Hi everyone...

Just joined the forum. I have 16 month old intact male from Czech working lines. He has excellent prey drive and is doing very well in his protection training. Working well in the beginning stages of defense & shows good, strong civil work. Very good aggression level during agitation work.

The concern I have is that he is way too relaxed in his house and car. At times, he does not even get up to go see who is at the door. If someone comes up to the truck he just lays there looking. We have set up agitation work outside the house with the dog inside. Once he sees the "bad guy" he will try to eat through the door to get to get to him.

I would appreciate any ideas that you may have for helping to get him to be more "alert" in the home or car. Could it be a result of his young age or is he just way to comfortable and sure of himself ? I almost feel like he thinks he is a safe zone when in the car or house.

If you are in the house with the dog he might be
looking to you to take the role you want him to take.Remember all things being in place you are the ALPHA and in his mind should handle the situation. See if you could leave him alone for awhile and then have someone approach, same thouht in regards to the auto. Just a thought!

Your dog has good nerves, so he does not perceive any noises outside of the house as a threat. You can set up situations, where a noise outside the house turns into an attack on the dog or handler.........it will not take long for your dog to become more interested in noises outside.

Take this as a grain of salt if you want to.... but I spend 40+ hours a week with a dog in the back of my car..... Training a dog to become more "alert" in the car is opening a can of worms that you might regret later.

The dog's natural protectiveness will take hold in the car on it's own over time. I know one officer who intentionally trained this into his dog…..he regrets it every day. It’s a non-stop bark fest every time the dog sees anyone outside the car. It does not matter what the person is doing or more importantly not doing….. the dog lights up every time.

When I got my work dog I was a little disappointed at how quiet he is in the car….at times to the point that I need to check that he’s back there. More than one handler has told me how lucky I am to have a quiet dog inside the car.

Have you ever tried going through drive thu with a dog that wants to eat the 16 yr old cashier? And you can't hear the order total 'cause of all the barking? Not an experience I like to repeat.

And Girl Scouts asking for donations? Forget it, they are demons from hell, as far as my dog is concerned. The garbage man? An evil, evil man, going through our stuff. The little old lady who wants to tell you you have a flat? An intruder, who dares approach the sacred boundry!

Oh, and how about the routine traffic stop? You can't communicate with the officer over the barking, growling, and the head bashes on the window, and he can't hear your requests to step out of the car through the 2 inch crack. It does not make a good impression, let me tell you. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Once you turn on this type of behaviour, it is next to impossible to turn off, because it is self reinforcing, and, over time, it gets stronger. Your dog may not go through the extremes that mine does, but trust me, it is a real pain in the butt. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Just my .02. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for the replies. I can see that this forum is going to be a great way to get help when needed.

It makes sense that alerting while in the car could be a real hassle if done to excess. I guess I would at least like him to get up and show himself to any one that approaches.

My dog has proven himself that he will respond appropriately once he has determined that someone is in his territory. I guess my follow up question would be how do I enlarge his territory so that he doesn't wait until someone is opening the car door or walking in the house ? They at least deserve a fair warning!! I know he hears the approach, but he doesn't react until someone actually is inside.

Mark-great advice here. You can train into a dog the behavior you want with having threat situations set up at home and for your car. I think your dog needs to pick up the pace at home for sure. I like dogs barking before the doorbell rings myself. I have had dogs however that I had to train in reverse in the car, bank driveups and drive through fast food can be tough. Just wait until Burgerking asks you to "pull around and we'll bring it out" You might get an arm with your Whopper. I have a friend who is a SGT. k9 officer and trainer. When I talk to him on phone he lives his life with a barking Malinois. For 10-12 hours a day its barking, he is considering hearing protection. His dog also had to have all of his front teeth pulled except the 4 canines as he broke them all over time from trying to chew out of his crate in the truck. This is an extreme case but a dog who barks in a car can be real bothersome. I would leave the dog in the car and have someone go look inside and rattle the door handle, see what the dog does. You need a reaction there and also of course at home. Derek

An alert at home is as big a pain as it is in the car. Every time a door bell rings on TV they go off (Sit and watch a few hours of TV and count the Dominoes Ads). When any of your Neighbors leave or come home, Mailman, Garbageman, it is amazing how often there are people in the area that belong there. It gets old fast.

If you want the dog to show himself in the car, Tell him to sit <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> . As you have demonstrated with your in home training, he will light up when it IS required. If someone trys to break in the dog will go off just fine.

Raise your watch/guard dog with a JRT. The best combination ia a big scary looking dog (sable GSD) and a sharp, noisy little SOB to kick him in gear. Speaking from expierience. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Bob has made a valid point, one that I've suggested to many clients over the years - have a small, yappy "alarm" dog, along with a more visually intimidating dog for a bit more "oomph" in protecting your property.

This is a much better solution for those that don't want the enternally hyper guard dogs that Richard pointed out. The yapper would be an excellent addition for some of the more lumbering guard breeds, like those in the mastiff-family tree. It'd actually be the best of both worlds and a better solution overall, with the exception of the people that really, really, need hardcore protection - and if people will take an honest look at their protection needs, most will find that they don't need that level of extreme protection.