During a break in, you'd want your dog, a guard dog, to be anything but silent or obedient. This is why you adopted the dog in the first place: to watch over the house at night or during the times when you're off on a vacation or a trip. Simply put, you need the right dog breed if you want to be able to count on your dog to do its job.
There are 5 things to consider when choosing a guard dog—breed, loyalty, age, sex and temperament. Let's take a look at each in greater detail.
B.L.A.S.T
The first criteria is breed. A dog's breed has a lot of weight on how the dog eventually turns out to be as an adult, whether it is guard dog material or not. For example, poodles and chihuahuas make cute and amicable pets dogs, while Pit Bull Terriers scare the lights out of anyone who happen to cross paths with one.
Here are some basic pointers regarding dog breeds.
Good dogs for people with children or first time owners: - Wheaten Terrier - Irish Setters - Golden Retriever - Labrador Retriever
Good dogs for experienced owners: - Jack Russell - Pit Bull Terrier - Rottweiler - Akita
L is for loyalty. Dogs are pack animals, and guard dogs are no different. A good guard dog sees you and your family as a part of its pack. Better yet, it should be able to make the distinction that its rightful place is at the bottom of the pack, and it must understand that your family safety always comes first.
Let each family member take turns with the following to help establish this “family first” rule with your dog:
- Walking - Grooming - Bathing - Feeding - Playing with the dog
Your dog's age when the guard dog training first started says a lot about how the training would eventually turn out. When is a good time to start training? We'd say around six months to twelve months old, just about. But dogs over six years of age are too old to start training – you're better off getting a new pup.
S is for the dog's sex or gender. Does it matter much if your guard dog is a male or female? No, not really, but some owners feel that female dogs bond better with male owners, and vice versa. Enough said.
Lastly the dog's temperament plays a huge role in all of this, and it is something you need to figure out as soon as the pup is able to run and play about. The main thing is you don't want a puppy that is elusive and cowardly. There are a few tests you can try to help you decide on this:
- Pop open an umbrella in front of the puppy. Watch out for puppies that run away – you don't want these. You want a puppy that stands its ground and investigates the noise. - Throw an object on the ground that is large enough to create loud thud. Again watch out for pups that scamper away out of fear. - Feed the puppies and watch their movements carefully. The strong pups tend to get to the food first while the weak ones get pushed around to the sides.
Hopefully these pointers should be enough to help you decide which puppy makes the best guard dog out of the bunch.
