Hi,
I have a question on defence. My pup 5 months is starting to show signs of defence in the form of barking at the door bell and alerting to strangers in the back lane at night.. he does it nice when I back him up, he will go forward and bark with no hackles which tells me he is not afraid, but still a bit unsure, looking to me for a bit of backup. What should I be doing to promote confidence and help him along with this drive?

Lonny,

Since no one is taking it I'll give it a shot. I think to assume that this is defense in a puppy so young may be a strech. There are some other things that are more likely. It could be the beginings of civil drives showing up. If the dog is being raised with other dogs, especially other civil dogs, this is about the point that the puppy will begin to imitate them. Around here it was funny because the puppy was running around barking at the other dogs, and didn't know for the life of her what they were baking at. Now a couple of moths later she understands exactly what they are barking at.

This ends up being a double edged sword. If you reward and encourage it you will increase the intensity and confidence. It will also increase the frequency and the amount of territory the dog will claim. That cna be a huge pain, it means that anything that moves that the puppy can see (or not) it will bark. I would recomend praising the barking as a good watch, and then use a stop barking command (I use out) so you can get control over the constant barking.

Hi Richard,
Thanks for taking this shot! I am shocked that nobody else did, very unlike this board. After thinking about your post, i think you are right, I really don't know at what age defense is typical but civil drive seems more likley when I think about how he is really acting. I only have the one dog so if he is going to copy anybody it will be our cat, which he has learned to swat at things... he usually looks to me first to see what I am telling him, if I give him the "alert" command he will then bark, (I use the out as well) I let him bark for a min or so then out him. At night in the back yard he will go outside on alert and bark at nothing or somebody or something untill I out him... this does seem civil now that I look at it, I don't think he knows the backyard is his yet, and to protect it. These are the only two places he will act this way.

Can you tell me what some of the first signs of defense are in a pup this young, besides head shaking when on the towel (I believe Ed states this in his video) And do you think civil drive is bad for a Sch dog?

Lonny,

I have always felt that, depending on the situation, a head shake is more of a prey behavior. He caught it now he is going to kill it. Most dogs will start in to defense from 10 months to 1 1/2 years. The best way to identify defense is the change in the bark and the behavior. With defense there is usually less movement with the dog.

I don't do Schutzhund, but... I would think that civil drive would be good for SchH. It demonstrates that the dog is taking the person seriously, as opposed to just working for the sleeve.

Thanks Richard,

I have read some on Civil drive and I think it woudl be good for a Sch dog.. focused on the man not the sleve, everyone seems to want this trate... his barks is very diffrent when he answers the door, it sounds like a good defence bark, low and loud, they kind of run on instead of bark, bark, it's more like barkbarkbark-barrrrrrrrk not the usual prey bark I get when playing ball or him asking me for something...Is that a defencive bark?Hhe now charges at the door then back to me to see what I think, then back to the door, I then put him in a down and open the door. He looks like he wants to just run out and see who is there, but we have been working on that down and he stays well for a few min.

What kind of training do you do Richard?