# training my GSD to protect on command



## sgibson94 (Oct 11, 2010)

I know that GSD are naturally protective. But I have spoken to several people who own them and they have said that training your GSD for attack on command helps them with meeting new people. Instead of them automatically barking and grawling at a new person they just sit back and watch them for incase you need them. so my question is this. Would anyone here know how to train a dog to attack on command? we dont plan to use it but we live in the country and we have a 10yr old son who (will not know the word cause we dont want him using it if he doesnt need to) but we dont want our dog to get bad. She barks and grawls right now and backs away from people but we dont want her lunging at anyone.she warms up to them eventually but its just in the begining that worries us sometimes


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

it sounds like your dog has fear issues hence the backing away and growling. If this is the same dog you want to breed, please dont. Spay her. training to attack on command takes just that... TRAINING!!! Which should be helped with the skills of a professional trainer. but you also need to realize that some GSDs never develope the protective instinct.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

sgibson94 said:


> I know that GSD are naturally protective. But I have spoken to several people who own them and they have said that training your GSD for attack on command helps them with meeting new people.


Whoever told you that is seriously misguided.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

That is extremely stupid advice that someone gave you. Isn't this the dog you want to breed and she's fearful?!


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I also agree, you have been given some dumb advice that is not true.


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## Chris Wild (Dec 14, 2001)

Your dog is showing fear aggression, not protectiveness. GSDs should not act this way. It is a temperament fault and it can escalate to dangerous behavior if you don't work to improve it. Teaching the dog to "attack" is most certainly not the answer. This sort of fearful temperament is not suitable for any sort of protection work.

She needs socialization and lots of obedience training to give her confidence and security and a way to channel stress. I would recommend consulting with a qualified behaviorist and trainer, preferably one who is experienced with GSDs and fear issues, to help in this situation. With good work on the socialization and obedience training fronts a lot of progress can be made and you can have a dog who is much more comfortable in these situations and who will be more inclined to sit and watch, neither backing up nor lunging. But it will take work, and certainly NOT protection work.


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## kidkhmer (Jul 14, 2010)

Yeah that is seriously misguided advice !
What are you going to do ? :

"Doggy,meet my friends...now...ATTACK"

Struth !


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## GSDBESTK9 (Mar 26, 2002)

She is NOT being protective, she is showing FEAR aggression. Chris has given you great advice.


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## W.Oliver (Aug 26, 2007)

sgibson94 said:


> ....I have spoken to several people who own them and they have said that training your GSD for attack on command helps them with meeting new people......


How does your dog like children....raw?

opcorn:


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

It takes YEARS to train a protection dog. First you need to find a competent trainer (not easy to do), and second the dog needs to be evaluated for suitability. 
A dog that backs away from people hackling and growling is showing fear and does not make a good candidate for this kind of training. 

I also second the advice above - your dog needs a lot of socialization, and fun activities and lots of obedience to boost her confidence. If you live in the country, you have to make the extra effort to take her out and about and socialize her, and take her to classes for obedience training.

Some dogs are naturally confident, others are born with more fear and insecurity in them. This is called "nerve". A confident dog that is not afraid of people, new places, loud noises (thunder, gunshots) slippery surfaces, etc, has good nerve, and was born with good nerve. Dogs that show a lack of confidence, submissiveness, fear of new places, peoples, noises, despite having been exposed to these things from a young age, show bad nerve, and it is genetic. That means that it was inherited. Poor nerve will be passed on to the pups also, and no one wants dogs that are scared of everything and everyone, and cannot be taken anywhere.

Oh, and a scared dog is more likely to bite than a confident dog. So please don't breed her. You don't want to be responsible for a future bite incident either from your girl, or from one of the pups you have bred.


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## JazzNScout (Aug 2, 2008)

Shepherds are generally naturally protective. You want an easy-going confident dog, not a mistrusting or fearful one. You will want to be working with her on doing the opposite of what she is doing right now. You want her out and about, meeting people and other animals, being put in various situations so that she trusts the world around her and feels confident in it. 

Believe me, if something is ever wrong, she will more than likely feel confident in handling the situation, such as protecting your son. You don't want an insurance liability on your hands. 

*By the way, I had a very people-loving German shepherd girl for 9 years. We would be on walks and if children approached her, she would kiss their faces. When we had some work done on our house, Miss Congeniality turned into Cugo. She was lunging, growling, barking at the fence and door at one of the workers. This went on for 3 solid days before I Googled this guy's name. I learned he had been arrested several times in the past on drug and burglary charges. Buh bye Mr. Home Renovator. Who knows what would/could have occurred had my Jasmine girl not alerted us? Luckily, he was terrified of my usually gentle and sweet GSD.


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## sgibson94 (Oct 11, 2010)

excuse me? where do you get off? ok since you didnt get the question (obviously) she is not fearful. she backs off because we tell her too. and as for children. she loves them. and she is very protective of them. theres not a child she doesnt know. so does she like them raw? check yourself man. i dont care who you are. it was a question and whoever gave me the advise was wrong i can see that but seriously, what goes on in your head? she's just not big into men is her only problem and we have been working on that. but really guy, i dont care who you are but really, you should think before you say stuff like that.


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## Chris Wild (Dec 14, 2001)

Where do people get off?

You said:


> She barks and grawls right now and backs away from people


That is where. Everything you described here IS fearful behavior. She is not being protective, she is showing fear aggression. You also said that you don't want her lunging. That likely WILL happen in the future if you do not address her fear issues now. People have given you a lot of advice on addressing this problem, and have attempted to show you that protection training of any kind is not appropriate in this situation.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

sgibson94 said:


> excuse me? where do you get off? ok since you didnt get the question (obviously) she is not fearful. she backs off because we tell her too. and as for children. she loves them. and she is very protective of them. theres not a child she doesnt know. so does she like them raw? check yourself man. i dont care who you are. it was a question and whoever gave me the advise was wrong i can see that but seriously, what goes on in your head? she's just not big into men is her only problem and we have been working on that. but really guy, i dont care who you are but really, you should think before you say stuff like that.


 
where do you get off coming on this site and getting offended when someone makes what is obviously a joke? Your post states she growls and backs away. THAT IS A SIGN OF A FEAR AGGRESSIVE DOG!!!!! I have a fearful GSD and i have no doubt in my mind if she felt in any way threatened she would turn fear AGGRESSIVE! Your dog is afraid of men. YOU have stated that fact. THAT is not a dog you want to train to attack on command because being that GSDs are SUCH incredibly smart dogs, the ability to give the command could go out the window because she could get it in her head that regardless of whether the command was given or not, she is allowed to attack. The mere fact alone that you want to train this command in a dog showing fear aggression is a potential liability and would have a more negative impact on the dog than yourself. If your dog DOES bite someone, that is on you and the dog suffers for your lack of taking care of her and keeping her from situations that could result in her becoming what would be considered a dangerous dog. She needs POSITIVE socialization and POSITIVE training. Not training that could very well lead to a demand that she be euthanized. She is obviously not a well rounded GSD and she's not confident in herself or her surroundings if she's acting that way towards men. And she's obviously not confident in you or your ability to be the pack leader and she feels she needs to take charge. Please for the sake of your dog, dont be stupid about this. The people on this site are here because we not only love the breed, but we have knowledge to share. Now if you dont like the answers you've gotten, its for a reason. its not what you wanted to hear. You wanted us to give you the ammunition for the gun and we're not going to do that. We're here to HELP promote the good qualities of the breed, of any breed really. Welcome to life. You dont always hear what you want to hear. If you dont like what knowledgable people have to say, feel free to go elsewhere. But keep in mind, ANY responsible person/trainer, will NOT work with you to train a fearful aggressive animal of any kind to attack on command.


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