Good work, Melissa!

I would like to add that any dog that can put on a good threat display is more then enough for most people as for needing a PPD.
For those that have serious need then my very first suggestion would be to get a gun and learn how to use it.
The very best home defense weapon is a shotgun with buckshot loads.
If someone is a serious threat to your life then a dog should only be there to distract any threats long enough for you to arm yourself.

Concur with Mr. Scott.

99.99 percent of dog people don't have a clue in re a PPD, even if they are trained, and I ain't talking about the dog, and I include myself in that category. Just my opinion, and opinions are like butts.

Winchester pump shotgun, model 1897, 18.5 inch barrel, 2 3/4 inch OOO buckshot shells. Dog barks. Gun is racked. The game is afoot.

Far easier to train a person to use a firearm than to train that same person to work with a dog, forget a PPD. Merely reading this board and all of the posts and threads is somewhat supportive of my assertion.

Then too, I think it ridicules that a person would think a PPD is the answer to their phobias and fears. I fear for the dog in such a scenario.

But its early and I have not had a sufficient quantity of coffee. I may well not have sufficiently read and understood the thread. If so, mea culpa.

Totally agree! We had a long conversation where I shared that a poorly trained, under socialized "PPD" has the potential to be a big problem and will require lots of training and time (not to mention outside help). We talked a lot about how it's not particularly hard to teach a dog to bite, but there is a huge component of training and obedience that are required.

This guy was a persistent salesman...very good at saying the right things for someone who doesn't have the experience.

They just need a good dog with nice obedience that is a visual deterrent.

I'm going to relate something that I saw on one of my subscriptions on facebook yesterday, after you talked them out of a PPD:

A training group/family posted that a reputable breeder of GSD working lines is looking for a home for one of their dogs. He was returned to her as an adult due to the fact that the INSURANCE COMPANY made the owners re-home him. The circumstances in this suck....it's because he has a confirmed bite history. BUT - the bite was to a burglar who had just broken into their home - forced entry! Grimm put four puncture holes in the burglar's arm and then did a leg bite. Under normal circumstances, he is a nice dog, socialized to older children and other large breed dogs. He is a house dog, housebroken, crate trained, and with basic obedience. He has never been formally bite trained, this was completely natural protection of his home, property, and people.

Seems to me like a dog like that would be the sort that they're looking for, and a good example of 2 things - you don't have to train a dog to bite in order to protect you, and just because it's protecting your house doesn't protect the dog from punitive action - in this case, the insurance company/landlord.

Insurance companies shouldn't be able to mandate that, in my former profession this is what we'd call a provoked bite. I hope this dog finds an awesome new forever home.

One small point:

It is not correct that anyone can rely on an untrained dog to bite in protection of you or your home.

PLEASE don't anyone think that this is something to rely on. If anyone wants threads and posts written by top PPD trainers, PM me and I'll link you.



And back to the thread.

what a cruel irony in that great story kristin . . .

the dog , without training , did what we all hope our dogs would do for us , yet the insurance company would rather have had the family home burgled , and quite possibly worse , than face the possibility of a lawsuit brought forth by a criminal caught in the act .

i'm sure they got a guy doing risk / benefit analysis of the payouts on those two scenarios .

i know insurance companies are all about $$$$ , but somethin' ain't right .

Of course not Connie - certainly not all dogs will react like Grimm and even he might not react that same way in the same circumstances in the future. Bob's recommendation, IMO holds true - get a gun, know how to use it. I would way rather use a gun than use my dog as a meat shield tbh. Annnnd off to start another thread.

 Quote: Kristin Muntz

Of course not Connie - certainly not all dogs will react like Grimm and even he might not react that same way in the same circumstances in the future. Bob's recommendation, IMO holds true - get a gun, know how to use it. I would way rather use a gun than use my dog as a meat shield tbh. Annnnd off to start another thread.

I knew you didn't think that.

My post was clarification for readers (members and non-) of the board.