Most households today have pets at home, and dogs are some of the most popular choices when it comes to trusty companions. Aside from being your best furry friends and providing years of joy and laughter, dogs can also help you out in various situations. Dogs are very smart animals. In fact, you can train them to learn much more than just basic skills. Depending on your dog’s temperament and breed, you can even train him to be a guard dog who protects your house. Although you can rely on technology to safeguard your property, dogs are sometimes equally effective as guards. If you want to protect your home, valuables, and even family members, you can definitely rely on your dog in most situations. They already bark at the sign of a stranger to alert you and prepare for any potential danger, and actual guard dog training can teach your pet much more than the basics to really help you feel secure. Dogs are, by nature, protective. But for more aggressive security purposes, it’s essential for a dog to have proper training.

Steps in Basic Guard Dog Training

Contrary to popular belief, guard dogs are happy, friendly animals as long as they aren’t being presented with a situation that involves perceived danger. Their attitudes change when they understand it’s time to become protective. Although you can take your dog to a training school to learn some skills, it’s just as easy to start out at home honing your pet’s protection abilities.

Step 1: Train and teach your dog basic skills.

Your dog should be able to obey when commanded. This is essential because you cannot attempt more complex training if you don’t have strong communication and a close connection with your dog. It’s important that your dog sees you as his alpha or master. When you give basic commands like stay, stop, sit, etc., your dog should be able to follow. In training your dog, you can utilize positive reinforcement.

Step 2: Let your dog become better acquainted with daily-life scenarios.

By nature, dogs are protective and have strong instincts when it comes to detecting potential danger. But to make your dog’s ability more effective and reliable, you have to take him out and socialize him. When your dog is accustomed to typical daily scenarios, it’s much easier for him to discern what constitutes a potential threat.

To start off, you should introduce your dog to all of your family members and friends who often visit you. Next, expose him to various noises like traffic, lawnmowers, vacuums, and more. He should see that you aren’t getting upset when you’re exposed to these common stressors to reinforce the idea that they aren’t bad.

Step 3: Allow your dog to bark.

When a dog sees a stranger, he will almost always automatically bark. In guard dog training, it is essential to encourage your dog to bark in certain situations. When strangers come to you, don’t shush your dog for barking at them. To encourage your dog, you can make use of the reward system. When your dog notifies you through barking, you can either give your pet a treat or praise him for what he did. Do tell him to stop barking if he starts doing it to family members or friends who visit often.

Step 4: Familiarize your dog with boundaries.

It’s definitely a good thing that your dog is reliable in times of distress or any potential danger. However, you should also be able to create boundaries so your dog only protects your home and property. He should only protect the area you specify. To do this, you need to create boundaries to stop him from attacking people outside them. A fence is a great boundary, but if you don’t have one, take your dog for a daily walk around the perimeter of the boundary you want to set.

Step 5: Be mindful of food.

Often, intruders try to distract dogs with food when they break into a house. You don’t want your dog to get used to taking food from anyone who isn’t in your family, so don’t let friends feed him when they come over.

Train Your Dog to Attack on Command

Barking is different from training your dog to attack on command. If there’s a situation wherein your life is in danger or you see a potential threat, you can train your dog to attack your attacker. For this, you will need a bite suit or what’s called a hidden sleeve that protects your arm. People typically train dogs to attack arms that are holding guns.

1.The very first step is to follow some safety precautions. To do this, you should wear your suit or hidden sleeve. You should also be able to train your dog in a real-world setting. To avoid any injury or accident, it’s critical to use safety precautions.

2. Teach your dog to sit down. It’s important that your dog knows the basic commands. If not, you should teach him first before you start training your dog to follow the attack command.

Once your dog is sitting down, touch his face with the glove. This will irritate the dog. The purpose is to test his patience. Continue doing this until the dog finally gets irritated and attacks the glove. When the dog finally bites down on the glove, yell “attack” to him. The dog will in turn associate the word with the action he did.

3. Whenever the dog is able to do what is commanded, you should treat or praise him. This depends though, as there are dogs that get easily motivated by treats while there are dogs that are satisfied with just verbal praise. If your dog fails to follow, continue the steps until he finally attacks.

4. Training your dog is never easy. It takes constant practice. Just keep on repeating the steps. Practice with your dog until he finally understands how to attack. Whenever you utter the word, he will perform his skill.

5. For another way to see if your dog knows how to do the command, stand several feet away from your dog. Say the attack word and observe how your dog responds. If he doesn’t follow your command, repeat the steps over again. But if your dog attacks, then it only goes to show that your dog knows the command and can execute it well. After that, reward your dog.

6. When your dog finally knows how to attack from your cues, it’s now time to train your dog to attack an intruder. The most effective way to do this is to get a large doll or long pillow and place it in a corner. Point your dog in the direction of the doll and command the word “attack.”

Remember that practice makes perfect when it comes to learning any skill, and this is just as true for your dog as it is for you. With time, your pet can learn to be a great guard dog that makes you feel safe and secure.