UKC

My wife and myself live somewhere fairly isolated, and I occasionally spend time away from home. Shortly after we moved into our property we adopted a German Shepherd pooch who turned out to an excellent guard dog and protection for my wife when I was away.

After she shuffled off this mortal coil a couple of years ago (the dog, not my wife!) we adopted another pooch - either a Malinois or a German Shepherd cross (probably). This dog is extremely friendly and seems to assume everyone and everything is her friend. So my question is how likely is it that she'll be protective in the (hopefully unlikely) event of it being necessary?

In reply to Willi Crater:
Try breaking in at night in disguise?

Or simulating an attack on your wife??! Wear a Richard Nixon mask.

In reply to Flinticus:



Tried all of those. Results inconclusive.

In reply to Willi Crater:

I'd just be glad you have a nice gentle dog and you live in a civilised country where it isn't necessary to have a guard dog.
Jk

In reply to Willi Crater:

German Shepherd, you say? Does it have a visa?

In reply to john arran:

OMG. Does this mean my Hungarian Viszla will have to be repatriated?

D

In reply to john arran:





It doesn't need one in the country we live in John. I might need one soon though.

In reply to jkarran:



It's pretty useful to have one where I live, especially at certain times of the year.

In reply to Willi Crater:
How possible would it be to make your home Fort Knox secure?

That's possibly more reliable than a guard dog, and not making it attractive to criminals too I gather.

In reply to Willi Crater: does the dog bark? My dogs make an awful noise at intruders. If they got in they would be licked to death, but think a casual intruder would try the neighbours instead.

In reply to Willi Crater:

Don't be worried, you probably have an intelligent dog that only wants to please you.

It already knows that you would like any burglar to be ripped to shreds.

In reply to Willi Crater:

where do you live????

In reply to Timmd:

How possible would it be to make your home Fort Knox secure?
That's possibly more reliable than a guard dog, and not making it attractive to criminals too I gather.

What?
Never have the windows open and sell your telly?

In reply to Willi Crater:

Just call the dog "Windsor" and you might get away with it.

In reply to Willi Crater:

You could always take the dog to protection classes like Schutzhund if you found a local dog club that offered it. Good mental and physical exercise for the dog too.

In reply to Willi Crater:


If you mean what I think you mean then the dog is probably better off keeping a low profile.

In reply to Flinticus:


If that doesn't work, you can get some ideas from here: youtube.com/watch?v=tWdgAMYjYSs&

In reply to Willi Crater:

Trust me, having a dog that has human aggression potential is not worth the stress. Unless you're an expert in dog training you'll just create a loose cannon more likely to attack the postman than protect your TV. Get some visible and decent CCTV...

In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:
+1

In reply to FactorXXX:


I think most people would take Fort Knox secure as a figure of speech, and not making a home too enticing to criminals can be things like not making the outside look especially 'bling' or rich looking.

It's common advice from police and similar about not making a home look too enticing...

In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:


Already had one for 8 years (our previous GSD, which we rescued from starving at around 9 months). Wasn't an issue - had a police dog handler help in the training which coupled with supervising the dog when 'in company' (which was fairly infrequent) never made it a problem.


We don't have a postman. We did once (somewhat mind-boggling given where we live) have Jehovah's witnesses. They didn't stay long.....


Nah - not bothered about protection of possessions. Don't even bother to lock the cars and half the time leave house keys in outside of the door. The issue was more of a personal security (mostly for my wife when I'm away).

Thanks for the advice though.

In reply to Ridge:


No it's not.

In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:


One of my friends had a German Shepard that bit the postman. Was a lovely dog, really intelligent but very protective of the family. To the point where you wouldn't want to enter their property unless the dog knew you or you were accompanied by one of the family. They had a big gate with an external post box, mesh on the gate to prevent the dog from being able to get at anyone passing by, and a large sign saying BEWARE OF THE DOG. Postman rolled back the mesh to try and stroke the dog. Dog gave him a little bite. Postman tried to get damages and have the dog put down. Fortunately the courts sided with my friends family and the dog. It certainly caused them a lot of stress.

If you are living in a really remote situation I can understand why you might want a trained guard dog. Personally, I would worry about the potential consequences though. I'd rather just have a dog that barks. Our springer spaniel would bark like crazy if someone tried to burgle us. They wouldn't know it was just because he wanted to play....

In reply to Willi Crater:

I'd think walking along with a big excited German shepherd dog running about would be enough to discourage potential attackers without it needing to be vicious snarling beast ready to tear someones face off.

In reply to Willi Crater:

I had some friends once whose dog was a rea sweetie. However, one work day I happened to be close, so I stopped by in my work uniform and work truck. The dog didn't recognise me and was plenty aggressive.

I bet your dog will be aggressive enough if required.

In reply to Jimbocz:

I had cause to go into to friend's empty house, empty save for his large dobermann which had only met me briefly once before. I called the dog's name as I went round the house and as I unlocked the back door, the dog came running through, cushion in its mouth and stumpy tail wagging ten to the dozen. Useless

In reply to Jimbocz:


I think that's a myth. Dogs have differing personalities and levels of aggression. My bull cross lurcher has massive teeth, is built like a brick shithouse and has powerful jaws. He's also a complete wuss who keeps coming back whimpering after been nipped my some scrawny little thing he could snap in half. If push comes to shove I'm pretty certain he won't turn into a fearless land shark while I tackle an intruder. He'll be hiding behind the sofa or helping them out with the TV on the promise of a biscuit.

In reply to Jimbocz:

Just out of interest does your uniform have a hi viz stripe?

In reply to Willi Crater:

My sister has a lurcher, he's silent just about, and soft as muck