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This came to me after the "bulldog" thread changed topic a little.
Does anyone here think their dogs would protect them if it came to that. Some people think just having a dog is enough, its a deterrent. It might be a deterrent but not 100% guarantee. Some criminals are wise enough not to mess with homes where dogs are present. Even if they are not scared of the dog, they just don't want the dog to bark and alert the owners or neighbors if the owners are gone. Some people are really determined and not very smart. Others are pretty well armed or think they can harm the dog first. In other cases I guess they are not scared and think the dog won't do anything. Sometimes they are right, the dog does nothing or gives an initial aggressive response but doesn't follow through.
On the other hand..........
I'm sure we've all heard stories of dogs protecting their human when under attack. I've heard many. One in particular was a Rhodesian Ridgeback that saved their owners daughter from being kidnapped from her home in the middle of the night. Another was on "Breed All About It" featuring the Belgian Shepherd. A lady was jogging with her Belgian and a guy came and attacked her. The dog attacked him and saved her from the attack. Probably rape or kidnapping? Because when she told the story I don't remember her saying her was demanding anything (like money). There are others that I personally know also in this situation. So they see these large dogs and still go for it. If I saw someone walking a Shepherd I wouldn't dare try it. Although I guess thats because they invoke fear in me.
Here is a story about a Pit Bull killed protecting his owner. However he had been trained for it, so thats a little different. He did follow through. Some dogs are trained, just not so great, not real life scenarios, just the bite and release and all the obedience that goes with it. So even if the owner had all the training done if a real attack happened the dog wouldn't react the same as in the training which was a fun game for him and set the same every time. So they owner would be expecting them to protect and they would not. Slain pit bull dies a hero Oakland Tribune - Find Articles
I'm for sure our late female would have protected anyone of us from an attacker, especially my son. She had an awesome temperament, super sweet loved people, loved kids, loved any baby -kid(goat), calf, pup, kitten, big time nurturer and very gentle. However what she did to try and get out of the house when a thief was on our property is what makes me believe that. Chewed and scratched up the door. Tore up the window blinds, ripped up the screen, chewed up the entire window frame, she just couldn't get out. I guess it wasn't in her mind to jump through the window and just break the glass. She obviously went nuts with the damage that was done in frustration to get out. It should be noted that several other people have been on our property (with permission) when we were not home and nothing has ever happened like that. One guy was there quite a bit moving stuff and dropping stuff off when we were not there. The UPS guy will put stuff in our door if its unlocked so that its not left outside and none of the dogs ever do anything but greet him. This female herself likes him a lot and has even jumped in his truck. A friend of ours who I guess the dogs would know has come in our house when we were not home several times. Our sitter comes here to feed the dogs and sometimes she bring some help. Once there was an accidental fight and she called her Dad over, and also my BIL came over and our dogs don't know them. My BIL had just moved here like 2 weeks ago. A couple other people have come in that they hadn't seen before when we weren't there but nothing bad ever happened. I think if it were a bad person then something would. Dogs know the difference in people. Some think its smell, you release certain chemicals. So they can smell fear, anxiety, anger, it smells different to them. However I'm not real certain how that works with someone on the outside and the dog on the inside.
This story which I just pasted from the bulldog thread, also shows that this girl wanted out to get the bad guy while she was inside.
An untrained Boerboel related to my girl proved to be a decent guard dog. Never trained for it and never tried to attack anyone before. She was barking at the back door and when let out there was an intruder in the yard. She had the guy held (similar to the holding of the decoy in SCH). She engaged only after he HIT HER. Only a crazy man would punch a 100+lbs dog in the face. The guy was able to get over the fence where he had been cornered and get away. The security tape showed he'd been in the outbuilding and tried to break into the car (which was locked). The same person had also burglarized another home not too far away and was found at the hospital with dog bite wounds. This dog doesn't try to attack anyone and everyone.
Allot of people falsely think their dog will protect them when in 'tested' reality with a decoy using a hidden suit, it won't happen. It takes allot of hard training hours, hundreds of hours, under many different conditions to produce a dog that can really protect you from an attacker or multiple attackers. That's why a done up dog costs so much money.
One deep bite and hanging on produces the least amount of damage. Multiple bites, or mouthing, produces allot of damage and makes it worse than it had to be. This isn't acceptable. Dogs trained this way are trained to take 1 deep bite but personally if it came down to a real situation, I don't acre if my dogs take 100 bites to protect me.
A rapist or robber hitting a barking dog, may get the dog to bite, use a frontal bite but let go but they are not trained to hang on and have a controlled-calm bite and stay until they are told to 'ous'. That takes training.
I do think some dogs will nip bite, growl etc, as stated above but take for example, that Bordello who if trained properly could put up one hell-of-a kick ass fight, didn't attack until he was hit, so it was defense or fear, or a combination, and he didn't stay into it because the bad guy got away.
Do I think my dogs, who are in training to protect me and far from being done would protect me? I hope so. They are being worked as a tag team so I certainly hope the would step up to the plate in a real situation. Maybe in 6 months I could say confidentially 'yes' I know my dogs would protect me. I hope never to be in a position to test it though.
It's a very involved process training a dog like this. They are trained to protect on command, or protect upon aggression toward you, and have to ous when told.
They can't fire off on someone on their own because they think the guy yelling and flailing his arms is a threat, they have to wait until the guy actually lays a threating hand on you and not a hand shake or a hug. They have to know the difference through training. It's allot of work especially for the handler.
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So they see these large dogs and still go for it
In the real world there are allot of nuts out there. A large dog or barking dog will not deter them. And at the same time a well trained and focused dog will not be deterred either. No fear from either, they are both on a mission.
my little bro was visiting and we were playing around and got into a wrestle match and the dog charged him when he was pretending to punch me. I think that's protection!!! And he loves my little bro, but he loves me more =)
Also, if a man(repair man,etc) comes into th household and the husband isn't home, Cody is in a uproar the whole time(unless it's my dad or family). I think a robber could easily scare him as he's scared if someone raises a hand to him, but the barking goes from silly 20 pound dog to rottie when he's in protection mode.
No is a women robber came in he would wiggle his little butt right up to her and talk her into taking him home.
Chick,
That's a huge generalization and not true. Sure, many dogs won't protect you unless trained to do so, but there are some breeds which do exactly that when they are in the situation. These are dogs you should NOT train to do that--they know it instinctually and training them for aggressiveness can be problematic.
The Rhodesian Ridgeback is a perfect example of this kind of dog. It is a total sweetheart (provided it is socialized early and well). It kind of ignores everyone but it's family (which is a common trait in dogs who WILL ultimately protect their family). You'd never think for a moment it could be aggressive, but there are TONS of stories about these dogs killing attackers. They are GREAT at telling the difference. They will corner someone who walks into your house when you're not home (but not hurt them), just as they were originally bred to corner (not kill despite what some people think) lions. They were also protectors of their families in Southern Africa and very much this holds true for them today. They'd kill an attacker every time--they can sense your fear and if someone started making a move on you, you'd be in serious trouble.
Black Russian Terriers are another breed where this is innate. You don't need to do anything to get this response from a BRT. They are aloof with strangers, but they would attack in a heartbeat if their owner was being hurt.
Most dogs won't do this, but there are some breeds which will, and they are NOT aggressive unless actively being attacked. You do, however, have to do extra socialization with them when they are very young (under 16 weeks) or they could be overly fearful of everyone. And if you train them to be attack dogs, that could be very dangerous.
They are NOT being trained for aggressiveness or ATTACK dogs which is what you seem to think and your opinion is unrealistic, and irresponsible. You think just because a person THINKS a dog would protect, that has no training is under control? My god that would be dangerous.
How would you CALL off the dog that has gone into that zone, and that is an adrenalin fueled zone? How would you teach the dog the difference between a real threat and someone hugging you? HOW?
You better tell the KNVP, all Shutzhund sport dog owners, and any ring dog owners, K9 departments and professional trainers that, and they would laugh.
The dog I have now would most certainly run and hide, all puffed up & wagging her tail at the same time. She is the biggest chicken I have ever met. You can scare this dog with a piece of aluminum foil. Although, I have had some workmen here this past week and there was one that she clearly did not like. None of the others bothered her, and she was even bringing toys to the man who was here yesterday to hook up the digital phone system. Maybe she sensed something about the one.
My last dog was highly protective, and chased a few folks who she thought were speaking to me in a tone she did not care for. I have no doubt that if it had come down to it she would have bitten someone. My husband was not even allowed to tickle me without her 130 self getting in his face & popping her teeth. She especially did not like men with hats and sunglasses and facial hair. She had to be able to see their face.
I am sure there are some breeds that are more pre-disposed to guard than others. Shadow, my current dog, is a Golden Retriever mix. Bailey, my previous dog, was a Doberman/Rottweiller cross.
One night my husband was playing around, trying to get a rise out of me, and I wasn't in the mood because of a bad headache. My Miniature Pinscher jumped on the couch next to me, put her body in front of mine, and growled and snapped at my husband. My husband continued, to see what kind of reaction she would have and she charged at him. My husband backed off before she could bite, and immediately praised her for trying to defend me. It was all pure instinct.
One night my husband was playing around, trying to get a rise out of me, and I wasn't in the mood because of a bad headache. My Miniature Pinscher jumped on the couch next to me, put her body in front of mine, and growled and snapped at my husband. My husband continued, to see what kind of reaction she would have and she charged at him. My husband backed off before she could bite, and immediately praised her for trying to defend me. It was all pure instinct.
yup! been there too! ...my husband is in karate so we play around and he(cody) gets between us when he thinks my husband is to mean, but i'm allowed to beat up the husband all i want.
Also we do the hand game w/ cody ...wrestle w/ our arms and hands and he will take it up a notch w/ my husband but with me he will barely put preasure and if he thinks he got to harsh he'll back off and then attack me with kisses ...we love it!
One night my husband was playing around, trying to get a rise out of me, and I wasn't in the mood because of a bad headache. My Miniature Pinscher jumped on the couch next to me, put her body in front of mine, and growled and snapped at my husband. My husband continued, to see what kind of reaction she would have and she charged at him. My husband backed off before she could bite, and immediately praised her for trying to defend me. It was all pure instinct.
They are adorable dogs. I think they are beautiful. They also cannot do the damage to a STRANGER that a Rottie could do.
Many dogs have that instinct which is just that, instinct. If a stranger started really kicking your dogs ass he would probably retreat and the only way to know what he would do, one way or the other, is to put him under that kind of real pressure. I know my dogs would not retreat but instead fight harder.
A well trained dog is much less of a liability than an untrained dog.
UNTRAINED guardy dog breeds that could bite have no distinction between someones face or leg. They have to be taught any body part is ok, just NOT the face.
That womans Belgian who protected her, I am sure was a well trained dog. Most people do NOT talk about the training their dogs have and most do not own Mal's without training them to some degree.
I don't have a dog now but I do think some dogs would be protective in certain situations.
People think big dogs like German Shepherds would be great for this but I would put my money on a little yappy dog or a terrier (bred for hunting). I bet if someone had a close bond with a small dog it would not hesitate to defend its owner.
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