Home Defense DOG conditioning...

[jason10mm]

Hey guys, new to the forum. LOVED TBD #1, the first minute alone told me this was not the typical OC fluff show (of course Mr. Banes podcast forewarned me on what to expect).

My question to the forum is about how to condition a dog towards home defense. Not particularly as an offensive tool, but more as a warning device.

I have a chihuahua which will bark at a squirrel fart three blocks away. My natural response is "SHUT UP!", but I relaize that I may eventually condition my dog to NOT bark at a more serious event, like a guy in the yard or coming in through a back window. My dog will bark at door jingles ONLY if myself or my wife is in the house. Coming home first means she is quiet until she actually sees me (she is a good guard dog, but not the best watchdog, I suppose).

Anyway, I wonder if there is any advice, or perhaps a point in the right direction, on how to evaulate a dogs ability to respond appropriately to bad guys (i.e. have a stranger [to the dog] try to break in?), or at least ways to condition them to not bark at every little thing and save it for important stuff (i.e. bark at humans in the window, ignore the cats or guys across the street).

I frequently see "get a dog!" listed as a means of securing your home, but there is no follow up as to what to do with them. I wouldn't give "get a gun!" as an answer without advising training, is there an analagous training source for dogs?

[tombogan03884]

training the dog to know what is bark worthy and what is not. when it's the flatulent squirrel tell her to shut up in a stern tone, when it's someone coming to the door reward her. also, listen to her barks, I'm NOT a dog trainer, but years ago my Dad lived quite a ways off the road and had several dogs, after listening to them I realized that one tone meant that a vehicle had turned onto the road another tone meant that a vehicle was coming into the yard, also different tones if they recognized the vehicle or it was strange. Yet another quieter tone of bark followed by the sound of the chains going into the dog houses and silence meant there was a bear or moose around, They were decent watch dogs but maybe not the bravest beasts in the woods 

[shooter32]

Rob and Michael, I too would like to hear more on this also.

[ericire12]

training the dog to know what is bark worthy and what is not. when it's the flatulent squirrel tell her to shut up in a stern tone, when it's someone coming to the door reward her. also, listen to her barks, I'm NOT a dog trainer, but years ago my Dad lived quite a ways off the road and had several dogs, after listening to them I realized that one tone meant that a vehicle had turned onto the road another tone meant that a vehicle was coming into the yard, also different tones if they recognized the vehicle or it was strange. Yet another quieter tone of bark followed by the sound of the chains going into the dog houses and silence meant there was a bear or moose around, They were decent watch dogs but maybe not the bravest beasts in the woods 

Bullseye!

There it is in a nutshell

[2HOW]

I have always had dogs and have gone thru this before. I have 3 dogs now. 1 who barks at everything, 1 that barks when the other one barks and 1 that don't bark unless there is really a perceived threat. IMO it comes down to the type of dog and its temperament. Also gender has to be taken into account. Male dogs are much more Territorial than females. Small dogs (even mutts) are pest controllers and are barkers. Larger dogs are more relaxed . The only way to change a dogs behavior is to distract them each time an unwanted behavior shows up. Yelling wont work, but usually a calm voice along with a distraction will. I have a miniature Daschound a chow/black lab mix and a boxer/ american bulldog mix. the Daschound is male and a barker, the boxer is quiet and the lab is a semi barker.

[Sponsor]

[Timothy]

My ratter, (Yorkie), though not too bright will bark at strangers but after he does the "meet and great" and knows them, he definately changes the tone of his bark.  Almost like a anticipatory mumble of sorts, kind of talks a little...After a time, he will let out a little yip and go to the door to welcome them.

Strangers who walk the street or turn into the drive alarm him regardless as does the rabbit flatulating in the back yard at 0300...(3:00 am for you civies)...

[Michael Janich]

The details of dog breeds and the details of training are not my area of expertise, but I'll check with some experienced K-9 trainers and see if I can get any further insights.

From personal experience, I agree with the idea of reinforcing desired behavior and discouraging/scolding the behavior you don't want. However, the key to that is knowing the difference. I have a female half Shepherd/half Chow. She's a great dog that we chose for her mild temperament when my daughter was small. Although she's very mellow and quiet, when someone approaches the door she goes ballistic and the hair on her back goes up in a very aggressive "stripe." Although it's sometimes annoying that she does this--especially when you know who's coming to the door--we NEVER discourage it. Instead we praise and reward it.

Conversely, when she's staring out the back window barking at the squirrel on the fence, we tell her to be quiet. However, we only do that when we KNOW that it's a squirrel and not an intruder in the back yard. When she complies and shuts up, we praise that too.

She's not the smartest dog in the world, but we've managed to teach her the difference between what we consider good and bad reasons to bark and posture. We also continue to reinforce that behavior with praise and treats.

One thing we NEVER do is tell strangers that "she's a sweet dog, don't worry." First, we don't open the door for strangers and let the dog barking do most of the deterrent work. If it's a delivery we're expecting, like a pizza or Fedex, I keep her right beside me and let her growl. I'm sure she considers anything in a UPS or Fedex uniform a food group, and I'm fine with them thinking that.

I hope this helps.

Stay safe,

Mike

[ericire12]

She's not the smartest dog in the world

Well, you are at a huge advantage over me...... I do believe that my little mutt is probably the dumbest dog in the world.

[jason10mm]

Heh heh, and that still makes him smarter than 90% of the folks I know

Thanks for all the advice. I guess I'm just looking for a good dog training manual like all the good shooting books out there. My current yapper is probably beyond hope at this point though.

 I once read a book by some dog breeding monks, blanking on the name ATM. Anyway, raising/training dogs is like one of those inherent guy skills we all THINK we know, just like shooting. I hear all sorts of wierd stories about what K-9 guys do to create a bond with their animals, but it is hard to find actual data. I'm sure there are some military/police manuals I could scrounge up, or maybe the latest Caesar Milan book

[Big Frank]

I'd be satisfied if I could just teach my dog not to be afraid of the toaster.