Over socialization

hulkamaniac said:

I don't know if I entirely agree. I posted the story on here a few days ago about my cocker spaniel growling at the crazy guy who was off his meds. He didn't growl at any of my neighbors, just the crazy guy.

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You'd be really surprised. Most of the time, dogs can sense when things are out of the ordinary not because of a sixth sense, but just because of how amplified their existing five senses are. For example, Honey is wary of mentally retarded people (a socialisation oversight on my part). To us, they look the same, but to dogs, their silhouette is different, their gait is different, their subtle gestures and sounds are different and so there's no reason for them to believe that they are the same "creature" as you or I.

Spunky has growled at a strange man on our property at night, scaring him off, but I'm under no impression that she can see "dangerous" or "safe" auras surrounding people, which many people believe dogs have the mystical ability to do. I think it's far more likely that she smelled an unfamiliar scent in the yard at night, unprecedented by a doorbell -- something unusual, rather than inherently dangerous -- and became personally wary of it, rather than defensive of me or the property. If it had been my best friend walking through the yard at night, chances are she would have reacted the same way.

Have you read Stanley Coren's "How Dogs Think"? It's a really good book which contains a lot more information on what really goes on behind a dog's supposed "sixth sense".

I believe that because of the nature of Doberman (protection dog) it is likely to attack when she sees a threat to our kids, for example.

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Not unless there's no other option, and not all Dobermans will do it. My old Doberman Ilsa once stepped between a neighbor kid and a bully, and roared at the bully to scare him off. She didn't bite or even make any move to bite, but she did what she had to to make the threat leave.

Dobermans are usually very good at discerning who is a good guy, who is a bad guy... who is a legitimate threat, and who can be scared off with a bark and some posturing. They are a very special breed in this way - personal protection has been their bread and butter since they were created.

None of my dobes have received any sort of protection training. And yet, with the exception of Kaylee (who I've had for only a few weeks), they've all been in situations where they have proven their *natural* protection instinct. Particularly Ronin. Ilsa was mostly talk, but Ronin has no qualms about taking it to the next level. If it hadn't been for a leash, he would have latched on to the face of an attacker - the leash and a prong collar stopped him.

I know some dobes that have never known a stranger - they'd let the devil himself walk into the house. I've known others, however, that are very good at their job, and come by it naturally. You really have no way of knowing what you'll get. And it takes time for a dog to mature into a dog that can be an effective guard dog - wait until she's 18 months and reevaluate. Granted, some dogs show protection potential very young. Ilsa was 5 months old when she cornered an intruder (and kept him in that corner!), Ronin was already a very intense dog when I got him at 20 months. Kaylee is 13 months, and she's got a bark that could scare the pants off people!

(Incidentally, Ronin is a retired show dog, a therapy dog, he's got his CGC, and we're training towards a CD. He's a sweetheart, and loves it when he gets to see his human friends... but he is still a Doberman, he's still a protection dog. He's fine with guests in the house, but he treats intruders (even people he knows) MUCH differently.