Training a Guard Dog

well im goin to try and keep this short but ive trained my dog to alert dme to strange occurances around my house such as cars arriving or people sneaking around etc. i do live in a dangerous neighborhood and im approached by several strange people on a daily basis. is there anyway i can train my dog to detect weapons of a sort on other people and alert me to this pressence?

Matt, Sounds like you need to realize with dog laws now days
that you are setting it up for your dog to be taken from you and
put to sleep. It is a great responsibility for a person to have a
trained dog that protects on command. What you are proposing will
also land you in jail with an assault charge and maybe more against
you. A guard dog is a great responsibility again I tell you and
also should only be owned and handled by a trained person for this.
Please take my advice and find a different, safer way for your
revenge. I do think by this post you and your girlfriend should
move out. Re-read your post, the answer is there. Good luck and be
a good caregiver to your puppy and don't get it in trouble or the
death sentence.

I dont want this to sound the wrong way, but I am interested in
training my new puppy to attack on command. At the moment I live
with a guy who has 3 staffies and his actions are just SO wrong, he
calls all his dogs "sluts". My girlfriend and I are about to move
out this week (we've had the dog for less than a week (Ridgeback X
Cattle Dog) so I assume that my pup wont be too used to him). I
have heard that you can train a dog to attack on command, but I
dont want the command to be "attack", I want the command to be
"slut", that way if he comes to my new house, not only will he get
a nasty surprise if he calls her that, but I will also know that he
has mistreated my dog. Also, it would be absolutely hilarious, if I
have to give the command, that I point to an intruder and yell
"slut". Any help would be appreciated, if you dont feel comfortable
replying here, get me on my email, mattanarchy@hotmail.comThank
you...Matt...

Hello, I have an american bulldog and am very intrested in
traing him to be a guard dog. I had him since he was a pup and is
very obedient to my commands and my voice. If you could please give
me some advice or help I would very much appreciate it thank
you.

Is it advisable to lock a guard dog in it's den during the day
and release it only at night so that it can start "being on duty"?
I was told that only this way can make it aggressive to external
intrusin

I was told by our lawyer years ago not to put a beware of dog
sign up. We have trained Dobermann. This makes you liabel because
you are admitting your dog is dangerous. The best thing to do is
get signs that tell that this property belongs to (your breed of
dog), that he lives here and it is his yard, do not enter. There
are other cheerful signs like we have that shows our Dobermann on
it and it says "they can make it to the fence in 3 seconds, can
you?" I had a friend give me a sign for my window that says "never
mind the dog, Beware of owner" . As for if your dog has had
protective training, I doubt that. When you are outside you have a
leash on it and may hold it tighter as you and the dog approach
people and that will tell the dog that you are fearful and to be
alarmed. As when you are in the house the dog is loose and you are
more relaxed with those entering. Dogs are exceptional at body
languague. After all they have learned our language and words and
we have not learned their words. You may want to check out
Schutzhund clubs in your area as they are usually GSD and other
breeds and could evaluate the dog for you to see if it has had any
professional or protection training. If the dog has, you need to
learn the commands and what to do with the training. Also remember,
if the training and evaluation does not feel right in your gut and
you are uncomfortable with the person, people, try another club. If
you are not comfortable with it, your dog is not either. You are
there for your dog and you. Be comfortable with any training method
so you and your dog can and should enjoy it. I have trained our
Dobermann in working, AKC obedience. The main thing is that I have
beautiful memmorries of trianing, working and playing with them.
They are here all too short of a time on earth with us. Good Luck
and God bless,Sharon

Your dog may or may not have had protective training . It could
be just showing it's natural herding instinct. When in your house
it may think of you as being in your pen and therfore has no need
to worry. It may have some training and if so you need to know how
to control it as it may see some forms of contact as a threat.
Contact the shelter you got it from as they may have records of the
last owner. Your vet or the local police K9 handlers may be able to
help you tell the difference between training and instinct, ( most
K9 handlers are very proud of the work that they do and with a few
complements can be very helpfull).

I have a German Shepherd mix that I adopted from a rescue
organization last year. It appears that he had some training as a
guard dog because he is "on duty" when outside with me and does not
allow anyone to approach closer than 8-10 feet. When he is inside
he is "off duty" and is curious and friendly with people who enter
the house. I know little or nothing about guard dogs and was
wondering what tips you could give me about making him "stand down"
or relax when we are outside walking. I would like to work with him
on this issue.

I've been informed of the same information regarding Beware of
Dog signs. So, creatively, I bought the stick on lettering and on
the back side of the sign I spelled out Dogs Live Here. It works
great.Pam

We have a German Shepherd and a Doberman, which are loud and
large. Their appearance alone are a deterrant, however, one is a
big bear and the other a fraidy cat. They do their job well and
bark at strangers and are great pets. I have heard from others
though that placing a Beware of Dog sign on your property can make
you doubly liable if someone is hurt by your dog because is shows
you know you have an aggressive dog. Is this true?