Level 1 Protection dog Training

[derekscriv2008]

I have a german shepheard pup named Duke. He is currently 4 months old and I would like to teach him level 1 protection (on command). The barking at the end of the leash the lunging and showing the teeth, and guarding the house to the point of alerting us when an intruder comes into the house. To the point that if the intruder decides he wants to come in he is going to have major problems

i would like to start this training at 5-6 months of age. if you have any tips or trainning plans i would very much appreciate it. Or have any ideas where i could recieve plans or places that i might look into to become a student along with duke at a trainning school

anything helps!

[Castlemaid]

You should post below in the Schutzhund section or the K9 police and protection dog section - the protection dog section is not very active, but new posts usually get answered by knowledgeable people.

I don't think that there are official protection levels - different trainers use different terms. You will have a lot of people come on here and tell you that it is not your puppy's job to protect you, but your job to protect him - and I agree with the sentiment.

However I don't think there is anything wrong with proper, knowledgeable training as you describe it, but I hope you realize you will have to wait until your pup is mentally mature to actually be protective, which could be when he is around 2 or 3 years old.

This is not something that you can really teach on your own - eventually you will need a trainer to play the part of the bad guy and have your pup alert on him. I'd contact a Schutzhund club - but most clubs will not teach just the protection phase, and will expect members to participate and train in all three phases.

There are private trainers out there too, but finding a good one is hard. Many just use too much threat and too much pressure on young dogs to turn them into fearful, reactive, nerve-bags. Most people cannot really differentiate between an agressive reaction brought on by fear (not good - dog may feel overwhelmed and decide to run), and a truly defensive reaction based on the unbeatable inner belief the dog has they they can whoop this guy!!!

In the meantime, my tip and suggestion to you would be to build your relationship with your pup, socialize him to the HILT so he has vast exposure to everyday normal people and situations and learns to discriminate between safe and a little weird, and truly odd and threatening people and situations, and play lots and lots of tug with him, getting him amped up for the toy to build his drives, and letting him win always to build his confidence.

[Emoore]

Originally Posted by Castlemaid

I don't think that there are official protection levels - different trainers use different terms.

What the OP is describing is almost exactly the PA title in SDA (Service dogs of America).

Derek, if I were you I'd look for a SDA chapter or club near you.

[Liesje]

Originally Posted by Emoore

What the OP is describing is almost exactly the PA title in SDA (Service dogs of America).

Derek, if I were you I'd look for a SDA chapter or club near you.

That's exactly what I was thinking. I did a PA with my dog and it involves a lot of control work, training the dog to alert on command, remain alert until recalled, recalling the dog, and the dog alerting when threatened (without command). "Alerting" means going out to the end of the leash and barking/showing some aggression. The PA level does not involve biting (though my dog was already trained to bite for Schutzhund and higher Protection levels on the suit).

If you're going to do this type of work I would wait until the dog is more mature. Often the SDA protection work is more "real" and confrontational than Schutzhund. With a puppy I would focus on developing a strong bond and starting a solid foundation in obedience and control. Maybe when the dog is about a year old, have it evaluated for the protection training.

If you do the SDA protection titles you will also have to complete the obedience parts as well.

[doggiedad]

i think you should find a professional. i also think you need to
find the right method or steps to proceed with protection traning.
keep in mind if an intruder hears your dog barking and proceeds to enter
the house then the intruder knows they can over power your dog. i had a trainer who's dog was PP trained. if you were breaking into her house she taught her dog to go upstairs and go under the bed if you proceeded to enter the house after hearing the dog bark. her thoughts were if you hear the dog barking barking and you enter the house then you knew you could over power the dog. she didn't want to loose her dog. find professional help and do it right from day one.

why do you want a PP dog? do you really need that type of dog?

Originally Posted by derekscriv2008

I have a german shepheard pup named Duke. He is currently 4 months old and I would like to teach him level 1 protection (on command). The barking at the end of the leash the lunging and showing the teeth, and guarding the house to the point of alerting us when an intruder comes into the house. To the point that if the intruder decides he wants to come in he is going to have major problems

i would like to start this training at 5-6 months of age. if you have any tips or trainning plans i would very much appreciate it. Or have any ideas where i could recieve plans or places that i might look into to become a student along with duke at a trainning school

anything helps!

[derekscriv2008]

I would love to have a PP dog and the question of do i really need it no, I work on base and live on base. i would like to start attending competions with the Military Working Dogs on base. Also im am looking to start a family and would hate to have to move somewhere where its less "protected" and the dog and the house to fall sort with secuirty.


Level 1
THREAT DOG

The level 1 dog is trained to show an aggressive display on command. This dog will lunge, show teeth, and bark aggressively at the end of the leash towards any aggressor who tries to approach once his "protect" command is given. Weapons, yelling, or other forms of intimidation will not cause this dog to back down. Although this dog will most likely bite if an aggressor physically challenged the dog, the level 1 dog is not specifically trained how to most effectively fight the aggressor as is the level 2 dog. The level 1 dog's main purpose is as a deterrent (which is usually enough for most situations

[GSDElsa]

Please enlist the assistance of an experienced PPD trainer.

[derekscriv2008]

I am currently in the seach for a PPD trainer just attemping to see what people thought. Trying to put more heads together to make sure i get the right training for my dog. he is freindly and a great dog and i would hate to hinder that by using a trainer that had no idea what he was doing. i want to never lose the confidence that I am in control of the dog. do you know what i mean when he walks up to a little kid i never want to have that split second of well what is he going to do.

[JKlatsky]

Generally an aggressive display done in the barking needs to wait until the dog is more mentally mature than 5 or 6 months old. The dog has to be tough enough to handle the pressure and it also very desirable for the dog to show a certain amount of natural suspicion or sharpness. This will make it easier to tap into when you do train the dog. However, this has the other edge to it where you are going to have to keep up with the socializing. Generally the awesome family pet has solid nerves, a high threshold for defense and pretty moderate to low suspicion. A PPD should have a lower threshold for defense and more natural suspicion...but still the good nerves.

You will HAVE to get with someone experienced because this is simply not something you can do on your own. A decoy who pushes too hard at the wrong moment can destroy the dog's confidence as he's learning to treat a threat with aggression, so it's critical to have someone who really knows what they are doing.

[Ace952]

Originally Posted by doggiedad

i had a trainer who's dog was PP trained. if you were breaking into her house she taught her dog to go upstairs and go under the bed if you proceeded to enter the house after hearing the dog bark. her thoughts were if you hear the dog barking barking and you enter the house then you knew you could over power the dog. she didn't want to loose her dog. find professional help and do it right from day one.

No offense but I wouldn't want a PP dog like that. Wouldn't even consider it a PP dog. I want my dog to be confident. The house is his and see's it as such.