Hello,

I have read here that some feel a Personal Protection Dog can conflict with family and kids, neigbors, etc. Is there a middle gouund?

I can't believe that all of the dogs trained are kept locked up in single occupant homes.

Thanks for any opinions!

Ted

You're correct. Some people do feel that way. I think they're called idiots. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />. I've even heard that line from my own family. "You're doing WHAT? Teaching him to bite?!? What if you have children?" Sometimes it's best just to keep what you do with your dogs to yourself, unfortunately.

Jenni, does your trained ppd interact with children and your neighbors without any problems?

And I'm assuming your ppd is the black dog in your photo section and not the two white ones.... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
Hehe...nice pics, by the way!

My dog is not a trained PPD yet. I don't know that he ever will be. We shall see! But yes, he is often loose in the front with me and whatever neighborhood children happen to be loitering. My house is their favorite spot because it's like a petting zoo <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />. I wouldn't consider training him in this fashion if he were poorly behaved around children. I live in a far too populated area to take a chance.

I was more referring to the irritating notion that the general public seems to have regarding PPDs being all-around dangerous and nasty. I don't think they have a clear understanding that this dog is going to be trained when to/not to bite-the idea is not to have ajunkyard-style "attack dog" that eats everything that crosses the property line. I can't stand PPD people being looked at as dog abusers who "make their dogs mean". I am hoping to be able to demonstrate, someday, that a dog can be a good PPD AND good with children. Do you leave them with the dog alone? As a "babysitter?" Hell, no.

For now, I just shut up around certain members of my extended family when it comes to this. A dog that is inherently dangerous/unstable around children or neighbors, in my opinion, should never be trained in this way-that dog SHOULD be kept at home/contained!JMO

Oh no, Will! The black one is a sweetheart! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Don't cross the white one that looks like a furry slipper, though! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />If I had the time and money to throw away, I'd love to train my peke or my chi in protection, just for kicks. My chi has actually come to my defense and lost teeth. Shocked me that he did that and scared me that he was going to get himself killed. Those little dogs can be tough.Now, if I could just be sure my shepherd wouldn't head for the hills if a similar situation arose <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I know of someone who has several mals and a few shepherds, and just for fun, trained his wife's Yorkie. Funniest thing you ever saw! A bad guy's ankles will never be the same <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />! And the dog LOVES it!

Ted I have a four year old trained PPD GSD that is fantastic with my 22 month old son. With that said I still would never leave my son alone with him or my wife's mutt dog either. He is great around my extended family if I let him know everything is ok. I train him in PSA as well and he can be down right nasty on the field but at home he is just another dog <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

If you have a stable dog I don't see why you can't have a nice PPD that is also a family dog. I "decoy" for a dog like that, a very nice dog indeed that is perfect around a 2 year old every day of his life. That said, I don't believe in letting ANY dog be alone with children, maybe the dog's absolutely fine and 0% risk, but I get annoyed with kids hitting dogs for whatever stupid reason, and it does happen all the time. Just wait till the wrong dog snaps one day, the dog will get put down, the kid will deny doing anything, everyone will act all surprised why the dog suddenly went crazy.

Jenni,
Different dogs are suitable for different people. Many people with never have children or really any contact with children and for those people, a dog that doesn't care for children is not a liability.

And there are "barrier protection dogs" whose job is to engage anyone that crosses a clearly marked boundary/ fence - they usually aren't in the hands of civilian's though.

A good PPD that is also good with children is rare - and it's rare because children play violently and loudly...so what's a PPD to think? Is the child in danger? Should I bite someone? So usually the PPD's that are good with kids are of a lower level and that's just a sacrifice that an smart owner will make ( for the safety of their children ).


I have had several clients who's *neighbor's* were a danger to them ( they lived in bad, bad neighborhoods but they were unwilling to leave due to their owning a business, or family, or something else ) - those clients specifically wanted dogs that would be "dangerous" to those neighbors ( we're talking crack-head neighbors, by the way ) . So again....different type dogs fulfill the different needs of different clients. See how that works?

Spend a few years training and providing PPD to various clients and hear their horror stories of why they're getting this type of dog - it'll change your opinions, I'll bet.

Jenni......I actually *did* think that your two white dogs were a pair of slippers at first when I was looking through your pics! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />