I feel the same way as rich, I have two large black and tan dogs that are often confused with dobermans (which is silly) that have deep loud scary barks. I think that this will deter nearly anyone who was trying to pick a house to break into.
I never used to think that any of them would actually do anything to an intruder until one night Nico proved otherwise to me. My son was still a baby and we were at the lake with my parents. My dad had been out burning brush for hours and hours while we hung out at the house.
It was after dark when my dad came back in and Nico probably had forgotten he was even around at that point, well he walked in without saying anything and he must have smelled so strongly of smoke and sweat that she didn't recognize him.

She charged him, with hackles up and teeth showing, and doing that deep threatening growling the entire time.

It was a large room so he had time to say her name several times, she realized who he was about 5 feet away and hit the ground and showed her belly and acted horrified about the whole thing.

 Quote: alyssa myracle

Hmm... Rich has no PPD and no guns...


Damn my integrity.

No guns, no PPD. Did I mention those funny shaped little devices my son-on-law gave me that say "This Side Towards Enemy"?

 Quote: Will Rambeau

 Quote: Rich Pallechio

I used to worry about break ins. We have a lot of electronic equipment. But Hans is loud enough, and scary sounding enough, that I don't worry about them anymore. He can be heard quite well from the street and I think anyone looking for a quick break in and getaway would go someplace else once they heard him.

Rich did it exactly right - a dog with a strong warning bark takes care of 90% of people's needs in a PPD.

And I didn't even have to train him! He was obnoxiously loud right out of the box!

Seriously, sometime between 5 and 8 months or so he started barking when someone came onto our property. But right around his 1st birthday he started making this sound, a deep rumbling penetrating growl that you can feel, that my son described as something you'd hear in a werewolf movie. Ed told me it was just the dog maturing ... and don't let him dominate me

That's the sound that I'm pretty sure will make even Alyssa think twice when she comes to my house looking for her new TV

The UPS man trained my dog exceptionally well -- she thinks she is the biggest, baddest bitch in the neighborhood.

He comes on the porch and knocks on the door and she "scares" him away with the most ferocious sounding bark ever. He drops the package every time and runs back to his truck.

Katie

 Quote: katie o'connor

The UPS man trained my dog exceptionally well -- she thinks she is the biggest, baddest bitch in the neighborhood.

He comes on the porch and knocks on the door and she "scares" him away with the most ferocious sounding bark ever. He drops the package every time and runs back to his truck.

Katie

Think about how the Home Shopping Channel and QVC contribute to dog training. You order from them, a few days later the UPS guy shows up and the dog barks. Order again, UPS guy comes back, dog barks. It's like a really expensive "rent-a-decoy" service.

The mail man does the same thing, on a daily basis!
And the trash guys twice a week.

 Quote: will rambeau

 Quote: rich pallechio

I used to worry about break ins. We have a lot of electronic equipment. But Hans is loud enough, and scary sounding enough, that I don't worry about them anymore. He can be heard quite well from the street and I think anyone looking for a quick break in and getaway would go someplace else once they heard him.

Rich did it exactly right - a dog with a strong warning bark takes care of 90% of people's needs in a PPD.

And when you really think about it, that's pretty much the all the scam PPD vendors are selling - a dog that barks and bites a sleeve/suit. And that's worth at the most 3k. The trouble is, they fool the uninformed that the dog can do much more ( hint: it can't, but the uninformed will never know that ) and charge 15k.
So their little scam nets them an additional 13k in profit. And the foolish dog owners never know.

And this happens several times a day in America. There are even entirely bogus dog sports that exist to help con men sell their crap dogs at inflated prices.

"Let the Buyer Beware."

Hi Will,

I was reading this topic http://www.protectiondogforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68 on the forum you linked to earlier in this topic.

I've decided that a sport dog will suit my needs and my family's needs fine. We live in a violent area with frequent gang activity. I'd like a dog that's just a tad bit more than a sport dog but not a PPD, kind of a mild PPD if you will. What I'm thinking is basically proofing the dog's ring work by hiding the sleeves and staging break-ins. Would this be possible/plausible/reasonable, given the correct dog? ...and proper training, of course.

 Quote: rich pallechio

 Quote: katie o'connor

The UPS man trained my dog exceptionally well -- she thinks she is the biggest, baddest bitch in the neighborhood.

He comes on the porch and knocks on the door and she "scares" him away with the most ferocious sounding bark ever. He drops the package every time and runs back to his truck.

Katie

Think about how the Home Shopping Channel and QVC contribute to dog training. You order from them, a few days later the UPS guy shows up and the dog barks. Order again, UPS guy comes back, dog barks. It's like a really expensive "rent-a-decoy" service.

It is a win win!

You're training your dog and at the same time stimulating the economy.

All this info on PPD's brings to mind a question. Guide dogs, when they were primarily GSD's, use to be trained to protect their blind partners as well as guide them. How close that was to a PPD is today, I don't know. That aspect of guide dog training has changed over the years, and I don't think it is for the better. Today, if a blind person with a guide dog is attacked, the dog won't even growl or bark; let alone really defend them. The selection process weeds out any dog that is not passive. In doing so they not only weed out dogs that may defend you, they also wind up with dogs that will quit if the job gets tough. I personally would like my dog to do more than just stand there looking dumb.

A person I know who use to donate dogs occasionally to guide dog programs has become so disgusted he will never do so again. One of his dogs breezed through the training. Once a pairing was chosen of blind candidates, the dog and person worked well during the phase where dog and human learn how to work together. On the final test they had to go through, the person is given directions to follow and sent off alone with the dog. A trainer watches from a distance, often in a vehicle to reduce the possibility the dog will react to the trainer, or waiting within sight of where the team will pass. The blind man got off of the public bus at the wrong stop. This happens. Part of the test is to see how the team will work this out. But they wound up in an unsavory neighborhood. The tester caught up with their location and watched from nearby. A man approached the team and asked for money. When the blind man said wasn't forthcoming, he was accosted with a knife. The dog got between and shoved the blind man back, while growling at the knife weilder. At no other time during the year with a puppy raiser and the months under training, had this dog ever growled at someone. The tester flunked the dog for being too aggressive.

What does everyone think of this dog being declared aggressive? How protective should GDs be?

I was very uneducated and bought a GSD puppy way out of my experience range.Was told buy a professional,get rid of her or train with her.She was a liability ,if I didnt train her right she would rule to roost and be a very dangerous dog.Our life did change,and if you have a PPD you must accept the responsibilities of having one.Raising/training a working puppy is alot of work ,7 days a week,we spent 5 days a week with a trainer at first.She is a tough /sharp dog.I never worked her off lead except in my secure fenced yard due to my own personality flaws)At 8.5 yrs she has slowed down a bit but a real PPD is not a soft dog,even though her teeth have worn down she would still bite if told to and most importantly"out" when told too.I dont let strangers pet her,she's never been to a dog park,I have had to learn alot to make her manageble to live with.
She has also been proven,I wont go into details but she will work under real stress,I am grateful to her.
My signature pic is Jade and Edward,together only with my presence and attention.