A protection dog is good to have around. Many people often confuse a protection dog and a guard dog as one and the same, but really they are two very different things. To understand the difference you need to learn about how protection dogs are grown and trained to do what they are supposed to do.
What is a protection dog?
A protection dog is a person's first, and hopefully not the last, line of defense against an immediate threat. Protection dogs are trained to protect a certain person or object, just like guard dogs, though guard dogs are limited to protecting a lot or a certain vicinity. This is one of the most obvious and biggest differences between the two dogs.
A guard dog isn't necessarily trained to be a guard dog. Dogs are territorial animals. So it is possible to raise a guard dog without putting it through guard dog training.
Protection dogs, on the other hand, they need to go through protection dog training to acquire the skills and temperament of an obedient protection dog. Protection dogs are restrained animals; they won't necessarily attack when threatened when their owner or master is around. Most protection dogs are trained to wait for their master's signal before engage the threat. This is what truly separates a protection dog from a guard dog or attack dog.
What is the Schutzhund training?
Shutzhu... what?!
Shutzhund. This type of dog training that originated in Germany is the cornerstone of protection dog training. Some dog breeds, like the Belgian Shepherd, that make very good protection dogs excel in the Schutzhund training.
There are three phases in Schutzhund training—tracking, obedience and protection. The third phase is the most important because this is when the dog in training learns to apply all its skills while maintaining a cool and defensive demeanor.
Guard dogs are given the Shutzhund training too. But the last phase isn't as crucial as it is for a protection dog.
Do you see the difference now? It's easy to tell when you know the specifics.
