How many of you use your pets to guard your house? I have a Newfoundland and he is my best friend too. I found this blog https://www.thinkprotection.com/blog/security-systems/dogs-vs-a-security-systems/ and found it very interesting. I have a home security system installed but never really thought about a dog which could also act as a guard and now I am giving serious thoughts to it. Which is best breed I can go for?
I have previously owned Rottweilers, GSD's, Dobermans, Pit Bulls & cross breeds all of them were useless as guard dogs, they would bark only once if someone knocked on the door then go & sit back down or go back to sleep. My JRT's I have now don't even bark if someone knocks on the door they just continue what they are doing. my 2 foster dogs I have at the moment will bark continually & will snarl at anyone who comes in to my home, they are an Chihuahua & Chihuahua X Pomeranian.
Yes, I am sure that all dogs are an advantage for home security. I once saw a programme on TV where a reformed burgler was on an estate, identifying which houses he would have targeted, and saying why. One house had a dog dish on the drive - he said that he would give that one a miss as it was not worth the risk! Your Newfie's dish would be very noticeable. It is a plus if the dog has a vigorous bark when they see a stranger, or hear an unusual sound. Are you in the UK? Our dog control legislation is now so restrictive that I would think twice before having a specific protection dog unless you are prepared to learn how to handle a patrol dog, and can be certain that there is absolutely no risk of an innocent person being threatened by it - under the new Act, it doesn't have to be a bite to constitute an offence.
My biggest dog will batrk viciously if he hears or sees someone, but I highly doubt he would actually do anything. He's a Labrador/Great Pyrenees mix. Our other dog, a German Shepherd/Pit Bull mix never barked much when she was young, and never barks at all now. If she sees someone, she usually just looks at them. However, she would be much more likely to actually attack an intruder... So it all depends.
There are 2 negative things about dog signs advertising you have a dog, they are a dognappers delight, the dognappers will watch your home & strike when you are out stealing your dog(s), the signs which clearly state your dog is a guard dog, can see you in court if they attack a burglar, you could be charged with having an out of control dangerous dog.
Yes that's true Tina. That is why we don't have a Beware of the Dogs sign, we have, Caution Loose Dogs instead.
I do have a "beware of the cats" signs, that's gets put on family room & dinning room doors when the cats are inside, as the cats sleep on shelves above the doors & will claw your hair as you walk in.
Chances are low that a dog that will BITE is a target for theft. Youd have to sedate him or rope him etc. All extremely difficult. In addition, what would you do with him afterwards? He will BITE you. But he's a target for a nice bit of poisoned meat. Having dogs that will bite on your property is just such a questionable thing to do. I'd never have an aggressive dog ANYWHERE in the front yard where I wasn't right there with the dog. Just too risky. Even if someone goes over the fence and gets bitten, if you can't prove this, it's still YOUR fault. In some places, bites are your fault regardless.
Lol that first part is true. Why would one try to steal a guard dog or any dog that appears it would bite? It depends on the dog, my Caucasian Ovcharka still continued to stay on target despite having meat thrown to her. It was ignored in the face of the threat, without any special training. Though guard dogs may be trained in food refusal. I have seen this demonstrated with other dogs and I have been on the other end of it too. Also a program I watched showed the only thing that could deter a guard dog from the job was the scent of a female in heat (which would work on the male dogs).
Just because the dog refuses the food at the point of attack doesn't mean much. Aggressive or certain breed dogs are targets for being poisoned here. Happens so often. The dog may not take the food initially, but once the person walks off... It usually calms down and finds the morsel just a tasty bit of food. The person came only to poison the dog. People HATE snappy aggressive dogs behind front yard fences. You come home and boom... dead. It's that easy. That's why I'd never have a dog that barked at passersby etc ANYWHERE within direct contact.
Right, it can happen that way. It still depends though. If they are trained in food refusal then they shouldn't, that's one point in training that way is poison being an issue. They are not supposed to eat food that is thrown to them or that they find (which means there would be no target around). Some dogs it's a natural inclination, the food would still be "suspicious" but you can't rely on that 100%, you have to know your dog well enough. I wouldn't welcome anyone to attempt poisoning my dog, but believe if something was off when I got home I'd immediately view the camera recording. Then I'd see what happened catching poisoning early is what saves a dog's life.
Many people don't have cameras recording their houses lol. This is a medium/low income area. Nobody has those here. Also, if they're scoping you out as 6JRTS said, they will know your schedule and the dog will be long gone by the time you arrive. It has happened here A LOT. Very hard to train a dog to leave a piece of tasty food on the ground for hours. Neigh impossible actually. Point is, keep a dog that snaps at people behind a front fence, don't be surprised if someone poisons it. Its too easy.
Here in the UK dognappers trend to target houses that have Lurchers, small breeds & gundogs the most, signs which says "I live here" plus photo of dog ie Westie lets the thieves know what breed of dog lives at that house. Burglar that sees sign saying something like "I can get to gate in 5 seconds" with photo of dog ie GSD will use bate to distract the dog why they break in, there as been several reports of sausages lace with nails & rat poison being used to distract the dog(s) why Burglar is ransacking your house
I have security Cams that cloud upload. Mouse will give a alert bark, past that not sure anyone would want to attempt it. He is a guardian breed, but they generally do not bite, they block and use there size to stop people first. I have no doubt he would bite if needed though, but he will puffy and posture first. I don't see anyone really attempting to steal a guardian breed though as there generally really big dogs.
