Training your puppy for personal protection - Part 1

So you think you want to train a Puppy for Personal

and Family Protection (part 1)

Jake at just over 2 years doing bitework in personal protection

If you are thinking of getting a puppy or dog as a protector for you or your family there are some serious issues you need to consider;

• Do you want to take the responsibility if your dog bites someone? Your home owners insurance will not cover the bite from a dog that is trained to attack!
• Tresspassing is considered a misdemeanor in most states, a dog that is trained to attack is considered a loaded gun and if your dog bites a tresspassor that may be considered the use of excessive force and you can be sued!
• Do you have the time to devote to properly socializing your puppy? While this is important for the family pet, it is doubly important for a dog you intend on training to protect the family!
• Do you have people over at the house all the time? What happens if your attack trained dog bites a visitor?
• How do you intend on providing for this dogs care should you go on vacation? What if he bites the dog sitter?
• An improperly socialized and trained protection or attack dog is a loaded gun with no safety! Do you really have the  time and patience to properly train and handle a protection dog? What about other family members?
• Do you have a kennel or other secure area where you can safely put your protection dog if you have an emergency that requires emergency or rescue personell to attend to you or another family member? By law in some states this area needs to be a secure chain link kennel with cement floor, a solid escape proof roof and a way to lock it securely!

Ok, enough said there, now how to you start to train a protection dog the right way

There are alot of old school trainers out there that will try to tell you that the way to train a protection dog is to keep strangers away from the dog and not to socialize the dog. This is totally wrong!

A properly trained protection dog is a happy dog that is well socialized and LOVES people! This is the dog that will not show any fear when faced with a real intruder who is bent on harming your family! You want a dog that is confident in how he looks at the world, a dog who owns the ground he walks on, he is a dog who sizes up his opponant and says Hey Fool... BRING IT ON! If that intruder is foolish enough to fight the dog, he is more than happy to return the fight not run away in total fear!

You can do much of the training yourself but at some point you will need to find a qualified trainer to finish out your protection training.

Not every puppy or dog has what it takes to become a protection dog. Selection testing is a must to find just the right dog for the job.

Most dogs will NOT protect their property or their owners. When faced with such a situation they will bark fiercely but if they are truly threatened, they will retreat and leave you and your family unguarded!

So if you are considering a dog for personal or family protection here are the things you need.

• confident puppy with correct temperament, drives and conformation
• sturdy puppy crate
• responsible owner
• copious amounts of time and energy
• tugs, balls, rags and other fun puppy toys
• leash and collar
• puppy training sleeve (you can make your own, see my ehow on how to make a puppy protection training sleeve)
• qualified trainer (later on in training)
• Obedience training instructor if you do not understand positive obedience training.

Just because the puppy you own is the right breed does NOT mean that he will have what it takes to protect you and your family!
Just because you have a German Shepherd, Doberman, or Rottweiller does NOT mean you will have a pup that can be a personal or family protection dog. First and foremost if you want a dog to be your personal or family protector you will need a dog with strong nerves, stable temperament, and solid drive. This ONLY comes through sound genetics!
What does this mean?
You need to select your dog or puppy specifically for the job you want him to do. Not just any ole dog can make a personal or family protection dog.
Very rarely will a pound puppy have the mental stability to do this kind of work. You need to research the background of the parents of the puppy you are you are looking to buy, to insure that they have the genetics to do personal or family protection. Honestly, it does not matter if you choose a male or a female puppy for personal protection. Personally I like males for this work, but I have a female that will put the fear of god into anyone who may consider crossing her path if I give her a command to attack...
Look for a puppy from parents of known temperament, you want a stable dog with nerves of steel that truly loves people. If the breeder will not let you physically meet the parents... look elsewhere for your puppy!
HUH? loves people??? YES, your dog will not do anyone any good if he has to be locked up in the back room any time someone comes over to the house! Do you know the background of that repairman you just let in your home??? He could be an ex-felon!

You want to look at puppies from working blood lines. Very rarely can a dog of show blood lines ever do protection work. Why? because it is bred out of them! Show bloodline dogs are bred to look pretty, not do personal or family protection!

For more information on how to select a personal or family protection dog prospect please read my article titled how to select a puppy for personal or family protection.

Assuming you have read my article on how to select a puppy for personal or family protection and have obtained what you think is a quality puppy that has the genetics, drive and temperament to do the work I will now walk you through how to train a puppy for personal and family protection.(part1)

Your puppy needs a secure crate
Do not buy a soft sided crate for your puppy as a first crate. You need a heavy duty wire or durable plastic crate to prevent escapes Training begins from the moment you bring your puppy home. If you buy a cheap crate and your puppy gets out of it... guess what you just taught your puppy? You just taught him that if he tries hard enough... he can get out! You need him to understand that he CAN be confined!

Your puppy will need to learn their place in your family. This means that he lives at the bottom of your family pack, YES, even the baby holds a higher rank then your puppy does! He must learn this at an early age before any serious bite work begins, to avoid any possible confrontations later on down the road. Do not let your puppy get away with dis-respecting any member of the family!
It is the nature of every dog to want to be at the top of the pack because, the dog (or person)at the top, picks the best places to sleep, the best food to eat, eats first, ect. You want this to always be you and other family members. You eat first then he does.... always!

Buy a puppy crate and use it to help train your puppy, he must eat and sleep in the crate, as well as be in the crate when you are not there to supervise. This makes housebreaking a snap!
Ignore him if he barks, yelps or screams while in the crate, even if you want to take him out. If you take him out of the crate while he is making noise he will learn that making a lot of noise gets him out of the crate!
The crate must be of a durable material so that he can not get out of it on his own. Getting out of the crate on his own even if just once teaches him that is is possible to let himself out and he will be that much more determined to get out the next time.
Read my article on housebreaking your puppy on how to crate train.