if you are traning your dog for protection, when out side of training, and i am taking him for his walks he can become aggresive to strangers, but yet sometimes it looks like, when people walk by he wont bark, but would rather check them out in a friendly manner, should i allow him to be social with strangers? he is 8 months this weekend

You should teach him to ignore strangers when out walking.

A friend who had a gsd pup six months old used to be too strict on ignoring people. Later when trying to teach the dog to show aggressiveness who another came towrds them the dog wouldnt do anything but ignore or sit wagging tail.So this means we need to know certain dos and donts too to ensure they ignore but can attack when needed or signaled.Can you give some guidance on that?

Ok here's my .02...I personally don't think any 8 mos old pup/young dog should be 'aggressive' toward strangers when there is no 'threat' or 'suspicious movement/attention' on their part...

A protection dog should be able to bite with confidence and not as a result of 'fear'.

I teach my dogs to IGNORE others by having others IGNORE him/her...I stipulate to the PEOPLE to ignore my dog...I don't do a thing w/respect to the dog...He soon learns that all 'positives' come from me and he very quickly learns to ignore others...There are no corrections/discipline w/respect to the dog. His 'need' for attention comes from ME and not others...

Your dog should be tolerant (even if aware) of all strangers BUT NOT aggressive without reason. Socialization is extremely important for any working dog and that includes PPD's.

I want my dogs to protect with confidence; NOT with fear. There is a huge difference. Your goal is to have your dog INDIFFERENT towards strangers...NOT aggressive, unless given justification (ie., threat, suspicious movement/action, or command)...

A good PPD is confident in strange environments and amongst strangers.

Good Luck!

B

It is a fine line but this is what I do. When I have a new pup I teach him to be social around people so I don't have problems later on. As it grows I control that amount of interaction the pups gets. I teach the dog to be calm but not aggressive toward others. When bite training starts (around 3-4 months old) the dog learns the game of protection and the prey is what stimulates it to bite. Once the dog matures (around 2 years) I teach defense and that is where the balance is learned. The dog is trained that people are ok as long as I say they are ok. It doesn't matter if you train for sport or PPD you need a balanced dog or you will end up in the paper like some of the dogs you read about on this site. You train in a "switch" so you can turn the dog off and on when you want to not when the dog wants to. Now with that said in my training I still try to maintain the dog protective nature but that to can be controlled. If you train the dog to be confident from the start then you should have no problems. If you train the dog to be leary of people from the start you run the risk of developing more problems down the road. Say a friend stops by to see you and the dog goes nuts trying to attack the person you will most likely correct that dog because that is your friend and you think the dog should know that. Well the dog can not read your mind if you teach him to be passive around people then that is what it will be. I guess in all of this nonsence I am saying the dog will become what you make it. So choice wisely when it is a pup you are setting the stones for its foundation down the road.