# 3 protection breeds tested, German Shepherd wins!



## gsdhistorian4

Video of 3 guard dogs being put to the test by a guy wearing a bite suit pretending to be a thief; a Cane Corso, a Belgian Malinois, and a German shepherd. The Cane Corso barks but then runs from the intruder once he is in the house, the Belgian Malinois who "was trained for protection" still hesitates and then only attacks once the owner has to make him, but the German Shepherd who was NOT protection trained attacks the guy once he gets about 10 feet in the house and stays on him till he retreats out the door, that is true, natural protection! The GSD owner said she was upset he let him get that far in the house, but i think that was the German shepherds intelligence... he was analayzing to see the guys intentions.. important because it could have been a fireman or rescue worker, but once he saw bad intentions, he made a move! German shepherds are by far the most superior guard dog, period!


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## cdwoodcox

Interesting. I thought the mal done great. I expect my dogs to look to me when someone comes over. If I say they're OK then I expect t all barking to stop. He done what I would expect my dogs to do. The cane could have been weak nerves or just not have any protection drive. The German Shepherd did eventually bite the guy but it didn't look like he was out to kill. 
I would have liked to have seen the intruder wearing a hidden sleeve or suit. So he looked like an average criminal not a trainer in a bite suit. 
I feel this test could have been done with three of the same of any breed. Three GSD's, three cane's, three dobe's. Etc... And you could have gotten the same results.


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## Thecowboysgirl

I have to agree with CDWoodcox the shepherd didn't look that scary. And did he not bite him until he started to retreat? Idk

I watched it again, wish he hadnt gone out of the frame when the GSD bit him, I don't know if he started backing up once the dog bit or before. Not bad for an untrained dog I guess.

No dog I have ever owned cared about my house if I wasn't in it. Which is fine. I wouldnt want ky dogs to risk themselves protecting stuff.


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## Jax08

this video is such BS. You can't compare any of these three dogs and come up apples to apples.

Has anyone ever seen a Cane Corso do protection training? Literally, if there is no physical threat, they are not going to attack. And there was no threat. He's a pup, immature.

the Mal did exactly what he was supposed to. Did not go until directed to.

The GSD is a rescue, looks like ASL or backyard, so most likely doesn't hve the proper genetics. And the GSD went at the guys back while he was leaving which implies fear and insecurity.

So good job to the owners for expecting untrained dogs to react aggressively to a simple stranger in the house who comes in baby talking the dog and offers no real physical threat.


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## Slamdunc

I think all three failed. I would not count on any of those dogs to protect me or my home. 

Just goes to show that a dog of any breed without the right genetics, temperament, confidence and training is not going to do a good job protecting anything. I guarantee that I could walk into any of those houses with out any equipment and lock everyone of those dogs in a closet or a bathroom. 

I didn't see one impressive dog, I am a little shocked by the Cane Corso I expected more. The bites from the GSD and Malinois were weak and the dogs were confused and ineffective. 

But, a dog that barks is generally a good enough deterrent to cause a burglar to choose your neighbor's home over yours.


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## cdwoodcox

They said the Mal was in the beginning of protection training. I would have declined to take part in this experiment with a dog just starting in protection. The owner and dog both looked confused.


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## Emoore

Slamdunc said:


> But, a dog that barks is generally a good enough deterrent to cause a burglar to choose your neighbor's home over yours.


This. I have 2 big barking dogs. If someone walks into the property with big barking dogs, they are already prepared to deal with a big biting dog, most likely with a gun.


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## Muskeg

These videos are always interesting. Because even protection trained dogs, titled in sport or possibly even working K9s, I'm betting might get confused by a confident, dog-savvy decoy coming in the house and not acting like a decoy/suspect should. Might do a bark and hold or make a new friend, I don't know. 

That said, all three dogs tested are weak dogs and I don't think any amount of training could make them otherwise.


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## MineAreWorkingline

I think the Cane Corso was too young for this test.

They said the Mal was very social so it was not surprising that just anybody can walk into his house. Being overly social seems to be a problem with herding breeds these days.

The German Shepherd was from a rescue, most likely neutered, but for looking like some type show line mix and being fixed, not really all that bad of a performance with all things considered.

Insofar as a threat, it is almost always the passive person who is a threat IME. The loud and agitated person is usually a harmless drunk or a physically / mentally incapacitated person. I am not sure why anybody would view a stranger entering one's home uninvited as a non threat.


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## cdwoodcox

I would wager that a lot of the dogs who excel in bite work with a decoy wouldn't be a man biter. Unless specifically trained to do so. The sleeve seems to be no different than a rope or tug toy that my dogs will violently attack during play. 
My dogs sound like they want to eat whoever comes to my door. But in reality they would probably jump up and fight for affection.


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## cloudpump

Think anyone saw that video and jumped on Craigslist to buy a gsd? But it said on the news that it'll be a guard dog!


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## MineAreWorkingline

cloudpump said:


> Think anyone saw that video and jumped on Craigslist to buy a gsd? But it said on the news that it'll be a guard dog!


And the breed standard says they are to protect and guard.


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## cloudpump

MineAreWorkingline said:


> And the breed standard says they are to protect and guard.


Absolutely. But you know as well as I do that any byb can produce a gsd. But how many breed to the standard? Might end up with a friendly retriever type dog, or a nerve bag. Not what you see in the news broadcast.


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## angelas

Honestly, the most shocking thing about that video to me is the reporter actually pronouncing "Cane" correctly.


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## Muskeg

An interesting thing with malinois is they can be social but still "civil". So I wouldn't exclude a social malinois from being a good protection dog. But, to me, the malinois looked weak. I have no problem with the dog not biting until told, but the decoy practically had to force the sleeve into the dog's mouth.

My 10 week old puppy has a fuller, more confident grip (granted, I'm not putting any real pressure on her).


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## Jax08

Slamdunc said:


> But, a dog that barks is generally a good enough deterrent to cause a burglar to choose your neighbor's home over yours.


Right!!!! Our last Boxer scared everyone that ever came to our dog. Frothing at the mouth, hackles up, out of her mind. Not ideal but she loved kids and was only that way with adults. We used to find our mail in strange places because the mailman wouldn't come near the house.

Seger is a great deterrent. Hackles and barks like he means it when someone comes to the house. You would have to be stupid or on drugs to come thru the door.

Whether either of these dogs would have taken a threat seriously, I hope to never find out.


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## gsdhistorian4

Exactly! No matter how good a guard dog is, that should never be your primary means of self defense because criminals carry weapons. During a home invasion, a person with a gun who is trained how to use it is a way better bet then thinking your dog is all you need. While my German shepherds are extremely protective of me, i am also extremely protective of them.... and if someone breaks in here, they better worry more about me then the dogs 



Emoore said:


> This. I have 2 big barking dogs. If someone walks into the property with big barking dogs, they are already prepared to deal with a big biting dog, most likely with a gun.


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## Baillif

Muskeg said:


> An interesting thing with malinois is they can be social but still "civil". So I wouldn't exclude a social malinois from being a good protection dog. But, to me, the malinois looked weak. I have no problem with the dog not biting until told, but the decoy practically had to force the sleeve into the dog's mouth.
> 
> My 10 week old puppy has a fuller, more confident grip (granted, I'm not putting any real pressure on her).


It's pretty sad the mal wouldn't even bark on a strange noise in the house. You could hear him give a French bark command and the dog ignored it. 

Was a stupid scenario anyway. Crank isn't trained for that kind of thing and if an unknown person walked in through my front door Crank would light them up and charge them at the door but if they walked in normally he probably wouldn't bite (haven't found anyone willing to test that and I'm not either), I'm guessing he'd be all in their face sniffing but I don't know that for sure. I've never seen him act with me not in the picture. It would be a strong enough move the guy would almost certainly close the door right away if he wasn't wearing gear.

If he was wearing gear or aggressed with the gear he had with him Crank would definitely have gone for equipment. Possibly would have gone for his legs too. I would not have let him do that test without leg protection for his sake. I don't think Crank would bite a person without equipment that was friendly despite the initial charge. Who knows though. That test is definitely not indicative of what would go on with a man without equipment. People without equipment act very differently than those that do and the dogs respond differently as a result.


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## Slamdunc

Muskeg said:


> An interesting thing with malinois is they can be social but still "civil". So I wouldn't exclude a social malinois from being a good protection dog. But, to me, the malinois looked weak. I have no problem with the dog not biting until told, but the decoy practically had to force the sleeve into the dog's mouth.
> 
> My 10 week old puppy has a fuller, more confident grip (granted, I'm not putting any real pressure on her).


There was very little pressure put on those dogs as well. A dog that is supposedly being "protection" trained should have engaged a sleeve immediately. The bite was shallow and weak. 

I do agree the many Malinois' can be very social and very civil. It has more to do with prey and fight drive than defense.


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## Baillif

Right that mal def doesn't have the temperament to do the work.


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## zetti

Video should be mandatory for all pet owners who post that they want their dogs *protection trained*.


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## Baillif

Nah. Very little to be learned from that video. I'd have BTFO all 3 dogs no protection took everything that wasn't nailed down, and not touched them physically.


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## cdwoodcox

Problem isn't owners who want their dog protection trained. The issue is trainers training protection and never getting the dog past the fun play that comes along with biting a sleeve to a point where they will bite in defense. 
Take my dog for instance. In one session 45 minutes we got here to bark and show teeth at a threat/decoy Easy, even in a weak nerved dog. Takes about twice of the dog barking and decoy retreating for a dog to learn to bark and growl when it feels threatened. 
Next we got her to bite a sleeve. This was also very easy to teach her. It was a game and she loved it. Bit hard held on even with decoy screaming and fighting. Done each phase roughly 20ish minutes. So basically we taught Athena a trumped up game of tug. 
It would be very easy for someone, especially with a board and train to get a dog to this point and sell the idea to an uninformed owner that it is protection trained. Would she bite a bad guy Idk she may. But if so it wouldn't be because of that session. Unscrupulous trainers and uninformed owners make for a false sense of security with a dog who would probably bark then retreat as the house got looted. Along with your wallet looted by junk trainer.


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## llombardo

My son and I have talked about this scenario. We both have different opinions on which dog would do what and I can't find a volunteer to test the theory. I do change my thoughts on occasion based on observing them. I sometimes think I might be way off in my thinking.


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## Baillif

It was especially telling in the mal. He is the kind of dog that would have noticeable difficulty playing tug with a stranger under friendly circumstances. Also dull enough to not light up at the sound of someone coming to a front door to enter. No fire in that dog. Not the right animal for personal protection and not really even the right animal for serious competition in sport work. The training wasn't good enough to get a bark on command either.


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## cdwoodcox

So what about a dog like any of these three dogs in the video. Scenario, dog and at least one owner home. Owner gets attacked by intruder. Do these same dogs retreat or do they protect owner. Does that change the mindset of a dog.


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## Baillif

100% the corso runs. Maybe if the owner was locked in a fight with a suspect and holding their own the mal or gsd maybe bark at close to middle distance and maybe take a potshot at suspect or even owner here and there. Maybe they flee too hard to say. They would definitely easily be backed off if attention got redirected to them. Real threat scenario all three would be useless.


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## Sabis mom

So none of those dogs impressed. But the owners ticked me off. 
I got a dog because I didn't want a gun.
I am disappointed in my dog.

The CC is still young. 
The Mal isn't suited and that makes the trainer kind of a jerk.
The GSD did a commendable job of sounding the alarm and really that is what a pet should do. 
Any intruder breaking in to a house with a large barking dog has a plan to handle it. 
Sorry but my stuff isn't worth losing my dog.


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## Slamdunc

I agree with Bailif, and as I said earlier, all three would be useless in a real situation. 
The Cane Corso is no pup, it was 19 months, that is not a pup. It is old enough to have some nerve and drive and be a formidable dog. 

The GSD, like so many GSD's may put on a big show with the FEDEX man but would run and hide if pushed, threatened or pressured. It may come out as the burglar was leaving and bite him in the butt. Actually, nip and then run once the burglar turned around. I have seen way too many fear biting GSD's over the years and they usually bite people in the butt. 

The Malinois has environmental issues as well. It was thrown off by the slick hardwood floor and the stairs. Maybe, it's grip would be a little better on a field on a nice sunny day. 

So many people think their dog is a "man stopper" or will "bite for real" because it barks at the mailman or lunges at the fence when some one passes by. I'm sure these three dog owners in the video all thought their dogs would give their life protecting them. Boy, these owners had a rude awakening. Especially, the Cane Corso owner who got the dog for protection over a gun. This video should serve as a good example of what the vast majority of pet dogs or "PPD" Pet Protection Dogs" will do in the real world. 

What I found most interesting was telling the owners name, where they lived and then letting a camera crew into their house. Man, they made them easy targets for burglars who can "window shop" by watching the video.


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## SuperG

I never gave much thought about getting a GSD as a layer of protection.......but they all ended being exactly that.....it might keep a few more guessing......after that...it just ends up the same as it always has been.....if push comes to shove....you can only rely on yourself.

SuperG


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## JessicaR

This just reminds me of my idiot neighbor, who once told me she trained her great dane to be a protection dog. How did she do it you may ask... She said she punched him lightly in the head until he got mad and grabbed her arm. So she knew he would protect her even if someone was hitting him. I was pretty much speechless at that, and also glad that the landlord wont let them have a dog!


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## cdwoodcox

JessicaR said:


> This just reminds me of my idiot neighbor, who once told me she trained her great dane to be a protection dog. How did she do it you may ask... She said she punched him lightly in the head until he got mad and grabbed her arm. So she knew he would protect her even if someone was hitting him. I was pretty much speechless at that, and also glad that the landlord wont let them have a dog!


I probably shouldn't have laughed at this. But the level of ignorance is laughable.


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## gsdhistorian4

Yea, video surely exposed a lot and makes people think differently before they claim "my dog would rip apart any intruder, bla bla bla" lol! Either way, the German shepherd was by far the most impressive out of all 3, especially since he had no protection training. That's 1 of the many reasons GSD are my favorite. I never got into the whole Malinois fad.. they are fast and agile, but German shepherds are a lot more powerful, have more takedown power which helps if it's a police dog, are a lot smarter, and also easier to train. German shepherds #1


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## Muskeg

Hmm, lots of generalities about breed, there. It depends on the lines, the dog, the handler.

One thing for sure, malinois can be scary-smart, and not just in a toy-drivey, easy to train way, but in a problem solving, understanding what the handler wants and figuring out how to make it happen kind of way.


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## SuperG

gsdhistorian4 said:


> That's 1 of the many reasons GSD are my favorite. I never got into the whole Malinois fad.. they are fast and agile, but German shepherds are a lot more powerful, have more takedown power which helps if it's a police dog, are a lot smarter, and also easier to train. German shepherds #1


I can kind of agree with that....but......I've always wanted a Mal...even before I knew the appropriate requirements.....I was always impressed by the breed's structure but not familiar with the breed firsthand.....as I was with the GSD...so I've had GSDs.....if I were to have another chance to start a new pup....I might go for a Mal.....it's difficult not to like the breed.


SuperG


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## JessicaR

cdwoodcox said:


> I probably shouldn't have laughed at this. But the level of ignorance is laughable.


 That's ok I laughed too.


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## Slamdunc

gsdhistorian4 said:


> Yea, video surely exposed a lot and makes people think differently before they claim "my dog would rip apart any intruder, bla bla bla" lol! Either way, the German shepherd was by far the most impressive out of all 3, especially since he had no protection training. That's 1 of the many reasons GSD are my favorite. I never got into the whole Malinois fad.. they are fast and agile, but German shepherds are a lot more powerful, have more takedown power which helps if it's a police dog, are a lot smarter, and also easier to train. German shepherds #1


You need to see some good Malinois. They are certainly not a "fad" and are quickly replacing the GSD as the dog of choice for Police Work, and Special Forces teams. Don't think for one second that a good Malinois is not as agile and fast (if not more) than a GSD, is not as large or powerful and certainly has plenty of "takedown" power. 

I am also a GSD guy, they are my favorite breed and I will always own one or two for my personal dogs. 

But when it comes to selecting dogs for LE work, I pick the best dog available. Breed is not a factor. Only, 1 of the last 5 dogs that I have selected in the past two years was a GSD. Three were Mal X's and one a DS. Selection was based on working ability, agility, nerves, confidence, strength, aggression, confidence and overall working and training ability. Out of the 9 patrol dogs in our unit only 2 are GSD's, and that may change when one of the GSD's retires this month. I will be selecting a new dog for this handler and he really wants another GSD. I'm not sure he can handle a strong, hard Malinois or cross. He will get the best dog that I can find regardless of breed, color or size. A dog that will simply get the job done.


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## gsdhistorian4

Oh thats cool. Yea, don't get me wrong, i don't dislike the Malinois... they certainly are cool dogs and you like whatever breed you like, i just like the German shepherd a lot better and feel they are better as both pets and protection dogs.. in my opinion. Aside from the German shepherd, i also like the Dogo Argentino though 



SuperG said:


> I can kind of agree with that....but......I've always wanted a Mal...even before I knew the appropriate requirements.....I was always impressed by the breed's structure but not familiar with the breed firsthand.....as I was with the GSD...so I've had GSDs.....if I were to have another chance to start a new pup....I might go for a Mal.....it's difficult not to like the breed.
> 
> 
> SuperG


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## labX

This video proves nothing. We have had a dog that will charge and attack strangers before. He was my 10 lb dashund. 
He was okay with us but new people even coming near our car ,camper and house was game time.
He would run a few k a day and was all muscle ,which our vet thought was funny for a little dog.

The mal might be like the one I saw this week. 6 month pure breed .The lady said she and her husband brought it for there 2 little kids . This mal was friendly and very out going. No training as it's only a pert.


Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk


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## wolfy dog

JessicaR said:


> This just reminds me of my idiot neighbor, who once told me she trained her great dane to be a protection dog. How did she do it you may ask... She said she punched him lightly in the head until he got mad and grabbed her arm. So she knew he would protect her even if someone was hitting him. I was pretty much speechless at that, and also glad that the landlord wont let them have a dog!


You can call that 'unbalanced training'.


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## cdwoodcox

The thing about mals is that some of them are not just bananas they look absolutely bananas. Most of the mals I have seen look leggy and not as powerful as gsds but they have all been young also. Some of the ones on von liche kennels web page look pretty **** mean. Like a Mal on Angel dust. Or Mal demon cross.


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## cliffson1

I try to never let my likes influence my opinion.?
Everyone knows the GS is my favorite dog, but the Mal is as good as it gets in work, and I think a good Rottie is a superior protection dog...?


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## Slamdunc

Yup, I've got a leggy Malinois x Dutch Shepherd cross. Don't let those leggy dogs fool you, they are fast, powerful and can be pretty unnerving. I was just watching videos of our training and Boru is certainly committed, or should be committed.


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## llombardo

Mine don't even acknowledge the mailman, UPS or Fed Ex guy. They don't bark while in the car, they don't bark in the yard. If someone knocks they bark briefly, my older golden is more likely to bark more then the GSDs. I have had numerous delivery and service people in the house and the 3 GSDs just sit and stare--they never stop staring, but never make a peep. Midnite is more likely to get more agitated if he is outside and a stranger is in the house. One time they were delivering a couch and Midnite decided to go to the small window I have in the living room and stood there with his big head staring at the guy. The guy was facing me but must have felt the stare because he turned around and said is that a GSD? I said yes and a nosey one. 

I think one on one they would behave much differently then if it was 2 on 1 or 3 on 1. There would be a good chance they would redirect and do so on each other if the situation was super hectic.


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## cdwoodcox

I was talking to Brian the guy with special ops k9 that I have been taking Athena to last week about crazy dogs. He said the most intense crazy dog he ever trained was a big Dutch Shepherd. Dog sounded pretty psycho. Make a really bad for a criminal on the run.


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## Chip18

Really all the video shows ... is that people will do "stupid stuff" with dogs?? Honestly ... the Mal and the CC ... were supposedly "PPD Dogs???" Uh ... wow oh well ... a "random phone book search" has people finding "Trainers" that can't properly train family pets! 

No reason to think that a random "we train "PPD" trainer would have any better result??? An "honest evaluation that tells "people" yeah your dog would pretty much suck at this ... is bad for business ... I would imagine??? 

Most likely the owners that tried and failed (CC and the Mal) ... went for "Breed" and not "Dog??" From what I heard ... yeah the GSD did the best without any dollars spent!


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## Chris4609

cdwoodcox said:


> I would wager that a lot of the dogs who excel in bite work with a decoy wouldn't be a man biter. Unless specifically trained to do so. The sleeve seems to be no different than a rope or tug toy that my dogs will violently attack during play.
> My dogs sound like they want to eat whoever comes to my door. But in reality they would probably jump up and fight for affection.


Very much agree. I can only speak from my experiences. Unless trained and trained well a dog given a choice will by a large margin not engage an intruder alone in the house.


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## Jenny720

Max my male american showline would not let a strange man get into the house he would of not gotten his foot in the door and it’s been tested. He seems to enjoy that kind of trouble. His protective instincts are strong. Training would just make him tune up his tactics. He would not need to be trained to bite anyone. Growing up in the 80’s(great times) but did run across some trouble out there as all kids occupying the days unsupervised. I had dogs in the past growing up that were big ferocious barkers they sure new how to put on a big show but then ran or hid behind me when confronted with someone menacing for real -that was disappointing and more dangerous. My friends gsd mix saved us more then a few times for real. If any stranger walks with menacing vibes walk into your house unannounced and uninvited it’s never a good thing. None of the dogs impressed me here but the German shepherd who was alone without the owner there telling him what to do at least did attempt something and would of chased a real cat Burgler away for the most part unless the burgler was high on drugs- so yes the gsd wins in my eyes since he was left unattended and without instruction.


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## Kazel

cliffson1 said:


> I try to never let my likes influence my opinion.?
> Everyone knows the GS is my favorite dog, but the Mal is as good as it gets in work, and I think a good Rottie is a superior protection dog...?


We got a rottie looking dog (byb or mix) from our local shelter when I was a kid. I don’t know what she’d have done in the case of an actual attack but she had several occasions where she impressed me. 

I personally don’t really expect a dog unless specifically trained for it to physically guard just a property without a real threat. I do know of 3 cane corsos that do their job well in that exact case though. I don’t know if the owner trains for it somehow or what. Having 3 might perhaps help with confidence.

In my area I could probably find a heeler who would do the job well as a personal guard dog and property guarder. Perhaps some LGDs for property protection although without stock they tend to just become barkers and wouldn’t necessarily engage people without a valid reason besides just trespass. Some can be pretty friendly. When my mom was a kid the LGD would protect the birds but also protect the kids from the birds but that was merely with using physical presence to form a barrier because they knew how to handle different levels of threat. I don’t know that they’d protect just the house property if there was nothing alive to defend or that needed defending.


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## Justjo303

I have to say that this video with how interesting it was that these 3 breeds cannot be judged off just these 3 individuals. My old neighbor had a Cane Corso and she was so protective that no one could come into their home w.o him coming outside and walking in with you and still she did not want anyone in her home except for her family. My Shepherd is just a grumpy dude and he will not let anyone come into his home let alone his yard without full on aggression kicking in unless we tell him to back off and we walk the person/persons into “his yard” while a friend who had a GSD would just lay there and watch someone break into their home and they lost a lot of stuff thanks to him. Each dog is different.


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## Chip Blasiole

Displays of aggression by a dog and a dog's willingness to engage an aggressive person are two very different things. Many, probably most defensive displays of aggression are in hopes of chasing the threat away. A dog's desire to violently inflict pain on a person is different. You don't know if a dog will bite for real until he does it.


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