I have an 11 month unneutered male GSD. He is very dog and people friendly. Loves anything w/a pulse! I know this has a great upside but, sometimes I'd like him to be just a tad more discriminatory, especially when a stranger is knocking at my door. Do you think there's a way to get my dog to at least stop wagging his tail when strangers come to my door? May sound like a crazy question but he exudes a "come on in no matter who you are" attitude 100% of the time. Any ideas on how to slightly encourage or bring out his natural suspicions now (during certain events such as the doorbell ringing) or is this something I should accept (and be thankful for) since he's only 11 months old?

At 11 months old, he's still a pup. Most protective instincts wont com out for another 6-12 months, depending on the dog. True! Some never do, but 11 months is to early, as a rule. The genetics (pedigree) of your dog has a big influence on his temperment.

ALICE!!
Would you stop commenting on things that you know absolutely *NOTHING* about!?! Stop commenting about anything regarding protection, you give bad advice that is usually almost always WRONG!!


Cripes, this is getting old and I'm getting tired of you commenting to new posters who might take your uninformed and ignorant statements to heart, when you have zero idea about what you are saying!


To the original poster, please excuse my angry outburst at someone that has the bad habit of making uninformed comments, despite multiple requests to stop doing so.
As a note, you will get a wide variety of advice here ranging from pet owners ( some of whom mean well ) to seasoned professional dog trainers. Unfortunately, anybody can give advice on an internet forum ( and you run into the possibility of a poster having no knowledge at all about the subject but still feeling the need to post their 2 cents worth, even if the statement is totally wrong ) so it's up to you to determine the background and expertise of the person giving you advice.


I apologize to everyone for my harsh words towards alice, but she has been asked several times to stop commenting about protection dog concepts due to her obvious lack of knowledge about the topic.
I can and will step in when erroneous advice is being given, as alice often does. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

Hi:
Eleven months is just a baby for some dogs. It used be thought that less socialization made for a better guard or watch dog, because they were uncomfortable around strangers. These days it is thought that we want a confident dog, who is comfortable around others, but who given his genetics and maturing will be able to discriminate. If you make sure your boy is well trained and bonded to you, I think you will see his normal protectiveness come out. Just give him a bit of time <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Julie

I have a super friendly dog, but he'll bark at the door, bark out the window at people, fire up on command and do bitework. His default reaction to someone giving him attention is to turn into a goofy happy puppy, but if I tell him to alert, he looks like he'll rip someones throat out. Give it time, if your dog has it in him, it'll show up eventually. Otherwise, enjoy your friendly dog, stressing over something that isn't there is unfair to your dog, and if it is there, then great!

11 months is a little early to impliment any training that will affect your dog's guarding behavior, but in a few months after the dog has matured you can do some simple civil protection work that should get you what you appear to want.

If you are still following this thread, post and I can outline it here.

Ed also has an article on training a non-bite dog some protection work.

This work is not in any way abusive either, when done correctly. You also don't need to have a whole lot of experience to do this work.

I was very happy to receive a few opinions on the matter. Thank you all. It seems to be very difficult to find someone (where I live)who knows what they are talking about regarding protection of any kind. Robert, I would love to hear more about the simple civil protection work you mentioned. Maybe that is what I want. At the risk of boring one or two of you, here's a summary of my dog's personality and/or habits. Maybe this will help you to help me further. BTW, I have had Gunnar in private lessons since he was 8 weeks old and turned to group just last month to heighten the difficulty for him. He knows the English, German and hand signal for all commands; sit, stay, heel, down, drop to a down mid run when told, walks backwards on command, etc. Right now he's not great under the distraction of 6 other dogs in the group class but is great when alone so I know what I have to do there.

Inside our home, he seems to bark the deep bark at everything he sees and hears. That said, he never seems to bark for the sake of barking. I'm happy about that.

In the car, you could be Satan himself and Gunnar would let you stick your hand in the window and pet him (I don't allow it ever but I've had a few close calls. More than a few morons have started to reach in the car without asking me!)

Walking (on leash) anywhere, be it a park, a city street, he'll never bark at any dog or person. If a dog growls at him, he does nothing. If I let him, he would just continue to try and get to know the dog! I learned this from experience.

If you are a delivery man or a contractor and pull in our driveway - you will be studied intently by Gunnar who will sit there and watch you until you try coming up to the house or onto the patio where he's sitting. As you approach closer, he starts wagging his tail and is thrilled to see and be pet by Mr. Absolute Stranger!

Now at the risk of sounding like a complete idiot, I would like to believe my dog possesses some or maybe all qualities that would make him an excellent family protection dog. I've had him "looked at" two times by two gentlemen who claim to know what they are doing in determining if a dog has what it takes to be protective on command. Didn't hire either yet because I know my dog is a little young and I don't quite know if they know what they're doing.

In short, can I have what I'm looking for - a fabulous family dog that is trained to listen to a few commands regarding protection? I.E. "watch" to Gunnar would mean stand by me and bark/growl. "Out" to Gunnar would mean stop barking, it's ok now. Robert, you mentioned a non-bite work article by Ed. I'll look for it. Thanks for the tip.

 Quote:

I have a super friendly dog, but he'll bark at the door, bark out the window at people, fire up on command and do bitework. His default reaction to someone giving him attention is to turn into a goofy happy puppy, but if I tell him to alert, he looks like he'll rip someones throat out.

Mike that's exactly what I'm looking for in my dog. Very friendly but can be told to be, at the least, a visual deterrent. Fires up on command seems like something I can get from him. Bitework, I would need an expert for sure and don't know anyone in my area. Does this forum have a place that allows you to put in your zip code and find a nearby reputable PP trainer?