April 12, 2011
I have a rescue dog who is either very aggressive or very timid around tall men. Should I protection train him?
Full Question:
I have a one and a half year old male GSD. He was a rescue dog and hadn't been socialized at all when I got him (almost a year ago). He is very smart and learns everything I teach him right away. I've been wanting to start him on some protection training, my problem is that he is very dog aggressive and tends to be either intimidated or overly defensive around tall men, although he has been slowly improving in both areas. I don't want to encourage any uncalled for aggression. Would protection training at this point just mess him up or would it make him more confident and less intimidated around men? Would using only women agitators make a difference? 
Ed's Answer:
My feeling is that it would be a mistake to try and protection train this dog. The odds of getting a dog coming from a dog pound with the genetics that allow him to do protection training is about 1 in 100,000. Your dog is already showing signs of bad nerves (shying away). This means he is stressed from just the sight of a tall man. To add the stress of a man (or woman) putting pressure on him in bite work would send him over the edge and make him neurotic.
In my opinion the only dogs that should be protection trained are dogs with good temperament to start with. These dogs have good nerves and can handle the stress of bite work.
You would be better advised to work on calming your dog down around tall men. Do this by trying to keep a small bag of treats with you when you are out for walks (hot dogs work well). When the dog shows signs of avoidance or aggression toward tall men, ask them if they would mind tossing your dog a treat. Make tall men “hot dog machines” to your dog. This will often change the dog’s attitude towards them.
If you try and solve your problem with protection training you will end up with a dog that is so sharp (aggressive) that he is a danger for people to be around. Dogs that are like this can only be used as security dogs behind a fence where they never come in contact with people. I don't think that is what your goal is.
You would be better off to concentrate on obedience training. I recommend my Basic Dog Obedience DVD.
In my opinion the only dogs that should be protection trained are dogs with good temperament to start with. These dogs have good nerves and can handle the stress of bite work.
You would be better advised to work on calming your dog down around tall men. Do this by trying to keep a small bag of treats with you when you are out for walks (hot dogs work well). When the dog shows signs of avoidance or aggression toward tall men, ask them if they would mind tossing your dog a treat. Make tall men “hot dog machines” to your dog. This will often change the dog’s attitude towards them.
If you try and solve your problem with protection training you will end up with a dog that is so sharp (aggressive) that he is a danger for people to be around. Dogs that are like this can only be used as security dogs behind a fence where they never come in contact with people. I don't think that is what your goal is.
You would be better off to concentrate on obedience training. I recommend my Basic Dog Obedience DVD.
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