Personal Protection Dog

[frugal pointer]

The reality is that dogs are protective to an extent, but generally will back away if the assailant continues his attack.

An excellent point Jay.   The dog that appears aggressive will keep most folks away.  If someone is focused on you and intends to do you harm its generally not a crime of opportunity.  (Usually refers to the petty thief that stole a running car or took a handbag that was in your unoccupied car).  

A predator that hunts you (as some criminals do) will look for an opening where they feel they have the best odds/most control.  If you have your protection dog at home they are not going there, that dog will however deter most run of the mill criminals.  If someone wants to kill/seriously hurt you, they plan to kill the dog first.

A combination of a fairly protective dog at home combined with some type of "on board" protections (gun/OC spray) might work best for most.  

A little bit of a funny story (funny to me at least) about guard dogs.  We have a guy in town that runs several internet porn sites.  New house, flashy cars (Porsche/Range Rovers) all the toys, young "models" on his arm all the time.   Well he keeps a big shepard in the house a trained attack dog, or so he thinks.

A neighbor calls in a panic that the dog is roaming around the yard and the owner is not home.  She says the front door is ajar in the house as well, she is scared for children and has them indoors.   She tells the dispatcher the dogs name is Vincent, this gets relayed to me.  I get to the house and the dog attempts to keep me at bay.  I call him by name and tell him to get in the house, he looks at me and goes in.   I then walk room to room looking through the home while Vincent growls at me and flashes his teeth, I continue to use his name and tell him NO!  The house checked ok, nothing looked disturbed, and I locked the door as I left, but not before leaving a note and my card on the counter.

"I checked your house and put Vincent inside, I hope you don't mind I gave him a cookie, he is a nice dog"   FP

[Bearkat]

Thank you again for all the good info.  Dirtdog - I will be in touch.

[dirtdog]

FP,

did you see any good porn laying about when you went in? I remember a burglary call me and my partner were dispatched to at a single woman’s row house. Boy-oh-boy the very personal things people leave laying about when they leave for work.

A properly trained protection dog should be amiable, approachable and friendly. It should only show the protection side when the owner commands it to. That’s what makes them so safe and much more reliable then just the average pet. When a dog is being taught bite work, they learn when to bite and when not to bite and when to release a bite. The average pet dog is taught not to bite people and when they do bite as pups they are corrected. Thusly, when the pet dog is older and a bite does occur the dog becomes tentative and backs away looking as if it will be corrected for doing such. There is a gigantic difference between the two.

Bearkat,

just send a PM and I will pass along my cell #.

Jay

[topdog1961]

Often the intimidation factor alone will do wonders.  I have a customer in my underground fence business who has a 240 lb black Newfoundland.  Imagine a dog that big and then double it for the masses of hair hanging on him.  I do not think he would make much of a protection dog.  He has a bad back and walks slowly in a hunch back manner.  The owner is a judge and has her dog fenced close to her mansion that sits way back off the road.  She told me of hearing the police interrogation tapes of a confessed burgler who had been working her neighborhood.  When asked if he had ever broke into the "great big house" he said:  "no, they have a bear in their yard."  The policeman replied "you mean they have a big dog?"  and the crack head replied "no, I'm pretty sure it's a real bear."

[Greybeard]

Anatolian Shepard

[Bloodhound]

It doesn't get any better than a well bred German Shepherd...but can be the pricey way to go.

I also like the idea of a Great Dane...they can be very protective, but not overly aggressive.  

Dobies can be great in that role too...but tend to be a little sharp...

[fetch it up]

Chessie...

[northern_hunting_mom]

Honestly, I figure a trained protection dog will run a minimum 5 grand, I doubt price is a factor here.

I do not know what Digger would do in a real emergency situation, I doubt he would go "Cujo" on a body. It is more the intimidation factor.

Weren't Weims the gamekeeper's protection dog once? It would be neat to see one in Schutzhund, the ignorant would call it a silver dobie.

Another consideration is that a Schutzhund dog attacks differently than most regular dogs would. They are trained to go for the arm to disarm. Other dogs often go for the leg if they will engage. It lets someone carrying a weapon use it on your dog.

[garyRI]

My uncle had an Airdale he had to get rid off. Too protective.

A friend of mine lived in an iffy neighborhood and had a German Shepard. I asked him how he avoided acquiring one too hard to handle/too aggressive. He said "Easy. Don't buy one unless you can see the parents. And if they tell you you can't ppet the parents, don't buy a puppy."

A German Shepard with solid obedience traing from a good breeder would do the trick. Finding a trained adult should be doable too.

[Andrew Lam]

If it were me, I would rather use a weapon to defend myself, and have a friendly yet intimidating dog. My girlfriend has a black 120 lb great dane that is a sweetheart, but not a dog a stranger would challenge. A burglar or mugger would have serious stones to assume a dog that big won't be protective.

I like airedales, and one of my good friends has a male dobie that one of the coolest dogs I know. Total goofball, excellent with their infant son, and has that sixth sense most dogs have for protection.

A true protection dog seems like a very cool endeavor, just a big commitment.

A

[Guest]

Tell you what -- one dog can be pretty scary.  Two dogs barking and dashing around is downright frightening.  Whatever breed you decide, double the number.  There's another plus, they keep each other company.  

Tim nailed it; you should be more concerned about your ne'er do well BIL.

[Hunshatt]

Jeff, why don't you get him to give her Cash, then he could get a real huntin dog  

[Roost em 1st]

I have a cousin who lives in Houston, he and his wife bought a fixer upper in a somewhat less desirable part of town. The last big storm saw some looting in his neighborhood, they seemed to skip his house. I dunno why, all he has is a few bay dogs.

Anyway good luck to your sister, sounds like she's in a bad spot.

[wisturkeyhunter]

One thing alot of guys aren't thinking about is a gun or even a sharp knife will trump a dog. Anybody coming at somebody to do harm will likely be toting a weapon. A dog that barks at strange noises in the night and a gun close by that one knows how to use is the best insurance.

[Briarscratch]

Since it's Friday -