Guard Dog Training Exercises

To train your dog as an effective guard dog, it must excel at several things. It must obey you on command. It must see your family and home as its pack and territory to protect. And it must be intimidating enough to scare off would be robbers and burglars.

The first step is basic obedience training which all dogs should go through anyway. A guard dog is like a weapon. You don't want it to go off at the wrong time or at the wrong person. Obedience to you, the master, is a must. Special training exercises that a guard dog must go through in addition to regular obedience training are learning not to take food from strangers and holding an intruder at bay. Most dogs are gentle animals and will befriend anybody who gives them a doggie treat. Even the most hardened and aggressive dog will succumb to food given by a stranger without proper training.

When your guard dog encounters an intruder, the best course of action for it to take is to hold the intruder in stasis until the police arrives. Through a series of escalating growls and threats, even the bravest criminal will wither like a flower at a snarling set of fangs and teeth. Attacking and injuring someone, even a criminal, should be the last course of action to take.

Your dog must associate your family as a pack that it is a part of. Dogs are very loyal to its pack, some breeds exhibit more loyalty than others, and seeing your family as its pack will bring out its protective instincts. On the other hand, for proper pet behavior and the safety of your family, your dog must see itself as being in the bottom of the pack, so that it won't try to dominate any member of your family (through biting or other aggressive behavior).

Black dogs are perceived as more intimidating than dogs of other colors. This is why Rottweilers and Dobermans Pinschers are effective guard dogs. Sometimes, just the sight of these dogs will send a burglar looking elsewhere to find his ill-gotten gains.

Having a properly trained guard dog can enhance the security of your home as well as enrich your life. But responsible handling of a guard dog is essential to the safety of your family and the public. Proper guard dog training will ensure your dog is safe and enjoyable to be around.