A cowardly German Shepherd, a coward?

Question – A Scared German Shepherd

My dog, an 18 month old German Shepherd, has been obedience trained. I really wanted to take this dog on a “personal protection” course for which I signed him up for a suitability assessment. The course was being conducted by a dog handler in San Diego, California, who has a great reputation for his training in this field. The objective of the course was to determine if my dog ​​was suitable for this type of training.

I found the course to be interesting; He put my dog’s protective ability to the test in various circumstances. The dog handler asked me to walk a specific path with the dog; when we were halfway there, suddenly a poorly dressed man jumped out of a tree; he was shouting in a high-pitched voice and fired with a real-looking simulated pistol. This act of his even scared me.

Immediately after the man fired his gun, my dog ​​got scared and started running with short steps. Seeing this, the trainer opined that my dog ​​could never be fit for protection training; He added that this dog was a coward. Can you advise me on what could be done in these circumstances? The purpose for which I am raising my dog ​​is to protect the family.

Answer:

To begin with, you should not take into account these recommendations that drive the dog trainer. Many people are unable to distinguish between a good dog handler and a bad dog handler. They are confused on this subject. Going back to the real problem, you have to consider the whole situation from the perspective of the dog who is confused and scared because the man suddenly used his gun.

Regardless of the breed and toughness of the animal, when the animal senses danger, it is equipped with a survival mechanism to steer clear of danger and stay alive. There is no relevance in this “training procedure” to assess the protective capabilities of the dog; He has only unleashed his survival instincts to escape an unknown attack that came as a total surprise.

If the person is angry enough to jump out of a tree and fire a gun, anyone will run at breakneck speed to save themselves. This test is not indicative of the dog’s ability to become a protection dog. Obviously, this means that the handler has to work hard to turn the dog into a protection dog.

A handler can only be considered good if he takes care of an imperfect dog and brings it to the highest perfection. There is nothing good in the trainer if you only handle perfect dogs.

1) There is no doubt that your dog will become an excellent protector. In case you leave it in the yard and allow a stranger to cross the fence, you will be able to see how you love and protect the family.

Note: I suggest you don’t try this; this is shown just to illustrate the point.

2) Find a trainer who is prepared to accept your dog’s behavior as a personal challenge.