i know that people have had discussions on this before this but i cannot find a thread that explains how to train one

basically what i am try to accomplish is to get a dog that will bark/growl but not necerlly bite because like ed has said many times if someone is willing to come through a barking german shepherd they need to be shot

a little info on the dog he is only 13 months old and still acts very much like a puppy he will bark at people walking buy but it isn't a defensive bark it is more a let me out of my yard so i can come play bark he is training at our local schutzhund club and has medium to high prey drive (thanks to the flinks video)

any information is greatly appriciated
thanks mike <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

In order to instill what your looking for in your dog you should really think twice before developing a dog that has high aggression and sharpness. Your dog is still young at 13 months. Some dogs especially males take a while to fully mature (sometimes 24 months). One thought occurs to me if you want your dog to get aggressive is that his socialization with other people could change, especially in your house. He might loose the trust he has now with humans. IMO if you want your dog to be loud w/ aggressive none prey driven barks is to show him that humans/people can hurt him and bring on a fight. I'm not saying get into a fight with your dog or beat him, but from his point of view he'll need to know that people coming up to your house can and will (in training) hurt him. Hence after some agitation training and being worked by a good helper, he'll be very suspicious of people coming to your house.
You'll need an experienced helper to work your dog. If he knows how to read a dog, he'll let you know if this is a good idea with your dog. But, I would think twice before making your dog this way. IMO know one will bother you with a dog that makes any noise. A burglar or a thief will not pick your house because even if you had a pug that barked, that would be enough to wake you up and other people in your house. Hence, they’ll target someone with out a dog. If someone really wants to hurt you, well, they'll probably kill your dog and come in after you. If you worried about that happening, take a concealed weapons course through your local police department, get licensed and get a pistol.

best...chet

Mike

How long have you been working with SchH club? At 13 months I've seen some dogs that are very aggressive in defensive training. I know some dogs that have started their police training/ careers at about 13 - 18 months old. So training would be the focus here, right now he doesn't know when to be on defense there has not been a chance in his training to show him when to act aggressive toward strangers.

Personally I'm not sure its wise to interfer with the SchH trainers ciriculum you really don't want a sharp dog in SchH there are times when the judges or just people maybe pretty close. Some people say what SchH is about is discipline and timing, they don't want the dog to make many decisions on its own.

Later in its training with SchH he will be trained the handler protection routines, where an decoy comes from behind a blind or the courage drill at this point your dog will start getting some defensive training though this can be accomplished through prey drive the fight drive may emerge.

Some people have two dogs one trained in SchH and the other in Personal Protection Training (PPT). I think making a decision when to protect and defend itself and the handler is needed in this PPT field. The training is similar but its not graded and looser defined, more to the point.
I find it amazing how the dog can determine by the decoys movement or real attackers body chemistry or action that this guy needs to be stopped. Its all done by training and the dogs natural ability.

The problem here is that in SchH and PPT if taught well the dog will not just bark, it will bite if the guy doesn't back off, some will bite if the presence of danger exist. Like if a guy raises his fist and starts walking toward you, talking loud, eyes looking wild. Sometimes the only way to stop this guy from being bite is the hold the leash tightly and out the dog.

This is MO. I'm not a Pro trainer. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Chet wrote - Hence, they’ll target someone with out a dog. If someone really wants to hurt you, well, they'll probably kill your dog and come in after you. If you worried about that happening, take a concealed weapons course through your local police department, get licensed and get a pistol.

My reply - I still think it puts the odds in your favor. Its always been my frame of mind that if a guy tries to go through my barking GSD, he has to make a decison. If he aims at my rushing or barking dog (inside my home) I can take a head shot, if he aims at me my dog gets a bite and I can get off a quick chest shot. Of course I'll be to hurt to call him off quickly. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Either way he has to make a decision. Check mate.

thanks for the replys sory my internet has not been working for a couple days.

chet, i am not necessarly trying to make the dog mean just look intimidating this is just MY first gsd and first dog to train so i don't know if that is possible but i am not trying to get a crazy dog.

don my dog has been training in schutzhund since he was about 4 months old although we haven't been able to go for a couple months but i have still been working him at home you make a good point about having a pp dog seperate from a schutzhund dog i'll probably just have to pick one
also i do not really need a pp dog for any specific reason it is more for just incase

thanks for the replys mike