r/dogswithjobs • u/SwitchBladeRat • 2d ago
Protection Dog Questions about personal protection dogs
I’ve moved into an inner city. Due to past concerns with my mental health I am not comfortable owning a fire arm. However I do have a dog. He is my retired service dog, retired because luckily other treatments have been made available for me and I do not require his services out side of the home anymore. He’s still my best bud! He is six years old. A lab and coon hound mix. He has always been a very vocal, intimidating looking dog. I’ve always loved that he barked when someone was at the door for example, or at any strange noises at home. Outside of home he is a very quiet, well behaved example of a service dog. Very confident, and focused with handling.
Now, my questions. I don’t want him trained to bite, as I feel like that too risky for times I do work him in the public. But I was wondering if there are protection programs that just basically train intimidation? Like teaching the watch and bark command, possibly even building drive to make him LOOK like he would bite. Just to make me feel safer, being a young woman who lives alone and far from friends or family in a large city.
If this is not at all recommended, please tell me! And possibly offer other ways to make myself feel safer around my home. I do carry a taser, and a knife, and getting another dog is out of the question. Thanks in advance! Pic of the bestest boy for tax
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u/chaiosi 2d ago
Honestly, a well trained large dog is often pretty intimidating on its own. My dog is only 50lbs but he’s off leash trained and honestly that’s been enough to scare people away from me on more than one occasion (forget that he’s a scaredy cat he just looks trained for SOMETHING and it’s mostly about just not looking like an easy target)
People who do protection sport (Igp/psa, ring sport, etc) do this pretty commonly but it’s typically trained alongside the actual bite. Find someone in the sport who aligns with your training values and see if they can teach you a few things. You can find a lot of these folks at r/opendogtraining but a club near you is even better. If you’re on the force free side of things, be aware that’s not very common in the protection world. You can probably even find videos online to teach a contact heel, middle, and ‘watch’ command which is frankly probably enough.
Be aware that some of the ability of a dog to do this relies on some temperament and also that a sport trained dog may not be able to pull this skill out in a moment of real danger, so you will need to thoughtfully proof it and not rely too much on your dog to be anything other than large if/when situations really do arise
Good luck.
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u/SwitchBladeRat 2d ago
This is great info, thank you!
He’s displayed some protective qualities before and I’ve watched him and always tried to let him know it’s okay to relax, and he does. We have a huge trust in each other and he knows I advocate for him always. But the curiosity eats away at me on what would happen if I not only didn’t reassure him, but if I encouraged his intensity.
Anytime someone approaches the house, or a stranger comes in, he will bark like crazy until I tell him to say hello to the person. I could probably get some help from a trainer to shape that even into a simple “watch” command. I’m on the positive reinforcement side, but still used balanced training methods lol. He’s a dog that luckily is heavily just driven by praise, and treats and insanely smart to correct himself
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u/Birdie121 1d ago
"Big dog privilege" is a thing where just even having a large dog with you is often enough to deter unwanted attention/harrassment. Beyond that I'd maybe suggest taking some self defense classes.
But teaching him a bark command from a subtle gesture could also be a way to help him protect you without any risk of violent behavior.
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u/SwitchBladeRat 1d ago
I do love big dog privilege. Especially since he’s trained in neutrality with people and doesn’t give off “I just met you and I love you” vibes. He seems pretty intense if you don’t know him 💀
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u/gorgoth0 1d ago
Not really dog related but I personally would not carry a knife or taser for self defense. Pepper spray would be my choice given what you've shared. POM is a good brand.
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u/NorbertIsAngry 1d ago
Carrying a knife for self defense without extensive training is a great way to get stabbed with your own knife.
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u/SwitchBladeRat 1d ago
Good point! I am a butcher, so luckily I know my way around knives but can say I’ve never tried stabbing something defensively lol
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u/LegacyNTDNoseFirst 18h ago
Service dogs should never be trained for ppd. I've trained k9s for 30 years and the likelihood of your current dog having the temperament required for the job are .000001%. The dog would most likely have to be brought out through defense and dogs brought out through defense are unreliable for those types of jobs. not to mention putting the dog through that type of training of starting in defense would turn the dog into a shell of the dog that you currently have. also, if you ever needed medical attention, the likelihood of the dog, not letting people near you would be high because it would be in defense, so service dogs should never be used as personal protection dogs.The two do not mix.
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u/raynebow121 2d ago edited 2d ago
I would see if you have an IGP club near you with a trainer who might be able to help. Also check out and maybe contact JoRosie Heffeden
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u/jjthepug 22h ago
Check your house/renters' insurance - having a dog that has been trained as a protection dog has different standards of liability.
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