Deterrence, De-escalation, Defense

Seek Legal Counsel. I am not a lawyer and cannot give you legal advice. You are responsible for your own actions. Research the law.

"Peace through strength"- Ronald Reagan

Deterrence

Having a family guard dog is a good way to discourage criminals from wanting to mess with you in the first place. You become a more difficult target, and more of a problem for them if they have to deal with your dog. This role of a guard dog is known as deterrence.

Realistic deterrence situations are as follows: Discouraging burglars when they case your premises, making someone think twice before trying to forcefully enter your premises, making someone think twice before attempting to rob, or attack you, while you are out in public.


De-escalation

Certain potentially hostile situations can be diffused with the presence of a family guard dog. This role is known as de-escalation. The dog can be a subtle, yet powerful, stimulus to neutralize people and make them more polite and cooperative than they might otherwise be. A key element here is that the dog has to be calm and under your total control (preferably on leash) so that it appears you are the gatekeeper protecting them from your potentially dangerous dog. Police K-9 take advantage of this all the time to make suspects peacefully cooperate.

A realistic scenario of de-escalation is confronting trespassers with your guard dog in tow (on leash). Without a dog they might challenge you, but with a calm and confident guard dog at your side they will more than likely act very polite and be cooperative effectively de-escalating a potentially dangerous confrontation.

"To control aggression without inflicting injury is the art of peace"- Morihei Ueshiba

Defense

You cannot use more force than is used against you because in the USA guard dogs can only be used for self-defense. This means you cannot use your dog to protect you against someone who is no longer a threat.

Ideally, in any hostile encounter involving a guard dog you would want try to follow these steps before resorting to defense:

1) try to deter the threat by avoiding/leaving the situation

2) try to de-escalate any situation you can't escape from

3) raise the level of your dogs aggression in stages to counter inescapable threats with appropriate force.

To raise aggression in stages means to first give a verbal warning to the assailant that your dog will protect you. Then if the threat persists, get your dog to bark and growl. Then if you are attacked, allow your dog to fight to protect you until the attack stops, then you must stop your dog at this point.

Just remember that you have to be able to justify your actions as self defense or you, and your dog, could be in big trouble.

Seek Legal Counsel. I am not a lawyer and cannot give you legal advice. You are responsible for your own actions. Research the law.

Guard Dogs- Self-Defense Only!

Seek Legal Counsel. I am not a lawyer and cannot give you legal advice. You are responsible for your own actions. Research the law.

"Karate for defense only"- Mr. Miyagi

In a nutshell, you can only use your dog for self-defense meaning that you can only counter a threat with an equal amount of force but no more. For example, you cannot sick your dog on someone who is only verbally harassing you, and you cannot send your dog after someone who is running away, or no longer causing you harm. If you are attacked, however, all bets are off. Also, you cannot use your dog to defend your property, but some gray areas seem to exist. For example, if someone breaks into your home while you are gone and your dog attacks them they assumed the risk by breaking in, especially if you clearly posted beware of dog signs.

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.

Kong1a.wmv

This short video demonstrates how to stuff a Kong toy with cheese and dog biscuits. The Kong is a great chew toy and pacifier for dogs and no dog owning home should be without at least one Kong.

Fight Drive

Fight Drive- confidence in combat displayed as fearless, powerful, determined fighting behavior.

Sport and working dog people dream of getting a dog with fight drive and the best working K-9's have it.

"Fight" is similar to the term "game" except that "fight" is when the dog fights with a man, and "game" is when the dog fights with another dog, or with an animal such as a wild boar.

Prey and Play Drives

Prey drive- chasing and biting animals.

Play drive- chasing and biting tug toys.

Some dogs that exhibit strong prey drive do not exhibit strong play drive, so a distinction can be made between the two.

For a typical guard dog owner, play drive is the most important drive to consider for protection training.

Play drive is useful for teaching bitework and as a motivator for obedience and protection training. It is also a great way to bond with your dog so you should try to tap into your dogs play drive even if the drive is weak. Dogs with strong play drive, i.e. who will play in any environment, are considered potential sport dogs and working dogs.

Some dogs with excellent play drive have no defensive drive, however (see previous post). This type of dog is called a "sleeve happy dog" and can not be used for serious personal protection work. They can be used as "bluff" dogs, however, if they look intimidating and are trained to bark and growl on command. Bluff dogs are the classic all bark and no bite dogs. Bluff dogs can also function as sport dogs, particularly in Schutzhund, but they are not considered ideal.

Defensive Drive

Defensive Drive- aggression displayed as a hostile reaction to threats.

These threats can be to the "dog's family", to the dog itself, or they can be in response to invasion of the dog's territory. A defensive dog can either have a fight or flight response. The dog with a flight response is called a fear biter and is highly undesirable. A defensive dog with a fight response can be a good family guard dog, but is generally unsuitable as a sport dog, or working dog, unless it also has strong play drive.