carry a big stick kind of dog. He's never been truly tested against people, that's why I'm worried.

His previous owner at least socialized him. I mean if he wasn't he would be an absolute monster and would have gotten put down right away at the shelter. He is tough and dominant, and for a fact on looks alone people are scared of him. I'm hust curious of how he'll react say if someone tried to mug me.
 
#12 ·
He also seems to welcome guests my roommates bring with Open Arms, accompanied or not.
That's a good thing. Unless your roommates are in the habit of bringing dangerous criminals into your home.
 
#13 ·
You know I have read stories where the most friendliest dog who loved everyone and my understanding was petted by everyone... One day a guy came up on him at gunpoint to rob him and the dog took him down it wasn't even a German Shepherd I think it was something like a lab or some other loving dog. You never know what a dog will do in a situation.

I know people train their dog to be more antisocial or aggressive I just don't think that sort of thing is necessary unless you are training a police dog and then you need all kinds of protective gear to teach that and still need to have control that they won't attack a young child or a person just walking or running in a park. You really want your dog to lean towards being friendly they tend to learn when something is wrong with time. I did have a dog that would bark on command and all I had to do was whisper "bark" and she would bark. But again one doesn't want a dog to just bark excessively and for no reason NO ONE WANTS THAT.
 
#16 ·
I've done this test with Robyn and Midnite. I'm going to do it with Apollo in the next year(hesitant about a stranger petting him). Both Robyn and Midnite did very well, but I think Midnite nailed it. They had to take into account that Midnite is a therapy dog. The last part was more like the person Midnite had to ignore in the test for the therapy and he knew the guy that played the part which played a role. When the guy came out yelling Midnite did advance toward him, then he just watched him(I think he was trying to place where he knew him from) then he wagged his tail. The evaluator finally told the guy go just stop because he was now just amusing Midnite. The evaluator did say that he did well because his first instinct was to advance in a protective manner. I will say the guy wasng to scary and I wish they would use someone with a mask or something instead--I believe that would be better.
 
#15 · (Edited)
My last German shepherd was trained to protect. He was two and already trained when we got him. He did not acknowledge people at all as if they were not there. He never barked if someone came to the door he just loom down at the door and stared. When I let the person come in he would go lay down. He would would be watchful in a calm way but is all. He never reacted to a non threatening advance or acted on his own with me present. My dog I have now Max is protective he can be suspicious of certain people and watchful. My job is to make sure he does not react to a non threat. I feel he will protect me it is in his nature. Also a big booming bark and a strong presence is often enough to keep a real threat at bay. He also has a big goof ball side to his family and people he knows well which is what I'm love about him.
You can always have your dog evaluated by a trainer in protection work or iPO.
 
#17 ·
everything that you described and liked in the dog before is nerve or spookiness , not confidence.

socialization has actually improved the dog .

"I know he's overprotective against dogs" --- why ? Are those dogs he is protecting you from going for your throat.

That has nothing to do with protection . The dog is reacting . Don't encourage , don't reward .
 
#18 · (Edited)
His overprotective behavior from my point of view is a result of several bad dog encounters. Since he carries himself in a dominant manner (tail high, head held high) some dogs with dominant mindsets see him as a threat/competition and feel the need to assert their dominance by fighting him or barking at him. Some dogs (usually small ones) see Lobo's body size and consider him a threat to their handler and the dog. Usually he ignores these dogs as they pose no real threat. In off leash dog parks, unless a dog charges directly at him he ignores aggressive dogs and his fur usually stands up as a way of telling that dog to stay away. The only time he becomes aggressive is when a dog acts aggressive towards me or is overly aroused around me (jumping causes this).

All this has caused him to be wary and distrusting of other dogs. While on a leash he tends to be a lot more anxious, reactive and nervy. I'm trying to get rid of all of these behaviors. He is mostly a reactive dog but lately on the leash he has been an instigator. Sometimes he minds his own business when he sees other dogs, other times he becomes anxious, aroused, andstarts barking.
 
#20 ·
Since he carries himself in a dominant manner (tail high, head held high) some dogs with dominant mindsets see him as a threat/competition and feel the need to assert their dominance by fighting him or barking at him.
I wish people will stop expressing this "dominance" idea completely, anyway, the word itself is out of fashion. Look at your dog at some other angle, say, sexual, dog's behaviour is much more complex than the issue of dominance, applicable mainly to his own pack/human family.
Your dog simply displays interest by holding his tail and head high, and, at this point, you should be able to command your dog to lie down, sit, or make a circle around you reacting to your left hand signal - in one word - you yourself should not disappear in the scene for him.
The ability to protect as well as skills is a trained behaviour based on the drive to defend, and the level of all drives in dogs is genetic. A dog born with high level of defensive drive shows his nature when he is a 3-4 months old puppy protecting you (not windows) by not letting any stranger come close to you or a member of his/your family. Later, a trained dog will only tolerate touch of a stranger in the street or his presence in your house watching his every motion, and that is only because he was told to. He would never love people or other dogs ( other dogs could be a threat to you), and would never fully trust your best friends. Not surprisingly, the best human friend for a truly protective trained dog is a decoy. So, you are right joking about "Lab-mix".
Instead, I suggest you to train him to bark when he sees or hears certain signs produced at your door or verbally by you. Say, a combination of your door bell and prolonged human panting on its other side should trigger his reaction. Ask your friend to help you, reward desired behaviour, let your friend to come in normally.
 
#23 ·
I like this guy a lot. Here is the first in a 4 part series of videos that speak directly to your questions. I'll post a link to part one you should be able to find the rest on YouTube below this video. The 3rd and fourth video may answer your questions best but 1 and 2 are good also.
 
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