This is a reprint from some of previous questions that have been asked about PPD's, I hope ya'll find them helpful..

Question:
"What do I need to consider before I get a PPD?"
and
"Are you saying that if someone were to come into my house that a sport trained dog might not get the job done? "



The answer to that is - it depends.

Most criminals are looking for victims, not sparring partners, and the threat of a dog barking ( or a firearm ) will almost always make them seek easier prey.
So just a dog barking is a deterrent, and even a pet can fulfill this need ( a good sport dog may indeed bite an intruder, but you'll never be sure, and if you need a set level of security you are going to have to train that dog further, or get a different dog.

The real question arises when you are dealing with a determined attacker - then all bets are off. Most dogs can be driven off by a determined attacker and in that case you need one of the rare dogs with the willingness to engage and fight - and this will give you enough time to escape, call for help, or get to your firearms and deal with the problem in a more serious manner.

Most of the so called "ppds" sold by so many of these amateur trainers would not do their job in a real fight, but they can bark at an intruder.....the only downside here is...why pay 10k for a dog that won't do the work?
If clients would only test these so called "ppds" correctly, these bogus kennels and trainers would dry up and stop scamming folks.

So if you are in *real* danger and are looking for a PPD, you want a dog that first and foremost will *stop* the bad guy, and everything else is a secondary consideration.
I usually only see this type of urgency with "overseas" sales, i.e., the dogs are going to a 2nd or even 3rd world location where they have a serious job to do. I have sold a few of these type dogs in the U.S. ( and own one myself ) but they usually go to the un-named Government agencies.

Most Americans do not want ( nor are they willing to modify their life style to own ) a real PPD. They want a dog that will alarm bark and possibly ( but no real guarantee ) bite the bad guy, but when you get right down to it, they will trade livability for protection - I see it all the time.

A common thing that a vendor sees is a woman that is being stalked and is in a panic and makes a bad decision to buy a PPD - they end up with too much dog and when the situation calms down they want to get rid of the dog, ASAP.

I actually had a potential client ( back when I was a vendor ) that was considering a dog from me, but they ended up buying a dog from someone that I had previously had a good opinion of. Well, naturally the woman changed her mind and wanted to give the dog back to the trainer that she had bought it from - who now would not even return the woman's phone calls ( he's off my list of recommended vendors, needless to say ).
For some reason the woman called me then for advice ( and I wondered to myself..."why call me? You didn't even buy *my* dog!" ) and the only thing I could tell her was to try and sell the dog. I never did end up hearing what happened in the end, but I'm sure it wasn't pretty.
Sadly, that's a far more common occurrence that you'd think.

So I would tell anybody that was thinking of getting a PPD to stop and think *hard* about what adding a defensive dog will do to your lifestyle, and to make damn sure that you are willing to make the life style accommodations to suit getting a PPD.
Or be happy with the decision to get a lesser dog and feel good about it - even a bark alert increases your personal security, just don't play that common game of fooling yourself that the dog will stop the bad guy at the dog - it most likely won't.

Here's a question that I always asked my clients that were looking for a PPD - do you own a gun? If they said no, they didn't need a dog from me and that ended the potential sale. It's all about life style changes and the willingness to make them.


Question:
"Is there an advantage to getting a puppy and getting him trained, or should I go for an adult dog?


Mostly disadvantages, if you're looking for a real PPD.

All puppies are a crap shoot, no matter how well you do a temperament evaluation, the puppy may mature into a dog that just doesn't have what it takes to be an effective PPD.
Plus, you have hips and the such to worry about, I've scrapped out many a promising pup due to health issues that only surfaced as the dog matures.

I always told most clients to concentrate on an 18 to 24 month old dog with no training issues - do a hard evaluation at that time and if the dog passes, it's worth putting the time and money into training it as a PPD ( you might notice from my standpoint that a PPD candidate is *not* a sport or Police Canine washout - you see that waaaay too often with many vendors, and that sucks. )


Question:
How to keep a well trained dog on the top of their game?


I think that Ob sessions at least two to three times a week - a five to ten min. session is fine as long as it's intense and focused. You can do this in your driveway or backyard.

Bite work/grip training at least twice monthly - two sessions of around 15 mins. with 30 mins to an hour in-between sessions. A SchH club would be ideal for this.

Realistic Scenario training at least once a month - these will take more time to properly plan then they will to run, and they're equipment intensive ( Salvation Army clothes, hidden sleeve, blank fire arms, etc. - the sky's the limit here, but keep it *realistic* , most people don't and the dog's ability suffers for it )


Question:
"Should I post a "Beware of Dog" sign"?


That's a good question, and there are a couple of ways to look at it.

First off, a few of the legal eagles have brought up the possibility that if you post a "beware of dog" sign that you're opening yourself up to a possible lawsuit because if a bite occurred, your sign would indicate that you were aware of the possibility of your dog biting.
So a warning sign could be seen as a possible "admission of guilt", and you want to avoid that, naturally.

There has even been a case where an illegal type from Mexico climbed a fence to burglarize a house and the watch dog got him. The home owner called the cops after the dog bit the idiot a few times, and the perp had burglar tools on his person and freshly stolen goods in his car. The outcome? The perp sued the home owner because the "Beware of Dog" sign *wasn't in Spanish*....and this was up in Michigan I believe.
What the hell is wrong with the court system of this country to allow a travesty of justice like this to happen?!?

So the current idea of the safest sign is to place a simple "No Trespassing" sign up on your fence - it offers legal protection to the home owner in that it warned people not to trespass but it isn't so informative as to set the owner up for a lawsuit in the event of a dog bite.


Question:
"How can I *really* increase my security?"

Alright, you've made the decision and you're willing to take the responsibility of increasing your personal safety - so what's the biggest step that you can take?

Get a gun.

In fact, get several, and here's the how and why of it.

Security, like an onion, comes in layers. Each layer adds another level of security and gives you just that bit more "edge" to coming out of a hostile encounter alive and well.
But nothing is going to increase your level of personal security as much as getting and learning to use a firearm properly ( and remember, this is coming from a hard Core PPD guy, I'm surrounded by serious dogs but they mainly act as a barrier to allow me time to get to a firearm......I'll take it from there )

Ok, now a gun that's not with you ( or you can't get to ) isn't worth spit. So your first choice of firearms will be a handgun, preferably in a caliber over .40 cal that will actually stop the bad guy. Purchase the gun and arrange to get some meaningful training with it, *please*! A firearm that you aren't competent with can be more of a danger to yourself and your loved ones that a bad guy.

I've included the websites for the best firearm training schools in the U.S.A. over in the "Links" section of this forum, take a look and figure out which one you can attend.

Next, after you've gained a skill level with your handgun of choice and have bought the required holster, magazine pouches, etc. - get a CCW, ASAP. A Concealed Carry Permit is available in any state in this Country that's worth living in ( sorry, I'm a stickler about this - if you live in a state that won't trust you to carry a legally owned firearm, you need to move, end of story. )

Most of the better firearm training courses also teach you about having a defensive mind-set, and that training alone is well worth it. And carrying a concealed handgun while you're out and about dramatically increases your personal safety.
So far, so good.

But you'll be in your own house for much of the day and evening hours, and you can do one step better than a handgun for your domicile - the defensive shotgun. I'm not going to get into brands, etc. but any well-made 12 gauge shotgun is ideal for home defense. Add a light kit to the gun ( most of your encounters will occur at night ) and night sights and you're set.
And remember those fine firearms instruction courses over in the "Links" area? They teach classes for the shotgun, also...

I would add a last recommendation if you own a larger piece of property, and that would be to get a defensive rifle for longer ranges. Now the odds of a civilian firing in a defensive situation at longer ranges would be rare, rare, rare ( Thank God!! ) but it might not be a bad insurance policy for folks in the Western states that have larger open ranges to consider. The AR-15 family in .223 caliber or upgrading to something in 7.62 caliber like the HK-91 or the M1A could be just the ticket here.

And yes...there are classes for those firearms also.....of course!



This is only a *very broad* overview of selection and training for defensive firearms, our discussion is only meant to stimulate some thought about taking the next step in saying "Hmmm...there's more to do to keep myself safe"...

I'd like to post a link to what I consider the finest self-defense book in regards to situational awareness and the defensive mind-set, Jeff Cooper's classic:

Principles of Personal Defense

This book is only 80 pages long but it is so focused on the subject that every page is worthwhile.
You can get it from Paladin Press ( and they have a *boatload* of self-defense books, it's well worth your time to spend an hour there looking at what they have available and making a "wish list" for your future reading ).

http://www.paladin-press.com/detail.aspx?ID=1308

Will, I always learn from each of your posts, but this one is extraordinary.

Well written Will. Thank you.

Wow, Will, thanks for taking the time to share this excellent info.

It's interesting how liability can differ according to the community. I have a buddy who lives in New Mexico. Years ago, a burglar was hopping from backyard to backyard after his "work" was done in one particular house. Unfortunately, the burger jumped into my friend's back yard and was greeted by his 120 pound male, very upset Rottie who proceeded to "detain" the individual until the police arrived. The burglar went to the hospital, then to jail. My friend got a Mayor's Commendation for assisting in the apprehension of a criminal.

How different things can be- around here you have to have a warning sign on your fence and not only on the gate but in the corners so people passing by from every direction can be aware that there is a dog in the yard.

And great post by the way! Really makes you think!

Well written!

 Quote:

How can I *really* increase my security?"

Alright, you've made the decision and you're willing to take the responsibility of increasing your personal safety - so what's the biggest step that you can take?

Get a gun.

Always a good read Will!

Phenomenal, Will!

If I may ask, how big is the market for trained protection dogs? I would think most people would want to buy the dog at a younger age than 18 months, and raise and train it/pay to have it trained themselves (judging from most dogs folks I deal with). It's really amazing to me that I see these ads all the time.

Is there a thread or poll here regarding gun ownership? I'm clumsy with the search feature. I'm a big firearm aficionado (sp?), but never heavily factored in home protection when buying or adopting, in spite of having a beast of a dog today. I live in a small town and never lock my doors or car, though. I'm sure if I lived in other areas I might feel differently.

Chip,
The market for PPDs is big, but there are only a small handful of trainers that can actually produce a good PPD.
The market is flooded with phonies that have no idea on how to produce a PPD ( I'm talking about 90% of the PPD vendors are just outright frauds, that's how bad it is!! ) , but become the public is so uninformed about what actually constitutes a PPD, these scammers can make a good living producing crappy dogs that won't actually protect their owners.

Regarding your idea of getting a younger dog and having it trained after you've raised it, that's always a crap shoot as it's difficult to predict if a potential puppy will have the nerves and temperament to be a good PPD. Few owners or breeders have enough experience to accurately evaluate a dog as a PPD candidate ( it really is a specialty, and I wouldn't trust more than ten people in this country as an evaluator, by the way ).

Do we have threads on gun ownership........only about a few dozen of them!!
Have at it!

Surely you aren't talking about the geniuses in that Steven Seagal series???? lololol I'm sure they produce some totally sweeeeeeeet dogs!