Guard Dog Defined

A Guard Dog is any dog, or bitch, kept to protect people, or animals, from harm. They can be of any breed, size, or weight although certain breeds are favored and typically they are medium to large size animals weighing more than 60 pounds.

The emphasis of Guard Dog USA will be on the "family guard dog", also known as a "personal protection dog" or "pet protector." Police, military, private security K-9's and livestock guarding dogs will only be discussed in reference to the family guard dog.

In the United States a family guard dog can be used by civilians to deter crime, and protect life and limb for purpose of self defense.

Only the Police and Military have the right to use a dog in an "offensive" manner to chase and capture people.

Civilians can, however, pretend to use their family guard dog offensively in fantasy scenarios provided by competitive sports such as Schutzhund, French Ring Sport, Protection Sports Association (PSA), etc. These dog sports present trials where the dog pursues and captures people pretending to be criminals. These criminals are known as "decoys" and they wear special padded suits and sleeves for protection from the dogs' bite. Many family guard dogs participate in these sports, and much of the training, and lore, of family guard dogs comes from the ideas generated by people who participate dog sport trials.

It must be noted, however, that some dogs suitable for being family guards make terrible sport dogs, and vice versa. Guard Dog USA will, therefore, explain family guard dog ownership from two vantage points: sport and non-sport family guard dogs.