How to Teach My Dog to Protect

The most protection you will likely ever need from your dog is vigorous, deterrent barking. If you feel that you need an attack dog, always consult an professional trainer: Improper attack training is often dangerous and may cause problems for yourself and your dog. Training your dog to bark on command, however, is simple and safe, and requires little more than a clear, concise approach as well as some patience and understanding of dog behavior.

Things You'll Need

  • Dog treats
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Instructions

    • 1

      Make your dog part of your family, and treat it with kindness and respect. Dogs are pack animals with inherent pack protection instincts, and depending on your dog's breed, inclusion into your "pack" may be all that is required to trigger protection-barking behavior. Your house is the "den" of the pack, so allow your dog to spend as much time indoors as it wants, while still ensuring that it gets adequate exercise. Provide your dog with a place to sleep that is exclusively its own. Sleeping location and feeding hierarchy are important in the determination of pack rank. Forbid your dog from sleeping on human beds and feed the dog after you have eaten to show it that you are the "alpha" pack member. If your dog trusts you, and thinks that you are its source of food and comfort, the dog is instinctively motivated to protect you to ensure its own well being.

    • 2

      Learn about your dog's breed characteristics to understand how protection driven it is. This helps you to know what to expect during your training. For example if your dog is a breed not motivated to protect, such as a Siberian husky, it needs guidance and training from you to know when to bark. If your dog is a Belgian malinois, on the other hand, protection is already an innate talent and it is capable of learning this task more easily.

    • 3

      Choose a command, such as "speak." Say a word that is clear and easy for your dog to understand. As an alternative, try a non-verbal signal, such as a hand clap or hand signal. Have dog treats ready to create a positive connection for your dog between your command and its response.

    • 4

      Observe your dog to see what naturally makes it bark, whether it be a knock on the door or the sight of a can of food. Say your bark command or give your signal as you knock on the door (or hold up the can of food) and give your dog a treat when it barks. Repeat this several times until you think a connection is made between your command and the barking behavior. Try giving the command without the door knock or can of food, and see if your dog complies. If so, give it a treat. If not, resume using the knock or can of food with your command until the connection is made.

    • 5

      Maintain your dog's training. If you wait until you are actually threatened before commanding it to bark, enough time may pass that it may forget what your word or signal means. To safeguard against this, several times a week command it to bark and reward your dog with a treat or praise when it obeys.