Archive for July 20th, 2010
Canine Classifieds – Part 7
Help Wanted – Guard Dog
People get dogs for different reasons. Some want a show dog to aid them in gratifying their own competitive nature in a sporting environment. Some just want a pet or an addition to the family. To take for walks on leash
, or to the park.
Others have a need to feel safe in their surroundings or neighborhood and want a watchdog.
A guard dog or watch dog is a dog used to guard against, and watch for, unwanted or unexpected people or animals.
Both guard dogs and watchdogs bark loudly to alert their owners of an intruder’s presence and scare away the intruder. The watch dog’s function ends here; a guard dog is capable of attacking or restraining the intruder.
For example, livestock guardian dogs are often large enough and strong enough to attack and drive away livestock predators such as wolves. Likewise, if the risk is from human intruders, a suitable dog can be simply trained to be aggressive towards unrecognized humans and then tethered or enclosed unsupervised in an area the owner wishes to protect when he is not around (such as at night); the stereotypical “junkyard dog” is a common example of this.
Other guard dogs intended for police or more supervised work are trained to bite, restrain and release an intruder only on the specific commands of its handler.
Some breeds (such as Keeshonden) are excellent watchdogs but not excellent guard dogs because they bark loudly to alert their masters of intruders but are not given to assertive behavior. Similarly, even very small but attentive dogs (among a few other species) may function well as watchdogs.