# Age a puppy will be protective



## Ieshu (Sep 21, 2013)

When does a GSD puppy starts guarding his property and people if he senses some trouble...I have this GSD pup of 5 months of age he dont do nothing he is always wagging his tail to all people who come to see us...Plz help...


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## LoveEcho (Mar 4, 2011)

They will not instinctively become protective until they start to mature... sometimes 18 months, sometimes older. Your puppy is a BABY, he looks to YOU to be his protector. Most "protective" behavior in a young pup is fearful behavior and should not be encouraged. Just let him grow up confident that YOU are his protector and leader, and when he is older he will have the natural instinct. Some don't ever become "naturally protective", bear in mind- but the presence alone of an adult shepherd is usually enough of a deterrent. If it's not, it doesn't matter how protective the dog is...


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## Rbeckett (Jun 19, 2013)

All of our girls are naturally protective. We do not train them to bark at strangers or to bay at the fence, in fact we tend to discourage that behavior. The guarding and protection come from a perception that you value some thing and the dog senses that if they protect it you will be pleased. Spend a good bit of time working on mutual respect and giving affection while the dog is still a baby and in the long haul you will not need to do anything to get them on guard. The puppy will naturally associate his boundaries with his space and defend it against intruders day or night.

Wheelchair Bob


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## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

Puppies are not protective. Puppies are protected...


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## Sookie (Aug 28, 2013)

hunterisgreat said:


> Puppies are not protective. Puppies are protected...


Agree completely! He is only a baby now.


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## Vagus (Oct 7, 2012)

From what I've heard, this will only happen once they're mature (2+yrs old). Some dogs may never be protective. My last GSD was 4 yrs old when I rescued him and he never really showed any signs of being 'protective'. He was serious and aloof, but wouldn't go out of his way to deter anyone if that's what you mean. My current one year old is way too silly to be protective. If you have a happy, confident 5month old then that is a good thing! Fear is not really what you want in a young (or any) dog. Let him be a puppy, he will develop into whatever dog _he will become_ in time.


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## Vagus (Oct 7, 2012)

Sorry, couldn't edit my previous post, but I wanted to add:

Once your dog is older and larger - that in itself will be a deterrent. You have a breed that is commonly used by military and police, so many associate GSDs with aggression. When walking my older GSD, people would cross the street to get to the other side and watch him closely as they walked away. He was a very even tempered dog, who showed no aggression whatsoever, but they just didn't want to risk it I guess. The same is starting to happen with my young, friendly teenage GSD. You don't actually need a dog that bites to deter people from bothering you or your property


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

agree with what's been said already. My 3.5 year old female doesn't have a protective instinct in her at all. I don't expect she ever will either. Protect your puppy and if he matures into the guardian you're looking for, yay. if not, love him anyway but don't get your hopes up for a while yet. he's got a ways to go before he's even close to mentally mature.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

My female turned 2 in September and I noticed a difference in her as she got older. She is now completely aloof with strangers and doesn't bother with them on her own, but she does accept them petting her. Just today a lady that owns 4 GSD's approached and Robyn completely ignored her and pretty much avoided her. Also when my son came home from college he was waiting in the yard when she came out, he was more in the corner and had a hoodie on, she did run at him barking and growling with hackles up, he spoke up quickly and she recovered nice and quick and gave him lots of kisses. After seeing her do that I'm thinking she would do her best to protect, but since we aren't in these situations and its a slim chance we ever will be I will probably never know for sure.


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## boomer11 (Jun 9, 2013)

protectiveness is also a genetic thing. if your dog is bred with low defensive drive it's not going to really consider anything a threat. everyone is its friend and it wants to meet everyone. some dogs can be really friendly and others can be really aloof/suspicious depending on how their bred.

i felt mine became protective of our property around 7 months. twice he ran to the front door barking around 4 am. woke the entire family up because he never barks at anything. once there was a guy standing right outside our sidewalk. i opened the door and he walked off. the other time he barked his deep bark in the middle of the night, the neighbors across the street were outside yelling at each other. he never barks his deep bark during the day with people walking by; its only at night. protective is a mix of age and genetics


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