Guard Dog Gear Part 1: Agitation Collar

In order to work with a family guard dog in personal protection work you need a sturdy leather collar.These collars are relatively inexpensive, but need to be special ordered since a regular dog collar is not strong enough, and does not give an adequate margin of safety. If a collar breaks while working an aggressive dog, the person helping you is...well in a tight spot, so don't skimp on the collar.

Also, a good collar makes your dog look more "impressive" providing greater deterrence and de-escalation ability of the dog than without the collar.

I have included a picture below of a really well built leather agitation collar that I purchased from Leerburg.

Notice how the collar is made of good leather, is double stitched, and has a strong, curved metal piece to hold the leash snap.

Here is a more detailed view of the inside of this collar showing how well it is put together.

This collar will not break even if the dog is pulling like mad (which they do during protection training and real life encounters) and you get a real firm grip on the dog when used in conjunction with a leather leash.

Protection Dogs and BSL

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Breed specific legislation is a form of local law that prohibits dogs of certain breeds from living in a given area. Usually it is applied at the city, or county level, less frequently to a whole state. Even the community you live in might have rules that prevent ownership of given breed. Therefore, before getting a family guard dog check into laws, and local rules, that may apply because in some places a dog can be confiscated and put to death because of its breed. The Pitbulls, and kin, are subject to the most discrimination and legal persecution, but others like Rotweilers, Bulldogs, etc. also often included as well.

To help determine if you live in an area where you are prohibited from keeping a certain type of dog look at the links below:

http://www.understand-a-bull.com/BSL/Locations/USLocations.htm

http://www.rott-n-chatter.com/rottweilers/laws/breedspecific.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breed-specific_legislation

Also, check out this book for a different take on the "dog bite epidemic".

"With dogs energy management is a key to success"
-Cesar Milan

Dogs are born with different levels of energy. If you have a dog that does not match your energy level it can be extremely frustrating and difficult to live with so let's explore this topic.

Family guard dogs with low to moderate energy levels are the easiest to care for since they do not require extensive exercise and whatever you give them will full fill their needs. Mastiff type dogs and big breeds tend to fall into this category. Typically, these dogs need a daily walk and will have a burst of energy maybe once or twice a day where they will play tug and run around. The rest of the time they spend lounging around and dozing off. Dogs with low to moderate energy should not be considered for dog sports and make terrible working dogs. They are real easy to live with though and can make awesome family protection dogs, especially if you have to spend large amounts of time sitting around and you want the dog to keep you company without driving your crazy.

Dogs with high energy levels are harder to care for because you need to give them lots of exercise every day. Some dogs can't get enough exercise and even if you spent the whole day giving them a workout they would still want more. These dogs go nuts if not given enough exercise, and can have all kinds of behavior problems and neurosis and turn your life into a nightmare if not worn out daily. Depending on the dogs physical health and drives, high energy dogs potentially make the best sport and working dogs. If you are going to go into dog sports with your family guard dog you should get one with high energy, strong play drive and at least moderate defensive drive.

The biggest problem I see are dog owner mismatches over energy level. If you are low to medium energy person and/or if you don't have alot of time to spend exercising your dog and/or you don't plan on doing dog sports you should not get a high energy dog because it will drive you nuts. Likewise, if you plan on spending alot of time training/exercising your dog and plan to participate in dog sports you should get a high energy dog with tons of play drive or you will be very disappointed. You cannot turn a lower energy dog into a higher energy dog and training a lower energy dog to competition levels is an exercise in frustration.

You will need to make observations of a dog, or puppy, several times to assess the energy level. It is hardest to predict energy level with a puppy and more easily determined with an adult dog.

Personal Protection Breeds

"Breed is the genetic makeup and cultural background of a dog"
-Cesar Millan

Dogs with a temperament suitable for personal protection can be found in any breed. Some breeds such as the German Shepherd, however, have traditionally been favored as family guard dogs while others are more rare. Here in the U.S.A. I have seen the following dogs breeds as family guard dogs, sport dogs and working dogs:

American Bulldog
American Staffordshire Terrier/Pitbulls/et. al.

Doberman Pinscher

German Shepherd
Presa Canario
Rottweiler
Bandogs- mastiff mixes can pitbull (Swinford type), bulldog or any other dog (historical type)
Cane Corso
Neapolitan Mastiff
Donovan Pinscher
Ovcharka's
Boxer
Fila Brasiliero
Boerbel
Bouvier
Dutch Shepherd
Rare individuals from any other breed- e.g. Labrador Retrievers, Jack Russell terriers
Mutts with the correct build and temperament

Guard Dogs- a rose by any other name...would bite as hard!

Family guard dog, guard dog, personal protection dog, protection dog, pet protector, K-9 bodyguard all refer to a dog that protects people from harm.

A family guard dog can also be a sport dog meaning it can participate in Schutzhund, French Ring Sport, or a protection sport like PSA. A Police K-9 can also be a family guard dog when it is home with its handler.

Junk yard dogs and perimeter guard dogs are not family guard dogs because they are antisocial and dangerous to anyone but their handler.