True protection dogs are FRIENDLY with people when their owner has no reason to feel threatened. The instant someone does something threatening, the dog switches to a watchdog attitude. The dog will wait for the owner’s command and guidance, whether to continue with the attitude, attack, or abandon. Dogs that are constantly suspicious of strangers or anyone except those they are familiar with operate in fear. The dog that feels like everything is something to be afraid of and aggressive is NOT a good watchdog prospect! Most dogs that have the potential to be good watchdogs are calm, non-reactive dogs. Dogs that are scared will even bite the “nice guy”! Dogs that are going to be guard dogs need to be highly and positively socialized. They need to meet and greet A LOT of people and NOT be encouraged to growl, but told to stop. This should be done during the main socialization window between the ages of 6 and 16 weeks. NEVER reinforce (pet, pet, sweet talk, feed) a dog for inappropriate behavior, and never encourage the dog to be afraid (“It’s okay” – NO!). A fearful dog is essentially a loaded gun; a dog that bites out of fear (called a “fear biter”). Dogs need to be taught to be confident without being afraid.

Raising a dog to be a protection or watchdog is no different than raising any canine member of your household. The exact same things need to happen in the life of a potential watchdog that should happen to a dog intended to be a family pet: intense, positive, and frequent socialization. In fact, a dog that responds to a stranger at the door with barks need not be a trained watchdog. Most dogs will bark at the door. A dog must have a complete outlook on life and be able to behaviorally recover from each new experience before moving on to the finer points of guard dog training.
I have never trained a dog to be a watchdog, but I am very familiar with the general temperament of a dog that will do well to be a watchdog. If you wanted to train a dog to be a watchdog, you would NOT do it alone! I would seek out and train with people who have vast experience training dogs in this capacity (in another life, I would have loved to do this!).

I would encourage anyone looking to own a dog to contact someone local for help in choosing and training a dog for this line of work; I would not undertake this alone. A watchdog is essentially a loaded gun; if you don’t have control of that weapon, you WILL be in trouble.

Here is a very short list of things found in a good watchdog:

* Heavy play unit (powered by tennis ball or tug toy)

* High Energy – Most working dogs will drive you crazy with their activity level and need for physical and mental exercise!

* Able to quit on command (after teaching of course!)

* Heavy work ethic; these dogs realize they don’t work alone, and are a team with their handler

* Strong attention to its owner / handler

* Ability to concentrate

* Able to recover from “insult”; (does not fall apart under pressure)

* Wait for the owner/manager to make the decision to act (they do not work alone)

* After a long time (years, maybe!) and a lot of experience and training, a good working dog will be able to decide for himself if it is necessary

* Able to adapt to new environments, surfaces, weather

* Not reactive or impulsive

* A good, healthy working dog can pass the temperament test conducted through the American Society for Temperament Testing.

* A good, healthy working dog should also be able to pass the AKC canine good citizenship test.