Any attack or protection training done with a dog should be under the close supervision of trained professionals. A dog learning this level of commands must have a mastery of lower commands before beginning.
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Professional Training
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Because of the liability involved with owning a dog trained for protection, you should ideally enlist the services of a professional to train the dog. A professional trainer can asses the level of protection the dog should learn and give you a plan to install the desired level of training.
Dogs trained for protection must first be masters of the basic commands. It is important to drill the dog repeatedly until there is no doubt who is in charge. This is important because a dog, with his teeth and power, is essentially a dangerous weapon. If you are going to teach the dog to attack or intimidate people, you must be able to call him off. A dog that is allowed to be aggressive but is out of control is an accident waiting to happen, which is why a professional should be supervising the animal.
Attack training is essentially heightening the dog's natural predatory instincts. Certain breeds such as the Doberman, Rottweiler and pit bull have been bred over centuries to isolate and enhance their aggression and intelligence. The goal is not a stupid, mean dog but one that is highly trainable and capable of a physical fight. Because of their intelligence, these dogs learn quickly and are highly trainable.
Once the basics have been installed, such as "sit" and "stay," along with a few other commands, ensure the dog will perform them without question. The dog should listen to commands from a distance and off a leash. You should be able to stop a dog at a dead run with a simple command. Do not start protection training until you have this level of control.
When the dog is ready, protection training begins by stimulating his natural instinct. A man in a padded protection suit looks weird, and the dog will naturally want to bark at him or investigate. Encourage this behavior by acting suspicious yourself, speak to the dog as though you are concerned. The dog will pick up on your voice cues, and his pack mentality will begin to take over. The dog will become aggressive toward the person in the suit. You will need to let the dog go after the person once or twice to show him the desired behavior before working on the ability to stop him mid-attack. If the person runs, it will heighten the dog's predatory attack response. When the dog attacks and you pull him off, praise him immediately so he knows the release is what got him the reward.
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