Is a German Shepherd a good protector?

[tstand]

Last week our home was burglarized. No one was home. Fortunately the alarm system and the police response were good. The thieves stole little before the cops showed up and they ran. The burglars are really bold. They have been hitting lots  houses in our neighborhood, half the time when the homeowners are sleeping.

I’m concerned about situations when I’m not home and my wife and children are here, and an intruder enters.

We own firearms and have kids age 9 and 12. The guns stay in safes. I can use my guns, but my wife is less sure of herself and rarely shoots. If I was not home, I doubt she could get to a gun in time and use it correctly.

Lots of people are telling me to get a big dog, but my wife is resistant because of the wear and tear on the house. She wants a 20 gauge youth shotgun, but again, I just don’t see her practicing much in the future, or retrieving and using it in a defensive situation arose.

Would a German Shepherd or other guard dog be a good defender against an intruder if my wife was home and I was not?

We have a loudly barking rat terrier, but he surprised us following the burglary. We found him hiding when we returned home, which he has never done before. Today I found this video suggesting most dogs will not defend a home, at least when no one is home.

http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2012/05/beware-of-dog-hired-burglar-puts-pets-to-the-test/

[Magoo541]

Dogs are what you make them.  A Home Defense plan may include a dog, shotgun, AR-15, thorny bushes around windows, alarms, reinforced entry points, etc.  The real key to any Home Defense plan is mindset.  It sounds like your wife has a good head on her, too many people have what I've heard called a "Normalcy Bias"-life is good and nothing bad will ever happen to me/us. 

IMHO, a gun on your person is worth a safe full of tacti-cool rifles/shotguns.  There is a female instructor at Seattle Firearms Academy that started carrying a gun (Glock 26) around the house because her husband was a long haul trucker and they lived in a rural area.  There is a website https://www.corneredcat.com/ that I have heard numerous references to regarding women, training and firearms. If my wife showed half of the interest your wife has shown I'd push her to get some training.

Good luck!

[Marshal Halloway]

A German Shepherd or any dog for that matter is a good first responder in terms of alarming (barking) that "someone" is entering their pack's territory. It's in their DNA. However, how the GSD will respond to an intruder depends largely on how he is trained and how the intruder reacts to the 4 legged threat. With no training, the GSD or any dog that is considered a protection dog will trigger fear by the average intruder and that fear alone can trigger aggression and a bite. However, when you get a dog, family comes first and especially a family with children. Most dog owners give a dog a basic training where aggression is excluded or corrected. In other words, most dogs are trained to be non aggressive in most environments or situations.

The GSD has all the DNA to be a good protector, but it all comes down to training and consistency by the handler (owner/owners). As you saw in the video, the GSD reacted "normal". He didn't bite, most likely because the intruder stayed calm and he was not afraid. What we didn't see was how the GSD would have reacted if the intruder had started running or attacking for that matter. That is when prey or herder instinct comes into play and again, the level of this is also depended on how the dog is trained. Yes, instinctive reactions are involved, but the question is how the GSD has been trained or corrected in the past and how this has developed or underdeveloped the prey or protective instinct.

A GSD is a high energy dog and require a lot of training and exercise. Personally and based on my own experience with GSDs, I recommend the breed highly if you have the time to give them what they need..... and to be a good and consistent pack leader.

[ellis4538]

I would check with a pro but the experience I have had with a GS is the female is highly protective.  Not saying the male isn't though.

Richard

[brushmore]

I have mixed feelings about my chocolate lab as a protector.  She's old now and deaf so isn't much use even as a watch dog anymore.  But when she was young I was a volunteer firefighter, at a late night call at the neighbors, and I came home in my gear.  She got up and ran to the door barking very aggressively but when she saw me she peed all over the floor and ran (I assuming didn't recognize my scent because of the gear).  I guess if I was a bad guy I could have slipped in puddle so it's not a completely useless defense.   

[Sponsor]

[Timothy]

Marshal slept next to Ranger, his favorite K9!  His knowledge is extensive...

I've had a few labs, a Basenji mix and a yorkie...  All of which would scare holy hell out the local tree rats! 
As guard dogs, not so much...

[jaybet]

An approach with your wife might be to teach the whole family about firearms and get your wife interested enough to carry around the home. In a nice, close holster she might get used to it quickly. A strong tactic might be to make her focus on the safety of the kids in case of home invasion. Unfortunately, if she doesn't see it as a way to protect her kids and get into it somewhat, a gun is probably a 50-50 means of protection.

It is statistically proven that dogs intimidate intruders. Big dogs even more so. Barking is a deterrent when you're fiddling with a door or window. Marshal's advice is all spot on. Most dogs are taught to repress their natural aggression toward intruders (company). He is also spot on about giving them what they need as a pack leader.

If you have a lot of experience with dogs you can get a somewhat aggressive breed and train it "down"- that is to show no aggression toward anyone you allow into the house. If you are not there or the person just walks in, their instincts kick in and they will AT LEAST rush the intruder barking. But you have to have enough dog experience and enough time to work with them to get there.

We have 2 jindos that are a little known breed of husky/akita type dog. They are very smart, very protective of their pack, and have a very high prey drive. We have them also behaving as very warm family members, but it takes constant attention and control. They are very sweet dogs, but you must maintain dominance to get them where you want them.

Having said all that, I go back to my original statement on dogs. Dogs deter. I had a husky awhile back that was worthless for protection- if a bad guy opened the door she might knock him over getting past him to go run around the neighborhood. BUT, I would look out the side lites of my front door often and see people crossing the street to put distance between themselves and the wolf-like critter staring out the window at them.

[kmitch200]

I’m concerned about situations when I’m not home and my wife and children are here, and an intruder enters.

You need to sit the family down and discuss it and plan for it...sounds like you've already started.
It won't do any good to have a plan if half the household are unconcerned and won't follow it.

Do you have a safe room?
Have the family members been taught to RUN to the safe room if SHTF?
I understand locking the guns up but there are some other weapon options available too. 
Are 100% of your homes doors and windows locked 99.9% of the time? (Most kids are really bad about doing this.)

[tombogan03884]

If you want to get a guard dog because you don't think your wife would have the nerve to use a shotgun, she most likely will not have the nerve to sic the dog on some one either.
In essence you are trying to transfer the responsibility that should belong to the humans onto the animal.
In that case you are creating more danger for your family than you are preventing since the dog will think you are the only one it has to listen to.
Get what your wife wants.
A shotgun doesn't require much practice and if she won't work with that she most likely will not do most of the work she should do with the dog either.

[Ichiban]

Love my GSD but she just don't have the same sense of ownership about my things that I do.  If someone was willing to come in the house with all of her barking I doubt she would do any more.  Give her a cookie and she'll hold the door open for you.

Now, if someone were to present a threat to her pack, that's a whole different matter.

IMO her job is to alert on and possibly delay any intruder(s).  The rest is up to me.