$7.99 Flat Rate Shipping
$7.99 Flat Rate Shipping
Conditions apply. Learn more.
Wishlist
May 17, 2011

Can I over-socialize my dog for protection training?

Full Question:
I have a 10 1/2 month old female German Shepherd. Is it possible to over socialize a dog? If so, I think I did this. My dog LOVES everyone. I take her to meet a lot of people, and there're are a lot of family and friends coming to our house on a daily basis. She does not bark when our doorbell rings, and when it does ring she runs to the door tail wagging and ears pinned back. My problem is that I do want her to start protecting the house w/o being a killer dog. (I have 3 children). She treats family and friends the same way she treats strangers. Is she too young to start showing aggression(barking) towards strangers who come to house? Will this aggression (barking) come naturally or must it be taught. Our last female shepherd was a great watchdog and it was not taught, it just came to her. Should I keep socializing her, or should I back off a little?



Thanks,
John
Cindy
Cindy Cindy's Answer:
Your dog sounds like a nice dog, becoming territorial is a factor of genetics and maturity not socialization. Your dog sounds like it has good nerves. If you want it trained you will have to do some testing when it is older, (18 months). The bottom line is that if you want this you need to learn about the drives that are used in the work. Go to my web site and read the articles.



A lot of dogs will bark at people when they reach maturity. They do it because they have weak nerves. The very instant anyone puts any kind of pressure on them they turn and run. The fact is 99.999% of the dogs out there fall into this category.



If you would like to learn more about this work you should begin with our tapes The First Steps of Bite Training and The First Steps of Defense.

75% (6 out of 8)
respondents found this answer helpful
Did you find this Q&A helpful?
Expert Dog Trainer Cindy Rhodes
75% (6 out of 8)
respondents found this answer helpful

Did you find this Q&A helpful?

Recommended Products
Scroll to Top