How much can a ppd dog reason?

[CAB]

At what stage does a ppd dog stop and think about who he's attacking? I mean if you send your ppd dog to attack the strange man wondering around in your fenced yard then i'm sure he'll have no problem doing that but what if you hypothetically command him to bite a child, a family member in the house etc? At what point does he say no?

This is a fine line IMO because your best friend that has been around you and the dog for years might suddenly decide to attack or threaten you. What are the chances your dog that is probably somewhat good friends with this person will actually bite this person?

[suebisaga]

I have two ppd dogs and both will defend me agaist my husband without thought. My husband has been with us since they were both pups.
My dogs get antsy when get in a heated argument. My husband talks with his hands and the more agited he gets the more they "watch" him. I have no second thoughts that if he ever crossed the line and hit or grabbed me they would respond.
So I says yes if they felt you were truely threaten even by a "friend" they would react.

[middleofnowhere]

It is my understanding that they are not supposed to attack family members or friends. From my seriously limited experience, if a helper has a family dog that is being worked by another family member, that helper does not work as the decoy for his own dog. Am I nuts?

[Chris Wild]

As with most things in dogs, the answer is it depends on the dog and the training. It also depends on how strong the relationship is with the family member/friend. An acquaintence is more likely to stir a reaction in the dogs than someone they cuddle on the couch with every night.

As for biting a child, most sound temperamented dogs wouldn't attack a child, command or not. Animals are too strongly wired to protect, not attack, younglings of their own species or a species they pack with (such as dogs and humans).