Usually soft styles of protection dog training emphasize the dogs prey drive.

Hard styles tend to emphasize the termination of a threat and are more closely associated with an agonistic emotional state (fight or flight).

Protection dogs can be a great benefit for those who are seriously interested in finding a way to make life safer.

Protection dogs and k-9 training for self defence…protection dog training methods or styles very quite a bit However they may appear the same to an untrained observer.

Basically these different styles of conditioning can be broken down to what I call a hard methods or style of training and a soft methods or style. In general I would say to be most effective both styles of training should be used. There are exceptions to this rule.

With a hard style of conditioning, the dog is taught to bite using negative reinforcement.

When teaching with a soft style, the dog is taught to bite using positive reinforcement

Always remember, it’s the positive event (the reinforcing event) that is important in both positive and negative reinforcement.

Guard dog training is an example of what I call a hard style.

A soft style would be beginning schutzhund training.

Teaching a beginning dog is different than teaching a more experienced dog.

Guard dog training tends to be close to their owner and the result is that the dog follows the commands of his owner. The attack mission of these types of dogs consists of the animal throwing himself on the person or people the owner commands him to, attacking them violently so as to knock them down or by biting their extremities, since generally an attacked person will try to free themselves from the animal by kicking at the dog. These types of dogs are taught to bite quite hard and to hold on while at it; obviously this is done so that the thief does not get away from the dog. These dogs use their whole mouth when biting; their molars, pre molars, etc making it almost impossible for the thief to get away. Amongst the functions these dogs learn to do is to disarm the intruder by making him drop his weapon and staying next to or on top of the delinquent until a police man arrives. Guard dog training is very specific and trainers are specialized for this.

True guard dogs are FRIENDLY to people when their owner has no reason to feel threatened. The instant anyone does something threatening the guard dog changes into a guard dog attitude. The guard dog will wait for the owner’s command and guidance – either to continue with the attitude, attack or quit. Guard Dogs that are constantly suspicious of strangers or anyone except those he is familiar with are operating on fear. The guard dog that feels that everything is something to be afraid of and aggressive to is NOT a good guard dog prospect! Most guard dogs who have a potential to be a good guard dog are easy-going, non-reactive dogs. Guard Dogs who are fearful will even bite the “good guy”! Guard Dog training is key.

Guard Dogs who are to be well trained guard dogs need to be highly and positively socialized. They need to meet and greet MANY people and to NOT be encouraged to growl, but rather told to stop it. This should be done during the window of prime socialization between the ages of 6 and 16 weeks old. Training requires that you NEVER reinforce (pet, stroke, soothing talk, feed) a guard dog for inappropriate behavior, and never encourage the guard dog to be fearful (“It’s OK” – NOT!). A fearful guard dog is essentially a loaded gun; a guard dog who will bite out of fear (called a “fear-biter”). Guard Dogs need to be taught to be confident without being fearful. Again training is key to success.

Raising or guard dog training to be a protector requires good guard dog training and is not unlike raising any canine member of your household. The exact same things need to happen in a potential guard dog training’s life that should happen in a guard dog intended to be a family pet – heavy, positive and frequent socialization. In fact, a guard dog who responds to a stranger at the door with barking does not need to be a trained guard dog. Most guard dog training keeps the habit that yours will bark at the door. A guard dog must have a well-rounded view of life and be able to recover training from every new experience before he even moves into the finer points of guard dog training.

I have never trained a dog to be a guard dog, but I am well familiar with the overall temperament of a guard dog that will do well to make it as a guard dog training. If I were to want to train a dog to be a guard dog, I would NOT do it alone! I would seek out and train with people who have vast experience in training dogs in this capacity (in another life, I would have loved to do this!). Guard Dog training is not for novices, and proper guard dog training is the key to a successful experience.

I would encourage anyone looking to own a guard dog to be protective to contact someone locally to help you in the choice and guard dog training for this line of work – I would not undertake this alone. A guard dog is essentially a loaded gun; if you don’t have control of that gun, you WILL have problems. Make sure your guard dog training instructor has lots of experience. One thing, I can stress is important is training, training, training. You can’t stress the right training enough.

Probably one of the most important Guard Dog Training involves is the guard dog’s need to be taught is to maintain themselves indifferent toward other dogs, especially in the case of the opposite sex as well as cats, since these other animals could be the cause of the guard dog becoming distracted who could run after a female that is in heat, or dive for the cat hanging around and get into a fight, and this would then completely ruin the purpose they were acquired for.

Probably the most difficult thing to train a male dog to do is to act indifferent toward a female dog that is in heat, however it is not impossible. Another aspect to keep in mind during the Guard Dog Training is that barking is something that dogs and puppies use to let their owners know that there are strangers around, and in some cases it can even cause an unwanted person (such as a thief) to reconsider stepping in. If you are intending for your guard dog to stay outside of your house, you will need to train him to remain quiet. You can also train a dog to remain quiet until the thief actually tries to get into the property, and then the dog would attack, besides this, it’s also a good idea to teach a guard dog to not run after the intruder. The way you train different dogs varies from breed to breed. In the case of guard dog training it does also.

One thing I have to stress again is the importance of training. If you are serious, you need proper training, and it is the training alone that will make the difference in a successful experinence. Get the right kind of training and you will be okay. Good Guard Dog training is not far away.