Ok maybe I should put it diffrently. I don’t mean like an attack dog. More like a security dog and not have him picked on by bigger dogs he can stand up for himself. The only training school we have is loaning him out to the local sheriff which they don;t gurantee his safety.
You wanna change a nice dog because is not useful to your needs? You don’t deserve a dog.
Isn’t “having a cute companion in my house” arguably similar?
No. I mean super nice. Like he will run up on a stranger and wanted to be petted. I kind of mean like going to the dog park without running scared from the other dogs.
Dogs don’t work like that. A dog gets protective when it’s anxious, and thinks it has to be in charge because you are ineffective. If your dog is relaxed and looks to you to protect it, you are doing a good job of raising your dog.
Dog park, I dunno, but "standing up to other dogs’ just sounds like asking for a dog fight. Playing dogs are not necessarily jockeying for dominance but even if they are it doesn’t mean they can’t all have fun, without being mean.
I agree that even good, happy dogs can have a nose for danger, our awesome shep-akita was pleasant with adults and gentle giant with other dogs but once was so growly snappy with a girl my stepdaughter brought home and she did steal something. The dog picked up on her we did not.
Wow your comments are scary.
You are definitely not fit to have a dog right now.
Go read about dogs care, extensively, and in the meanwhile do not try to do anything to this poor dog.
“I saw my kid be nice to people, but I want him to have the instinct to instead beat them up with a baseball bat, how do I do that?”
And the little mention of “but I’d like to not abuse him too much if possible” at the end. That’s really disgusting.
I just meant like if one of our family was attacked by another dog or animal he would step in to help. I would caveat saying I want him to stick up for himself because he is always picked on at the dog park. And if I had a kid he would be one chunky mofo because we spoil the shit out of our dog.
If you had a kid you would want him to defend you?
Your dog depends on you. He didn’t choose to be with you. If you start trying to make him have a “use” then you just wanted a tool, not a pet, and I don’t even want to interact with you if that’s the case.
That might sound harsh but we’re not in the middle ages anymore, and no one needs a dog to protect them; if anything, you should protect him. He is the one that was forced to put his life in your hands.
Dogs generally have a good sense if something is wrong or if someone is being aggressive towards you.
You don’t have to (and shouldn’t!) make a dog “mean”, he’s perfectly capable of it if he feels something is up.Seriously? So if i took him down to the big dog park he won’t run in fear of the other dogs? I just want him to kind of have some fun on his own but be protective of my family and I. I guess mean was the wrong word.
I used to have a dog, her name was Zöe, named for one of the characters on Firefly.
She was the best dog. Completely safe around children and the elderly, never barked, never nipped or bit, she was smart, observant, and just the biggest sweetheart.
But if she determined that you were disliked by Her People, you weren’t safe.
My wife told me a story about Zöe, that happened while I was at work. We used to live by a river - it was literally in our back yard. A couple of guys showed up, ostensibly to ask if they could go fishing but more likely to look for things they could steal, as the river was maybe 6" deep at that time, and there were much more accessible places to get to the river. My wife wasn’t comfortable with them there, but they weren’t taking No for an answer. Our other dog was bouncing and barking from the back yard, and they were worried about her, and as a result, they didn’t see Zöe, until she started this angry hateful growl that was accompanied by bared teeth an inch long and a 4" wide strip of fur standing up along her back.
This dog could run nearly as fast as a whitetail deer. She once ate half a snapping turtle. She was part hound, part alligator, and part backhoe, with a little bit of two-stroke dirt bike tossed in. She was unbelievably fast and strong.
My wife said “I can’t really control that dog, you really need to leave.” And we never saw them again.
Tl;dr: Your dog is very likely only nice to YOU and people you are comfortable with.
Edited to add more info about Zöe because she was such a cool dog and I miss her.
I agree with the commenter who said dogs usually have a sense for danger. If someone is breaking into your home, your dog will be the first to know, and then let the household know. There’s some statistic I can’t recall exactly, but people are less likely to continue breaking into a home if a dog is barking (like a German Shepherd barking, not a Chihuahua
The temperament of your dog also largely depends on its breed. Some dogs are friendlier than others, or some are perhaps more suited for protection than others. If you want a family guardian, you’ll probably have to invest (money and time) in the breed + training for said dog.
Your pup being “too nice” isn’t a problem, it sounds like you have a happy, friendly dog for your family.
Why not just enjoy your dogs personality and treat him with love and kindness? Dogs are the most loyal domesticated animals on earth that deserve all the respect and love we can muster to give them. All dogs will guard their owners if they respect you and think you are a part of the pack. And just for the record I believe the Pitbull breed needs to be retired for good. There are too many instances of them harming and killing other dogs and people including their owners and small children.
My advice is not to try to make him mean.
If you want him to protect your home you can train him to bark at strangers when at home.
How do you make a dog bark?
How do I do that. He’s pretty sound sensitive. But like i said above just way too nice he will bark at us if we dont pet him or rub his belly enough
Leave it alone with a husky for a while. The husky will teach it how to assert itself without being mean.
You screwing with me or what? Why a husky? I came from WA and never seen a husky that was protective of itself or family. I mean I would love a Husky …also GO HUSKY’s sorry favorite College Basketball team. How would one dog do that to another?
Breed?
BC
Like, border collie?
Yep.
So, one of the smartest breeds. You can teach it to do anything. Figure out what its biggest motivation is (treat, play, touch ect) and start using that as a reward when trying to teach a new behavior. I’d recommend using youtube/the library to see specific training techniques. You have a very smart and trainable dog.
Thank you for your answer sometimes I don’t know how to phrase stuff correctly. Again thank you from the bottom of my heart and my Buddy’s stomach…no sarcaasm in that.
Why not hire a service that will train your dog to be a guard dog. You want a guard dog to do a lot more alerting than attacking.
You don’t want it mean, you want it effective.
exactly.
No, there’s no oversight for these kinds of trainiers, you’re way more likely to get someone who has no idea what they’re doing. This is way too dangerous to put this to chance.
On top of that, you have to work very hard to maintain that level of training.
Just teach your dog to be confident and well behaved, and they’ll know when it’s time to step in and protect you. Dogs do NOT need special training for this.
None around here unless I want to let the sheriffs office take care of him for a while
