Ever since man domesticated the first wolf the canine has been serving man in many different functions. Dogs can be found today working as retrievers for hunters, sled pullers for mushers, and drug sniffers for police men and women. Over the past few decades the world has seen the canine take on a new function, that of personal protection dog.
Today there are dozens of companies world wide that offer what they call protection dogs. The purpose of the dog is to be a companion for home, family, and children while also being capable of protecting said home, family, and children. But is there a conspiracy going on with today's protection dogs? Are they really what they profess to be?
In order to answer that question I need to first give you a brief overview of how a protection dog goes from puppy to trained animal in your home. In Europe there is a long history of sports that use dogs. These sports go by the name of Schutzhund, French Ring, Belgian Ring, KNPV amongst others. All of these sports are different and require different types of dogs. What all of them have in common is that the dogs compete in various phases of training. In all of these sports dogs compete in obedience where they will heel, sit, lie down, stay, come when called and various other exercises both on and off leash. In all of these sports dogs will also compete in various protection exercises. The dogs will bite an arm sleeve or a suit under various scenarios and circumstances.
All over the internet you can find videos of dogs competing in these various sports, looking impressive, and looking like they are capable of protecting both home and family. Is it true? Or is there a scam being purpoted on the unknowing public? The answer is not clear cut.
When you go shopping for a protection dog you will see dogs from various protection dog companies that are apparently capable of just about anything. You will see these dogs barking aggressively at the bad guy and biting fiercely when told. What I want you to do is take a closer look. Notice how the 'bad guy' is acting. Do you see him snarling and aggressively approaching the dog? Probably. Do you see him shouting and waving a whip or stick around? Most likely. Why is he doing this? The reason why the 'bad guy' does this is because that is how dogs are trained for sport. Dogs trained for sport are basically trained to show aggression when confronted with these wild, outlandish actions. Dogs realize that when they see the sleeve or the bite suit that they are about to begin 'playing a game'. Is this protection for you and your family? I don't think so.
When was the last time that a real life bad guy decided to shout angrily and wave a whip before attacking? When was the last time that someone tried to break into your home wearing a sleeve or bite suit? The scenarios shown in these videos are not just silly but irresponsible when the company owners are claiming these to be protection dogs. The reality is that most sport dogs, when confronted with an actual violent situation, will do absolutely nothing about it unless the bad guy happens to be wearing dog training equipment or waving a whip around. The unfortunate reality is that most 'protection dog' companies are merely companies that buy dogs from Europe that have sport training and then sell them to unsuspecting clients for thousands more than they paid. Because those clients saw the dogs biting a sleeve or suit they mistakenly believed that the dog is capable of protecting them. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
So what is the average consumer to do? The answer is that you must do your homework. Sport dogs can make excellent protection dogs, but they require lots of training to do so. Real protection dog trainers use advanced techniques that most trainers aren't familiar with in order to make the dog safe for family but dangerous to intruders. Protection dog trainers should be using things like under cover sleeves, muzzles, and other techniques to make sure that the dog will offer real protection. Under cover sleeves are bite sleeves that are small and can be worn underneath a sweatshirt. In this way the dog doesn't know that there is training equipment and therefore believes he is biting for real. Muzzles are worn so that the dog can be sent to attack while the bad guy is not wearing any bite training equipment. Other training techniques include such things as civil agitation and defense work to make sure that the dog is willing to defend against a threat that is not wearing any bite equipment.
I recommend that when you are looking to purchase a protection dog that you demand certain proofs from your prospective companies. Ask them for video clips that demonstrate dogs being aggressively 'turned on' while the bad guy is not acting like a mad man, screaming and waving a stick or whip. Ask for videos of dogs biting under cover sleeves and performing protection work that isn't far fetched. Ask to see scenarios that are on par with what could actually happen to you in real life, meaning that a video of a dog in a field biting a guy with a stick just doesn't cut it. If it doesn't feel real then ask to see training that could actually benefit you in your everyday life.
Protection dogs cost thousands of dollars. If you are going to make that investment than you need to know that your dog could actually protect you in the event that a dangerous situation ever arose. Your dream dog is out there, just make sure that you do your homework first so as to not be taken in by a scam.
Ty Brown is a leading dog training authority with numerous radio and television appearances to his credit. Visit www.dogbehavioronline.com or www.communicanine.net for more dog training information and services.
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