training a guard dog
Snuffy said:
Rocky, you may be right. I have just been robbed, so am biased. Trying to put my experience aside, I still believe that crime is on the rise. You need some mean dogs...at least two. I saw one house in Las Canas...the guy had about six dogs. I was walking by the house and suddenly this herd of dogs came running toward the fence. It was intimidating even with the fence.
Does anyone here train guard dogs? I'm talking from the time they are a puppy.
Training a guard dog is actually pretty easy. Some breeds have that instinct from birth if borught up properly within 1 year you can have a killing machine to guard your property. Keep in mind if you plan on having more than one I suggest getting them at the same time as they will be VERY territorial and probably will kill each other if they dont grow up together.
Typically a pit bull terrier or rotweiller is a breed of this type.
Rule 1: NOBODY feeds the dog besides you. you will have to keep testing and teaching the animal not to accept food that is not given to it in its bowl by you. This is a common problem with dogs and can be a big problem because dogs love treats but if the dog is reprimanded when accepting food outside its bowl or from another person it will eventually learn not to accept it. This helps prevent the problem of someone else poisoning your dog before attempting to come inside.
Rule 2: NOBODY else touches the dog. Keep the dog away from other people. You will at times need someone to watch the dog so you might want 1 or 2 other people to be near it as a puppy during its first year or 2 but not many people. This way the dog doesnt trust outsiders.
Rule 3: dog must remain inside its area to protect. i understand people wanting to bring their dog outside with them but you must have an enclosed or fenced in area on your property for it to do its business so it doesnt leave messes all over your house as you will also be training it to go outside to urinate etc.
With this as a sample basis after about a year your dog should protect your property from outsiders by instinct. you should also invest in a protective suit used by trainers to cover a persons entire body and a helmet and arrange for someone to test your dog if possible. have them put on the suit and come on your property to see how your dog reacts to it.
always encourage your dog when it does the right things and reprimand it ( if you yell loudly from the time they are puppies this can be enough if not a reinforcement collar might be needed).
Remember training a dog requires time and effort like anything else but hiring a trainer to teach it to walk by your side, sit and shake paw isnt going to make a feared guard dog.
Personally I think having 2 guard dogs and the shotgun is the best idea. Let the dogs alert you someone is there and if it is an intruder shoot first and ask questions later.