Hello all! Since owning GSDs the occurances of strangers coming to my home has decreased. This is a good thing! Since our land is to large to fence in, I have decided that I would like to train our little girl to be uncrated in the house while we are gone.

I grew up with dogs and no crates. I do not recall having many problems with training them. Yet, those were small small dogs.

We want our GSD girl to protect our home while we are occassionally away. How should I go about this? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Tammy
I think most of the folks here would need more info on your dog and your situation to answer your question. You posted under "puppy training" so I am guessing your GSD is a puppy-so don't expect her to protect much of anything right now.
I would also advocate crate training for your pup-I think you'll avoid lots of problems later if you do this now.
How old is your pup, what training has she had, how long do you plan on leaving it to "protect" your house later, what kind of GSD is she, stuff like that, is helpful to the people here in answering your question.
Sometimes, if you are rural, and have the space and money to feed them, I think a couple junkie (big, barking mutts) outside dogs are as good as anything else to discourage unwanted visitors. If someone actually gets in your house after that, you've got a pretty bad guy on your hands.
Most grown dogs will bark at strangers coming in their house. Any home intruder is a nasty thing, especially one who feels confident enough to come in with a big dog barking inside. That's a lot to expect a house pet to handle. Might even be safer for your house pet/friend to be crated.

I agree with Alex. Crate training is always done here. However the way I read your post you want her to protect the house while your away , thus the crate training. She cant protect from the crate. Also the best she will do if not trained in protection is barking and my dogs very seldom bark while in the crate. What Im saying is crate train but when your gone she will have to be out of the crate to do any good.

Ron

Our pup is very young still. 5 weeks old and still with her litter. I plan on crate training her, but when we leave the house (not long...Sunday worship is the longest we would be gone)I would like her free to protect the house. While we live in a wonderful small town, there has been several invasions as of late. I don't plan on having her protect right off the bat, I am thinking about how to go about it as she grows. Do I start her one room at a time? How would you correct her if she tore something up or made a mess?

I don't trust the puppy's until they have been house broken for at least two months before I let them stay out of the crate for an extended length of time. Then I keep them in one room that I have puppy proofed, encluding unplugging and hiding all power cords while I'm gone. At about two years old, depending on the dog, I let them have free run of the house when I'm gone. The best and safest thing for your dog might be to put them outside to protct your house and keep dog safe while you are gone. The dogs safety is more important than your stuff.

Thanks Kim. I cannot have the dog outside lest I chain her up, which I do not want to do. To have her in a pen would not allow for her to protect the house and fencing in the yard has not been an option for us yet. (but maybe in sometime in the future) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Hi Tammy,

Congrats on your upcoming addition!

I too strongly suggest crate training... It is the only way to go IMO, a pup is like a baby and it's safety is very important as they will find every possible hazard..... As well, house breaking is an easier task and your pup will find great comfort of security in a crate.

My reply to the post listed below describes how I got off on a great start w/my pup.
http://www.leerburg.com/ubb//ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=14;t=000192;p=1
Responsibility in following through and maintaining patience and not allowing yourself to be manipulated by your young pup can only benefit your pup as they do not know what is best for them.

But reading your posts, I see protection seems to be the most the important issue w/you.... Your GSD will not provide that until he/she has matured...until then, that pup will offer nothing more than a 4 yr old child would. The most you will get will be the verbal barks after the pup has reached 5 mths. Protection…. other than a being deterrent, many many factors apply here i.e. temperament, secure upbringing, training, training, & training etc..... (Too many to list).

My pup is very a very confident pup and will bark from the crate when she hears someone at the door or a noise outside as she is very comfortable in her home and therefore is naturally protective of it but only in the verbal sense as she still is to young to know otherwise.

Maybe when you leave the house you can have a secondary crate that is close to your door for your pup.

My pup, now 11 mths, is still crated when I leave. My concern is very much still for her safety which always will take priority over material items. Raising your pup should be the priority first and suggest getting a security system for your home until your pup has grown into a dependable dog capable of providing what you seek..

That is just my opinion and I wish you the best w/your newest family member.

Just wanting to add...

I have and still do put much effort into raising Gypsy (as that what it takes)...training, time, training... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> not to mention expense...one of many reasons I make sure she stays safe until mature and trustworthy enough to run free when I am not home.

When I am home, she is out of the crate about 95% of the time where I am more able to correct any attempt of destructive and/or unsafe acts. I am happy to say that it has been minimal, even when I am working out of my home office, where she is completely ignored and bored for many hours. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

You gotta love peripheral vision.
T

I was of the "old school" and didn't use a crate when I got my first dog as an adult. I lucked out with that one.

However; I have learned the hard way over the years..crating is the best way to go with a puppy or any dog that you initially bring into your household.
It not only keeps the puppy/dog safe from the temtations of the house and keeps the house safe from the puppy/dog.

You have to remember; the puppy is a baby and is not going to "take on the world" and protect the home until they reach maturity.

My female GSD is now over a year old and is just beginning to have an understanding of "protection" of the home. She'll now bark when someone pulls into the drive and will announce herself as "I don't think it's a good idea" if someone comes too close to the house. But..she's really still a "puppy" and will be for a while yet.

I've allowed her to have free run of the house on a very limited time span while I'm out in the barn area to gauge her "trustworthyness" and will continue to add a few minutes here and there until I'm confident she has a firm understanding of what is expected and allowable. Otherwise; for extended time periods when I'm not home; she's crated.

Tammy,a puppy will not protect your house or even learn to protect your house you should just forget about that all together until the pup is mature.If you want the pup to someday protect your home you need to start working with it right now in the way of alot of socialization with people and new places or in other words start buildin the confidence in your pup so it is not afraid of anything especially people. A dog afraid of people protecting the house may make alot of noise at first but put some pressure on them and the'll be out the door in the yard before the burglar.
As far as crate traing you need to do this for the safety of your pup(wich is like a child)You wouldnt leave a child alone to do as it pleases.You asked how do you correct a pup that has made a mess or tears something up while out of the crate when you are gone.Thats the point,you cant! A dog has 1.3 seconds between cause an effect after that it doesnt know what your talking about so its way to late to do anything about the damage when you get home,you have to catch the pup in the act.Let the pup loose in the house when you are there and able to supervise whats goig on and are able to keep destructive habits from developing.