# Curiosity: Would he take action in a real threatful situation?



## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

Pure curiosity... just thinking.. I know this seems a little obvious being that the GSD has a high guard/protective instinct, but sometimes I wonder, would Titan actually take action if there was a real threat?

Not sure if any of you have wondered that about your dogs but I do quite a bit. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that if someone were to break in Titan would let me know about it, but would he do more? Growl, bare teeth, possibly pin someone, or even attack if it was an intruder intending harm? The only times he ever barks is when he alerts in Search and Rescue or when someone is on my property, rings the door bell, or knocks on my door. As with most dogs I'm sure.

Sometimes I'm almost positive that if someone were to break into the house and give him a ball or a stick and he would say "oh boy thanks! the house is yours!" Because he is really just a big goof ball.

Then there are times when someone has pulled into my driveway, repairman, delivery truck, etc., and he is at the fence going bat **** crazy and I am certain he will eat them if he got out. 

Being a female living alone, I wonder about this stuff all the time. It's one of many reasons I went with the GSD. I know it's said they can tell the difference between threat and not, based on your energy and demeanor in the situation. But just curious if anyone has more insight on the subject? or is it all honestly based on the dog and his personality? Or maybe someone has an example where their dog has displayed protective behaviors and you never thought they would..


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## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

99% of the time, no, a dog will not take action to defend you, unless you've trained for it. 

The dog can more easily than you determine the intentions of someone. They read body language and smells. Humans wait around for words and then usually believe them. He will certainly let you know when things are off with someone, and he will always defend himself (any animal will bite you in defense if they have to.. basic instinct. A rabbit will bite the crap out of you in defense). Defending you (or anyone else outside of his own puppies) is quite another thing to ask of a dog. There is a little bit of pack defense that happens but thats another subject. Thats why personal protection trainers and such put so much careful training into a dog in order to make sure they will bite when asked to


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## Zarr (Feb 28, 2010)

I also am a female and I am alone sometimes when my partner goes away, so I know where you are coming from. I got my working line male at 7 months old, after 1 week of being here, he showed very high civil and territorial attributes on the property. When he turned 12 months, he showed these same attributes in the car. He is a very dominant dog by nature - he is neutral around strangers, not a greasy or friendly dog, just tolerates them or trys to own them. It is genetics that he is this way, and without a doubt he would bite someone who tryed to enter his territory, be it a car or house - at the end of the day he, in his own mind, owns the world lol. He is the type of dog that takes it as a threat if someone eyeballs him and it's all on if they get threatening..would he protect me?....well he would definately protect himself being a defensive dog, so I suspect if some dude in the night started on me, he would take that threat and deal to it the way his genetics tell him to, whether I am there or not - and yes he guards his property very well. Having said that, my working line bitch is very social and friendly - but is starting to show suspision at noises and cars arriving. I believe it is genetics, but ultimately IMO it is only proven in a real deal situation, or you stage one, to see how your dog reacts.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

hunterisgreat said:


> 99% of the time, no, a dog will not take action to defend you, unless you've trained for it.


Oh boy...here we go again...

I disagree. I think if there is a strong relationship between the dog (in this case the GSD) and it's people the dog will take action defend it's people. The dog may not know HOW to defend it's owner. It may bite the attacker on the big toe. It may just bark and hold. But I think the dog will make some attempt to stop the threat. 

It may bite the attacker on the arm and if the attacker's shirt sleeve tears off the dog may run around the house thrashing the shirt sleeve. 

Will the dog jump up and bite the attacker on the jugular vein totally taking out the threat? I doubt it. 

Will the dog jump on the attacker, knock him down, hold him down, call 911 and then fix you an adult beverage? I doubt it. 

I think there is a huge difference that will drive the dog's behavior when it's 'family' is in danger (and it's reading their emotions) and when a dog is home alone and someone breaks in.

If the dog isn't a stable dog, or is extremely weak nerved, I would have my doubts in it's ability to react in a protective manner.


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## Josie/Zeus (Nov 6, 2000)

We recently started the "I'm being attack by crazy person" scenario, Koda DID take action. Very proud of my dog.  I had my doubts since he is such a ham.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Josie/Zeus said:


> We recently started the "I'm being attack by crazy person" scenario, Koda DID take action. Very proud of my dog.  I had my doubts since he is such a ham.


We can't practice the "I'm being attacked by a crazy person" in my home. The dogs would never let me in the house! LOL!


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## shepherdmom (Dec 24, 2011)

hunterisgreat said:


> 99% of the time, no, a dog will not take action to defend you, unless you've trained for it.


I have not found that to be true. I have NEVER trained a dog to attack but many years ago we had a burgler come over the fence in the middle of the night. Both my dogs attacked and had him down on the ground in seconds. (These were the sweetest most loving dogs who would let kids crawl all over them). My husband called them off and they came. The guy escaped over the back fence but we put in a call to the police and let them know in case anyone came in with bite reports. 

a while later a guy came to the door said he was with the water company wanted to come in my house and check the water. My dogs were growling at the door. (they never acted like that) I said no, I was going to call the water company and check before I let him in. He made a move to push his way in and my big male lunged at the door. He turned and ran. Found out later some guy had been using that story to get into houses and was raping people. After that we moved to acerage in the middle of nowhere. 

One day we came home and my males were acting funny and wouldn't let the kids out of the car.. I told them to stay in the car while I checked it out. The second I went to investigate my female attacked the rattle snake, that I had not seen. Thankfully she didn't get bitten and I was able to call her off and get everyone into the house by a different door and mr snake got to meet mr. shotgun. 

Every time I've need them too my dogs have stepped up and defended me. Not one has ever been trained in protection or bitework.


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## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

A big piece of that, is the dogs defending their territory. There is an instinct to defend the pack from outsiders, but it is a much quieter voice than the instinct to defend oneself.


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## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

Lilie said:


> The dog may not know HOW to defend it's owner. It may bite the attacker on the big toe. It may just bark and hold. But I think the dog will make some attempt to stop the threat.
> 
> It may bite the attacker on the arm and if the attacker's shirt sleeve tears off the dog may run around the house thrashing the shirt sleeve.
> 
> ...


Its a fine line between "making an untrained attempt to stop the threat" and "raising **** because my owners are freaking out and I'm freaking out and my only way to bleed off all this tension is to raise ****".

neither of those are anything near "whats that? Go ahead and bite the crap out of him? I'm on it!!".. .which is what a trained dog does.


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## iluvmygsds (Jun 12, 2012)

*every girl needs a GSD*

Its funny I always wondered the same questions about my big girl. She had gone thru 2 different training classes just for socialization and basic/intermediate obedience training. One day I was walking her and a pit bull came running up to us, no leash, no owner no nothing. It was foaming at the mouth and trying to bite me. Magnus was in between me ( of course still on her leash) and the other dog lunging and trying to attack it. A neighbor came up and ran the dog back to where it lived. I thought ok coinsidence. A month later we had a big storm and my neighbors roof caught on fire. Me being brilliant ran outside and called 911. All the while magnus jumping on the back door trying to break it down to get me. 911 kept asking me if I was OK and if I was getting attacked. I just kept saying no im fine but now my yard is on fire. Those 2 reasons are why I say every single female needs a german shepherd. As long as the bond is there I think they will do what they know how to do to protect you and everything you tell them is part of their world.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

wyoung2153 said:


> Being a female living alone, I wonder about this stuff all the time. It's one of many reasons I went with the GSD. I know it's said they can tell the difference between threat and not, based on your energy and demeanor in the situation. But just curious if anyone has more insight on the subject? or is it all honestly based on the dog and his personality? Or maybe someone has an example where their dog has displayed protective behaviors and you never thought they would..


Does it really matter? The chance of you ever being in the position of needing your dog to protect is so slim as to be non-existant. Also, anyone crazy enough to challenge a big dog probably has a gun and will just shoot it and you.

Your dog, whether he will hand over the house or not, will deter almost everyone just by looking like a GSD. Bad guys are generally stupid and will move on to an easier target.


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## Caitydid255 (Aug 28, 2010)

hunterisgreat said:


> 99% of the time, no, a dog will not take action to defend you, unless you've trained for it.


I disagree with that statement. If there is a threat to a owner, and there is a relationship between human and dog, the dog will defend the person. Even if it's not a conscious decision, it is a part of pack behavior to defend other members of the pack. I have had threats to my life at various times, mostly animals, and my collie, who was NOT trained to protect, attacked to defend me. I have also watched as both of our collies bit someone who picked my best friend up making her scream. I have friends who's lab, which doesn't have a mean bone in his body, bit someone who broke into their house. I have watched Angus take on a herd of cows that were charging at me. I have also been approached by some sketchy man on a secluded trail and had an 8 month old Freyja rise up to drive the man away. All dogs mentioned above are calm and extremely friendly and welcoming to people, but when they realized that they were in a bad situation, they did their part to defend their owner. 

At the same time I know a HOT SchH2 dog who fled when his owner was assaulted. Just because a dog is trained, doesn't guarantee that the dog will protect. I believe the willingness of the dog to protect is based on the relationship between the dog and human.


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## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

Caitydid255 said:


> I disagree with that statement. If there is a threat to a owner, and there is a relationship between human and dog, the dog will defend the person. Even if it's not a conscious decision, it is a part of pack behavior to defend other members of the pack. I have had threats to my life at various times, mostly animals, and my collie, who was NOT trained to protect, attacked to defend me. I have also watched as both of our collies bit someone who picked my best friend up making her scream. I have friends who's lab, which doesn't have a mean bone in his body, bit someone who broke into their house. I have watched Angus take on a herd of cows that were charging at me. I have also been approached by some sketchy man on a secluded trail and had an 8 month old Freyja rise up to drive the man away. All dogs mentioned above are calm and extremely friendly and welcoming to people, but when they realized that they were in a bad situation, they did their part to defend their owner.
> 
> At the same time I know a HOT SchH2 dog who fled when his owner was assaulted. Just because a dog is trained, doesn't guarantee that the dog will protect. I believe the willingness of the dog to protect is based on the relationship between the dog and human.


SchHH is not protection training. It is a sport


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Elaine said:


> Your dog, whether he will hand over the house or not, will deter almost everyone just by looking like a GSD. Bad guys are generally stupid and will move on to an easier target.


One day a strange man pulled into my drive way, but stayed by the gate. He stepped out of his vehicle, leaving one leg in - sorta hanging on the door. I walked halfway up the drive asking him what did he want. 

He turned out to be the nephew of a man who lives at the end of our road. A horse showed up at their house and he wanted to make sure it wasn't one of mine. 

He apologized for not coming up to the house, but he said, "I see you and your dog out here all the time and I didn't want to get out of my car." 

At that time, Hondo wasn't even outside with me. How's about that for a deterent?


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## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

Caitydid255 said:


> I disagree with that statement. If there is a threat to a owner, and there is a relationship between human and dog, the dog will defend the person. Even if it's not a conscious decision, it is a part of pack behavior to defend other members of the pack. I have had threats to my life at various times, mostly animals, and my collie, who was NOT trained to protect, attacked to defend me. I have also watched as both of our collies bit someone who picked my best friend up making her scream. I have friends who's lab, which doesn't have a mean bone in his body, bit someone who broke into their house. I have watched Angus take on a herd of cows that were charging at me. I have also been approached by some sketchy man on a secluded trail and had an 8 month old Freyja rise up to drive the man away. All dogs mentioned above are calm and extremely friendly and welcoming to people, but when they realized that they were in a bad situation, they did their part to defend their owner.
> 
> At the same time I know a HOT SchH2 dog who fled when his owner was assaulted. Just because a dog is trained, doesn't guarantee that the dog will protect. I believe the willingness of the dog to protect is based on the relationship between the dog and human.


We all view things with the biased that is most amicable to us. Its much like training for combat. You don't know what you will do until the bullets are impacting around you. We all think of soldiers as courageous warriors battling to defend us and their brothers. We discovered in world war 2 that on average, only 1 in 10 combatants actually engaged in the firefight. They rest hid, cried, prayed, etc. It was only after we realized this that our training methods improved. Then we began to address this in training. Pop up man shaped targets, laser tag, paintball.. these all greatly increased the number of people engaging during combat starting with Vietnam, however now the incidence of PTS, psychotic breakdowns during/after combat, etc have rised along with that. The reason is because we cheated.. we "tricked" many into fighting when they were naturally ill equipped for the business of killing one another. This is why the set of dogs that can be good *real* protection dogs or street dogs is different, and much smaller than the set of dogs that can compete all the way to an IPO3 and reliably exceed 290 pts.


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## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

I honestly don't think most people know what their dogs will do in a real life situation, training or not. I have seen all kinds of mock situations played out on-line but it's still not a real situation, the owner knows it no matter how scared they try to act. When we are afraid our heartbeat rises and adrenaline/hormones are released, the body is preparing/adjusting for whatever the heck is going on. Dogs pick up on this...think K9's can smell "fear" when chasing a bad guy.

There have been non-trained dogs that have protected their owners. 

I have my boy as a deterrent, end of story for me.


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## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

Elaine said:


> Bad guys are generally stupid and will move on to an easier target.


Its not even stupidity.. its just common sense and efficiency. If once house is wide open target, and the next has a dog... its an easy choice. Thieves, by definition, want to get the prize through the fastest possible route. Thats why they don't go work an honest wage to get that TV of yours they like. Thats why commercial buildings so often have those thorny holly bushes around the windows. Not cause they are pretty, because they are really painful, pretty rigid, and serve as a deterrent from breaking in a window while being much prettier than razor wire fencing.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Courtney said:


> I have my boy as a deterrent, end of story for me.


I betcha my boy says he has ME as a deterrent! LOL!


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## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

Courtney said:


> I honestly don't think most people know what their dogs will do in a real life situation, training or not. I have seen all kinds of mock situations played out on-line but it's still not a real situation, the owner knows it no matter how scared they try to act. When we are afraid our heartbeat rises and adrenaline/hormones are released, the body is preparing/adjusting for whatever the heck is going on. Dogs pick up on this...think K9's can smell "fear" when chasing a bad guy.
> 
> There have been non-trained dogs that have protected their owners.
> 
> I have my boy as a deterrent, end of story for me.


There have been.. but I strongly discourage people from "relying" on their dog to do something that most do not do. If you need a protective cool.. train for it. Don't go "GSD's are naturally protective" and then be upset when he stands by and watches the beatdown. Even trained dogs have "switched sides" when the handler was clearly losing and turned on the handler... some dogs side with whoever is gonna win. Thats instincts for you


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## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

hunterisgreat said:


> Its not even stupidity.. its just common sense and efficiency. If once house is wide open target, and the next has a dog... its an easy choice. Thieves, by definition, want to get the prize through the fastest possible route. Thats why they don't go work an honest wage to get that TV of yours they like. Thats why commercial buildings so often have those thorny holly bushes around the windows. Not cause they are pretty, because they are really painful, pretty rigid, and serve as a deterrent from breaking in a window while being much prettier than razor wire fencing.


I agree, most home break-in's happen after the house is known to be unoccupied & most happen during the day. The bad guys don't want to come face to face with the homeowner, they just want your "stuff". 

Now if they come in your house knowing you are there...whole other story, they wish you harm, may still want your stuff but don't care how they get it.


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## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

hunterisgreat said:


> There have been.. but I strongly discourage people from "relying" on their dog to do something that most do not do. If you need a protective cool.. train for it. Don't go "GSD's are naturally protective" and then be upset when he stands by and watches the beatdown. Even trained dogs have "switched sides" when the handler was clearly losing and turned on the handler... some dogs side with whoever is gonna win. Thats instincts for you


For the record...I would not depend on my dog or any dog for that matter to protect me. Deterrent meaning it my stop someone if they see my dog, make them think twice just on appearance alone. It's my responsibility to protect my family, myself, dog and property.


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## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

Courtney said:


> For the record...I would not depend on my dog or any dog for that matter to protect me. Deterrent meaning it my stop someone if they see my dog, make them think twice just on appearance alone. It's my responsibility to protect my family, myself, dog and property.


It was directed any anyone not you alone. When someone tells me they want to train their dog as a personal protection dog (and I am familiar with the dog) and I know its not suitable for that, I will strongly encourage them to put their effort in training a deterrent dog, and carry pepper spray instead.


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

I'm not single, but alone a lot, either at work or home so I'm glad I have my GSD with me most of the time. Good question, but hard to know until the time happens. Our dog has given severe warnings to people that approach the car too quickly or get to close, but has never bitten. I think if she did bite someone, it would only be by accident by doing her warning bark too close to someone, but that in itself is scary enough to deter someone from attacking. A couple weeks ago, I had her on-leash near my house. I was on the sidewalk and she was sniffing in the grass maybe six feet away. I am usually very alert to my surroundings, but this time I spaced out and did not hear or see a young man approach me from behind. He was just walking, meant me no harm but seemed to come out of nowhere and my dog lunged at him and barked so quickly, her mouth about an inch away from him. It really scared me, but the young man was very pleasant and calm and said, "no worries" and kept walking. So I do not think my dog would actually attack, bite down hard unless she were trained. But strangers do not know that.


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## Whiteshepherds (Aug 21, 2010)

Anyone who thinks they _really_ need a dog for protection needs to invest in the right dog and the right training. 

Someone posted a video a few weeks ago showing different dogs and how they reacted when a stranger entered their homes. Most of the owners were surprised to see their dogs reactions. (Not sure where it is and don't have time to look for it.)


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

I had a Springer Spaniel who was the most sweet and lovable dog EVER. 

One day - I was 19 - and my then-husband pretended to be breaking in and Pepper surprised us both by grabbing his arm with her teeth as soon as he entered the room. Then she immediately realized it was him and let go.
I'm sure she'd have done her honest best to defend me with teeth and body if the situation had required it.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Whiteshepherds said:


> Anyone who thinks they _really_ need a dog for protection needs to invest in the right dog and the right training.
> 
> Someone posted a video a few weeks ago showing different dogs and how they reacted when a stranger entered their homes. Most of the owners were surprised to see their dogs reactions. (Not sure where it is and don't have time to look for it.)


I think it may have been different if the owners were home at the time. Not sure though.


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## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

Whiteshepherds said:


> Anyone who thinks they _really_ need a dog for protection needs to invest in the right dog and the right training.
> 
> Someone posted a video a few weeks ago showing different dogs and how they reacted when a stranger entered their homes. Most of the owners were surprised to see their dogs reactions. (Not sure where it is and don't have time to look for it.)


Yeah there have been tests after tests that have always concluded to owners that despite their belief and antidotal stories, the dogs didn't do what they expected (hoped)


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## Warrior09 (May 8, 2011)

Caitydid255 said:


> I disagree with that statement. If there is a threat to a owner, and there is a relationship between human and dog, the dog will defend the person. Even if it's not a conscious decision, it is a part of pack behavior to defend other members of the pack. I have had threats to my life at various times, mostly animals, and my collie, who was NOT trained to protect, attacked to defend me. I have also watched as both of our collies bit someone who picked my best friend up making her scream. I have friends who's lab, which doesn't have a mean bone in his body, bit someone who broke into their house. I have watched Angus take on a herd of cows that were charging at me. I have also been approached by some sketchy man on a secluded trail and had an 8 month old Freyja rise up to drive the man away. All dogs mentioned above are calm and extremely friendly and welcoming to people, but when they realized that they were in a bad situation, they did their part to defend their owner.
> 
> At the same time I know a HOT SchH2 dog who fled when his owner was assaulted. *Just because a dog is trained, doesn't guarantee that the dog will protect. I believe the willingness of the dog to protect is based on the relationship between the dog and human*.


 
I agree whole heartedly


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## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

The fact that your dog loves you, in and of itself, is not enough to say the dog will protect you. It also takes a distinct temperament, set of drives, life experiences. All of it together in its combination will determine if a dog will or will not protect you, training or not. It is wishful thinking to think otherwise


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## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

Awesome responses everyone.. it's really interesting reading what everything thinks or has experienced. I'll share a quick one real quick. When Titan was 4 months we came across an old woman. A really creepy old woman, almost witch-like. we were in Germany so she was speaking German to us and spit at me.. Titan went bonkers! Lunged and barked.. at 4 months old. Do I think he would have attacked.. not really... but he is a great deterrent. I haven't seen that behavior in him really since them. Sometime more alert than others but nothing displaying aggression toward threats.. guess I haven't been threatened recently though so... lol. But in all honesty he is a fantastic deterrent and that's ultimately what I want. I would never rely on him for protection. I can very much handle myself in a lot of situations (not all but a lot) but I have had training for that by the military. 



Elaine said:


> Does it really matter? The chance of you ever being in the position of needing your dog to protect is so slim as to be non-existant. Also, anyone crazy enough to challenge a big dog probably has a gun and will just shoot it and you.
> 
> Your dog, whether he will hand over the house or not, will deter almost everyone just by looking like a GSD. Bad guys are generally stupid and will move on to an easier target.


YES it does matter. Not every location you live is safe. I grew up in L.A. and got Titan when I was living in a no name village in Germany all by myself with maybe one or 2 other Americans in the area. Not everywhere is all sunshine and rainbows. I grew up in a place where you went out of your house on the defense.. you looked under your car and in your back seat before you got in it. So yes, small chance in some places but a larger chance in other places.. and yes being a single female living on your own does put you at a larger risk than a single male living on his own. Point.. my car got broken into in my garage a few months ago.. he could have very well gotten into my house if he wanted but he would have faced Titan and my boerboel I had at the time. I think that he knew they were there and chose not to enter.. so on that note.. a very good deterrent. Could have not been the best of circumstances.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Today I had a little Bischon bite me in the ankle.....

backstory/ I clean homes for my dog support $ and am in several homes with dogs, mostly free/owners are out of the house when I'm there, and we are always on good terms. The one today~ Niki knows me, I've gone to his home every other week for 3+ years when the owners are not at home, now and then they pop in or whatever, and the dog changes personality when they are home. He was adopted by the current owner after his first owner went to a nursing home. 

When his owner is home, Niki is a different dog, will bark at me and try to keep me 'away' from her. She said he does this w/ her DH now and then as well, and they have worked w/ a trainer on this(compulsion based~I know her methods....not a fan!).
If owner is not around, he is a velcro dog with me, begs attention and follows me all over the home. It isn't trained behavior but instinct to 'protect his person'. When he bit me today it was a bit shocking, I was walking away from him and her and he just randomly ran and nailed me! Lucky it was a 5#'r and not an 80# dog! 

I had another dog that bit me in the butt when I was going upstairs to the bedroom area, he was always fine with me~brings me balls to play with, but not around me much when we were alone together. Once I went upstairs, he took issue.
I think many dogs will protect their property and it is instinctive. Could be fear based could be not....it really doesn't matter in the long run. 
I won't test my dogs, I know they would probably bite. I'd rather protect them from intruders after they alert me.


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## katdog5911 (Sep 24, 2011)

I don't think anyone can know for sure how a dog will react....

My brother had a vicious GSD. No one could come in the house and move around freely. The dog had to be put away when people came over. They had a big sign warning about their guard dog. Well, someone was able to break into his apt and steal a bunch of stuff..... He came home to a dog sleeping on the couch and his belongings stolen.

My dad had a GSD. Never trained to guard or bite. Was ok but aloof with people. He was very protective of my dad and saved his life several times by deterring would be muggers. And NO ONE, not even me, was able to get near my father if he was sleeping. It was the relationship my dad had with his dog.....

So, vicious dog lets burglar in house. "Regular" pet defends owner many times. You just never know.

But either way, a GSD is a deterrent. The UPS guy will not get come up our driveway anymore since we have Stella. He never had a problem with my 120 lb newfie mix that would bark at him. But he sees Stella playing in the back with the water hose and says...."no way am I going in a yard that has a GSD".


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## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

katdog5911 said:


> But either way, a GSD is a deterrent. The UPS guy will not get come up our driveway anymore since we have Stella. He never had a problem with my 120 lb newfie mix that would bark at him. But he sees Stella playing in the back with the water hose and says...."no way am I going in a yard that has a GSD".


Yeah I know what you mean. Once someone rings the doorbell Titan goes bonkers and almost always, when I open my door, the person is at the end of the walk way and look very worried. Lol.


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## mycobraracr (Dec 4, 2011)

Unfortunately, no one ever knows what their dog will do until it happens. I think dogs can suprise us. The ones we think will do something could very well run, and vise versa. 

I guess I will just have to start stalking you (OP) again and attack you when you least expect it and see what Titan does


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## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

mycobraracr said:


> Unfortunately, no one ever knows what their dog will do until it happens. I think dogs can suprise us. The ones we think will do something could very well run, and vise versa.
> 
> I guess I will just have to start stalking you (OP) again and attack you when you least expect it and see what Titan does


Again huh??  BAHAHA that'd be interesting.. at least you would be visiting me then and finally meet Titan.. one way or another.. would Mina be part of said stalking? I miss her.


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## mycobraracr (Dec 4, 2011)

wyoung2153 said:


> Again huh??  BAHAHA that'd be interesting.. at least you would be visiting me then and finally meet Titan.. once way or another.. would Mina be part of said stalking?


Did I say again? I ment umm... just in the name of testing Titan. 

Not if she is still in heat! I don't want Titan to violate my little princess haha.


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## chelle (Feb 1, 2009)

hunterisgreat said:


> The fact that your dog loves you, in and of itself, is not enough to say the dog will protect you. It also takes a distinct temperament, set of drives, life experiences. All of it together in its combination will determine if a dog will or will not protect you, training or not. It is wishful thinking to think otherwise


Well stated and what I believe to be true in my oh so limited experience.

I honestly have no idea what the boys would do in a _seriously_ intense situation. (As opposed to a fake, set up type of thing.) A fake set up just isn't going to tell a person much at all -- you can't inject the fear, panic, etc that you'd honestly be feeling in a true emergency situation. I've tried the fake stuff.

I've done weird things; hid in the yard, made odd noises, shaken the tree branches and made noise, and they do come to investigate. Yet, they stay away a good 10-20 feet. Stand there super alert, bark a bit perhaps, but don't come closer to investigate. Not sure what that means.

I don't have any dogs for protection. They're deterrant enough when they bark at strangers pulling up the drive.

They present a pretty scary front to anyone who doesn't know them. That's enough for me. 

As someone else said, if someone is willing to take on the dogs, not knowing whether or not the dogs are a true threat, that person will kill my dogs to get what they want. The average jerk-burgler type will find another house.


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## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

mycobraracr said:


> Did I say again? I ment umm... just in the name of testing Titan.
> 
> Not if she is still in heat! I don't want Titan to violate my little princess haha.


HAHA well of course.. in the name of testing.. 

I'm not sure he's been in the presence of a female in heat... It would be interesting to say the least!


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## mycobraracr (Dec 4, 2011)

wyoung2153 said:


> HAHA well of course.. in the name of testing..
> 
> I'm not sure he's been in the presence of a female in heat... It would be interesting to say the least!


I was telling your Mom on Sunday that Mina is driving me crazy with this "heat" thing. Haha I'm not sure if she knew how to take me.


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## rooandtree (May 13, 2012)

i think dogs have a sense of whos up to no good..and when people are breaking in or up to no good they release a smell that dogs pick up on...i think my dog would hes 6 months and already lst week i asked a family member to let him out while i was stuck at work..he knows this person..but when she came into my house without me being home he flipped out..and she left...i then asked my neighbor since i figure he is really use to him..but same thing..he was not happy he was in the house with no one home...he too left and brought back his dog that my pup plays with...and then he was able to let my dog outside and back in...i must admit i was a proud mommy


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## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

mycobraracr said:


> I was telling your Mom on Sunday that Mina is driving me crazy with this "heat" thing. Haha I'm not sure if she knew how to take me.


Yeah probably not.. she just needs some extra explanation every now and then.



rooandtree said:


> i think dogs have a sense of whos up to no good..and when people are breaking in or up to no good they release a smell that dogs pick up on...i think my dog would hes 6 months and already lst week i asked a family member to let him out while i was stuck at work..he knows this person..but when she came into my house without me being home he flipped out..and she left...i then asked my neighbor since i figure he is really use to him..but same thing..he was not happy he was in the house with no one home...he too left and brought back his dog that my pup plays with...and then he was able to let my dog outside and back in...i must admit i was a proud mommy


Good dog  I would have been proud too. Titan has always been good with people he knows letting him out during the day. Which actually started some of my thinking.. what would he do if someone he knew turned on me or him? I know it's not a question that can really be answered but I would assume that he would be able to sense the ill intent regardless of if he knows the person or not.


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## TriciaMilitia (Feb 17, 2011)

Nate is a fantastic judge of character, but I honestly have no clue if he would attack if we were confronted. (I _think_ he would.) I know he's a good deterrent when out and about, and if someone were to break into my home, he would scare away the interloper or at least alert me with enough time to load the shotgun.


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## jmargel (Jan 27, 2012)

When I took my GSD to training (he was a pup) my trainer who was very well known in the dog-training world (Fredrick Koons, who trained for 20+ years) told me that that is something I don't have to worry about.

He strengthened the bond between me and my pup in an unusual way, he had my GSD do a sit and did a domination hold on him (got behind him and wrapped his arms around his chest) and I then would run out 50 ft. and call him. Fred would let him struggle some and then release him, as I would call him, I would run the opposite way so that I now had my puppy chasing me!

As for protection, my GSD is protectful (no training in it) however he is very affectionate. One day as I left for work little did I know there was a stranger sitting in his car waiting to break into my house while I went to work. This guy did not know my pregnant wife was home (who was getting ready for work) or my GSD.

My wife heard the door open (she was upstairs) and called my name. No answer, she then said my GSD then 'flew' down the stairs and was attacking someone. Police were called but couldn't find the guy. A few days later they caught him trying to get into someone else's house.

GSDs have that instinct in them, although each GSD is different I think they know when a situation arises that they need to use their abilities. I would think most intruders would think twice about entering a house or hurting you if you had your GSD beside you. Just the look of them and the knowledge that most people have of them would be enough of a deterent. At least the GSDs that I have had seem to know their own strength, my GSD knows how to 'play' with my 4 year old daughter. If they play tug-o-war with a toy he knows not to pull to hard and releases as well.


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## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

Well I am sure glad nothing happened to your wife! sounds like it's what I think just instinctive.. some will, some won't. I was just curious because Titan looks so vicious behind the door or the fence and on the times where I have witnessed him jumping the fence (work in progress to stop) they have been friends or my BF pulling into my driveway. He just is very excited to see them. My boyfriend is familiar so I understand that he would recognize him. 

But the other day I stupidly put him in the back, unattended, thinking it was just for a second, why would he jump?? Well a friend, whom he'd never met before, pulled into the drive and he scaled that fence so quick it shocked me, lol. He barked all the way up to the car, but myfriend, not being afraid of dogs, stepped out to greet him and he let her. She had a friend with her, who wouldn't get out of the car because she was scared of him, though it was obvious that he was friendly.. at least obvious to me. I wanna say that he sensed it there was no threat... or maybe sensed my calm nature. It was easy to get him back inside, always is, he's a very good listener, as far as commands go. A simple "Titan! Here!" followed by "get inside" and there he went. 

Anywho.. just interesting to see his responses in situations. Though I honestly never want to test his defense possibilities in real life.. but I have always wondered. It's hard to see your goofball GSD that just wants to play all the time and meet people actually do something about a threat. Though I know it happens. 

Enough of my babble. Lol.. thanks for the input guys!


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## heronponie (Sep 27, 2011)

My partner started a new job awhile back and he would return home from night shift at 4am, slink quietly into the house to avoid waking up the humans, and sneak into the bedroom. Acting like a shady character! The first 2 times, when he opened the bedroom door, he was greeted by paws on his shoulders and Dexter's best "GSD glare" in his face. Once Dex realized it was his own person, he dropped down and went into wiggle butt mode. 

I imagine he would behave similarly toward a burglar or break-in... freak em out a bit but not much more. Honestly I prefer it that way. I am very "mama bear" protective about my animals, so I think if my dog actually engaged with a bad guy, I would probably do something reckless and get us both hurt or killed trying to save my dog. I'd rather he just alert, which he does reliably.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

My dog has not been trained in protection but he proved that he would protect me if there was a threat and we were not on my property when it happened.


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## EBray (Jul 6, 2012)

I've wondered the same thing many times! Dixie has honestly, never met a stranger. She absolutely loves people & I often times joke that I over-socialized her. Three weeks ago I was sure if someone were to break in or attack me while we were running she would say, "When you're done mugging my Mom would you rub my belly?" 

One morning Dixie & I were out for an early morning run like we always do. (We live in an area with a high population of homeless people). We always walk the last bit to the house as a "cool" off period and when we turned into the driveway there was a homeless man digging through the trash cans. He turned, spoke to Dixie, something about her being a pretty dog, which is true of course and approached me. About the time he reached out to touch my arm Dixie went NUTS. She jumped between the two of us and lunged for the man. He started screaming for me to control my "insert nasty word" dog and Dixie pulled out her "big girl bark". Needless to say it was mayhem. We made enough noise to attract the attention of a local police officer in his car. 

Needless to say, I know now that while my GS might be super sweet and love to meet new people, she can recognize the difference between friend & foe.


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## jetscarbie (Feb 29, 2008)

Anybody ever see the mayhem commercials. It reminds me of my dogs and what they would probably do if a crook gave them a bone.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

some GSD's are protective some aren't. set your dog up
and see what he will do.


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