Re-thinking Protection

"Hate people who keep dogs for protection.  They are cowards who are too afraid to bite people themselves."

- adapted by GoodPooch.com, from August Strindberg's famous quotation

Although there are many respected dog sports that include a component of protection work, the consequences may ultimately be too high for dogs.

It’s a change of mindset, really.  The fact that dogs are used by some people as weapons against others is ultimately the reason that all dogs are increasingly maligned.  How many times have you heard, “I want a dog for protection” or “She’s a good ‘guard’ dog”?  Many people perceive dogs as a form of security.

It is this perception that causes some people to fear dogs, and others to encourage inappropriate aggression.  In reality, dogs are not weapons, and shouldn’t be turned into them.  They have the mental capacity of a 2 – 3 year old child.  Would you give a 3-year-old child a weapon and expect her to protect you?

Even in the case of very respected and compassionate trainers, what they’re ultimately teaching these dogs to do is to put themselves in danger.  How many dogs must be needlessly injured or killed before we realize the price is too high?  What about the price paid by all dogs when communities enact restrictive legislation based on myths about dog aggression?  What about the restrictions dog owners face at the hands of thoughtless insurance companies, hotels, landlords, etc?

There are many sports and occupations that require the special abilities of dogs, and do not regularly place the dog in harm’s way.  Tracking, search and rescue, therapy work, personal assistance, substance detection; they’re all examples of ways dogs can assist people without being put in mortal danger.  When humans accept these risks, they do so with considerable deliberation and free will.  Our dogs don't choose the tasks we give them.  At the very least, their safety and protection should be our number one consideration.  It is a betrayal to knowingly send a dog into harm's way.

Really good trainers know that by the time a dog is taught bite work, it is very well trained.  In all likelihood, you wouldn’t know a well-trained personal protection dog is living next door unless the owner tells you so.  Well-trained protection dogs are some of the best-behaved dogs around.  They only act when faced with a REAL threat. 

Dogs that are called “naturally protective” are, in fact, not.  What they’re really demonstrating is their fear of such non-threatening situations as a knock at the door or the mailman’s arrival.  These are not confident, well-trained dogs who are under their owners’ control.  They’re poorly socialized dogs who don’t know what is and isn’t a threat.  Fearful behaviour is not the same as protection training.

In a perfect world, protection training would be unnecessary.  In that same, perfect world, there would be few ramifications if a dog were responsibly protection trained.  But in the real world, protection trained dogs get killed for obeying their owners’ commands; miscreants think encouraging inappropriate behaviour leads to a four-legged weapon; and society sees all dogs as dangerous.  Click here for dog bite information.

Take a fresh look at protection training, and how it is negatively affecting the image of all dogs.

Splash  Home  Site Map  Contact