Dan - you need to keep learning about dog training - your advice is not only inaccurate but dangerous.

 Quote: Dan Elmar

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To take a dog through the full gamut of bite development and produce an offensive animal can hardly be called protection training either. Such a dog is not protecting anything, he's just eager to fight a person.

What????That is such a misconception dan..
A bite foundation is what's best for most dogs, it makes them clear headed and it teaches a dog how to bite and when.I have seen dogs that were never taught how to bite properly and where and when is best, and they looked so chaotic and confused and really showed bad nerves, overly defensive.Had they had a good bite foundation they would have been more confident in their bite and thought more clearly..
Do you think Boxers and UFC fighters just show up at fight nights with no training? and leave with medal or belts???
IYAYAY!!!!

Dan,

I am not keen on sending my dogs off to someone. I prefer to learn how to train my dogs with an experienced trainer so this way I can learn more about dogs behavior. I suggest you to be careful with giving out your advice to other people. I have seen Ed Fawley ban a few people for giving out bad advice.

 Quote: Lindsay Janes

Dan,

I am not keen on sending my dogs off to someone. I prefer to learn how to train my dogs with an experienced trainer so this way I can learn more about dogs behavior. I suggest you to be careful with giving out your advice to other people. I have seen Ed Fawley ban a few people for giving out bad advice.

http://www.leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=91&Number=158355&Searchpage=1&Main=16531&Words=+Ed+Frawley&topic=0&Search=true#Post158355

 Quote: Angelique Cadogan

Do you think Boxers and UFC fighters just show up at fight nights with no training? and leave with medal or belts???

It's just sport, those fighters can't really hurt someone.

Mike, I hope you come and visit us in Vegas one day I would love to introduce you to a few UFC fighters we know and don't worry they won't hurt you, you'll just learn to tap real fast..


JK.. You're very welcome..

Great analogy Angelique. I was going to use the exact one. Truth is, first time I put the gloves on I started kicking some major butt, lol.
In all seriousness though Dan, take Ed's advice. To the OP the question is, do you really need a PPD? I have one and another that's going through training but in my area in the past 2 months 8 people have been shot and my fiancee was car jacked and I have the police report to prove it. Do you have a similar situation? Please take the advice of the people here, 99.9% of people do not need a PPD. Also just as important is finding the right dog. Any dog just won't cut it. Nerves, drives, etc, etc, etc...

Enrique

 Quote: enrique muniz

To the OP the question is, do you really need a PPD? I have one and another that's going through training but in my area in the past 2 months 8 people have been shot and my fiancee was car jacked and I have the police report to prove it. Do you have a similar situation? Please take the advice of the people here, 99.9% of people do not need a PPD. Also just as important is finding the right dog. Any dog just won't cut it. Nerves, drives, etc, etc, etc...

I guess my answer to the question would be "I think I do but am not 100% sure". Not that we have such a high crime level in Lewisville, TX but in my opinion an extra level of protection is never going to hurt. Also the dog needs to learn new skills besides his obedience training and personal protection seems to be a good direction to lead him to. This is to explain why I think I do need personal protection training for my dog. And I am not 100% sure because, as you said, not every dog is capable of this kind of stuff. And in order to evaluate mine I guess need to find what I am looking for: a professional trainer. And this is why my original message was posted here. Please correct me if you feel I am wrong in any way, I really appreciate any comments.

Actually Andrei this has been asked a number of times, I'm surprised no one has mentioned that. Most times if you have dog that will bark on command and appear threatening you can hold that dog in the 99.9% region of all that is required for protection, from a canid, in most situations. Look at the statistics, in a riot situation when the police show up, even in riot gear, this does little to quel the situation. But when the SUV marked "Warning - Police K9" cruises in to town most people back down right then and there! The psychological edge is your best advantage and a GSD will give you that. I don't care how tough a bad guy is, with a decent looking dog he will always ask himself, "do I really want to do this?"

However, I get ya you want something more to do with your dog, I believe you said that yourself. I recommend you give the Sch club a try and see what you think. At the very least you will gain the experience you are looking for and in the mean time have put some effort into building a useful foundation that could be applied to further training for a PP dog (provided you have the proper variables in the picture).

 Quote:

If you feel that my experiences are inappropriate to discuss here from the point of view of inexperienced handlers misinterpreting them please feel free to give me a nudge.

Andrei, imho and am far from an expert, doing personal protection with a dog just because it might be fun to do it is not the way to go. There are many other activities you can do.
Like Brad said Sch would be a nice way to get experience, also herding, agility, etc.

If your intentions are giving the dog something to do, personal protection is hardly the only or more fun way to go. Look into local clubs for gsd or working breeds. they'll give you good ideas.

For example my kids may do jiu jitsu but i definetly don't want them running around with guns... Does that make sense? Don't let ego get in the way.

enrique.