Reasons To Find Out How To Train A Guard Dog

Knowing how to train a guard dog is a special skill. If you are like the average dog owner, you may feel that your dog is your companion and your friend, and you hope that he or she would naturally spring to your defense if the situation required it. But this is not necessarily true. There are many stories of people being robbed or even killed while out with their dogs and the dog did not attack.

In fact, most dogs would not do more than bark at a stranger who threatened their owner or broke into the home. They will make a lot of noise and they may succeed in frightening the stranger off, but in most cases they will not attack. As pets, they have been taught not to bite and they have a healthy respect for human beings. So if you want your dog to act as a guard dog, he has to be trained that way from an early age. You must be prepared to treat him as a guard dog first and a pet second.

In fact even before you think of training, you need to consider whether your dog has the right temperament for a guard dog. There are dogs that are bred to guard and it is evident in their behavior. I had a chow once that would immediately run the perimeter of the yard as soon as I opened the back door to let her out. When new people that she didn't know would come to visit, her 'guarding instinct' was obvious just in her posture.

Dogs that are bred for guarding, herding, hunting and retrieving are 'working breeds.' Without a job to do, these animals can become bored and find things to do which can sometimes be mischievous. If you can learn how to train a guard dog, you can give your pet a job to do, keeping him happy and out of trouble. So if you have this kind of dog, training him to guard your home can be a big boost to his confidence and happiness. But if you want a professional guard dog, you will probably need professional training.

Training a guard dog requires patience, devotion and lots of rewards for the correct responses to implied threats of any kind. It is not so much a question of teaching the dog to attack or to bark, but of teaching him the difference between 'friends' and 'enemies'.

Consider for example the dog's well known hatred of delivery men. What is it about these nice guys that makes them enemies in the dog's eyes? Well, just think what they do. They come up to the house, apparently trying to get in. They may leave something on the porch and go away, or they may knock and have you open the door, but one thing is sure, you never let them in. So they can't be friends, right? Therefore they must be enemies. This is how a dog's mind works.

So when you want a guard dog, you need to show him very clearly who your friends are. This means that you have to introduce the dog to people. Let him see you shake their hands and invite them in. Let him get a good sniff of their scent so that he will recognize them. But don't have them give him treats. Don't let him get to thinking that anybody who feeds him is a friend, or he will be easy for a real enemy to bribe with treats. The dog must only obey commands and accept food from you, his owner.

Another key factor in how to train a guard dog is consistency. You must work with your dog on his training each and every day. Dogs respond well to routines and schedules. This not only reinforces the training, but keeps their minds working too. In fact, most dogs that are trained for guard dogs attend a training school where they receive intensive professional training.

These are just some tips to get you decided if a guard dog is really what you want. If you do, and you want to go ahead yourself without professional help, you will need to investigate the best training systems to have a thorough understanding of how to train a guard dog.