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1 Reddit comment about How to Train a Watchdog:

u/SunsetRoute1970 ยท 2 pointsr/vagabond

r/vandwellers.

The problem with carrying a firearm is that if you don't have the mentally tough attitude to use it, it's a greater danger to you than to an adversary.

I'm a life member of every gun rights organization I could find--NRA, GOA, JPFO, SAF, etc. I love firearms. But I don't think they are any security panacea. The person who wants to use a firearm as a deterrent against bad guys is far better off with a well-trained dog. I'm not saying you shouldn't own a firearm, but if you do buy one, you want to obtain very thorough training in how and when to use it.

Bad guys, speaking generally, are huge risk takers. Unless he perceives that you intend to kill him, he is going to be calculating his chances of getting close enough to you to try to disarm you. But he's not going to disarm a German Shepherd or some other breed commonly used as a guard dog. Dogs can sense your fear and the evil intentions of others, through body language, or body odor or something. I had a German Shepherd who was the sweetest dog. He loved everybody. But if he "alerted" on somebody, I was immediately convinced that whomever he alerted upon was up to no good.

You can't just assume a dog will protect you. They must be trained to do so. And once they're trained, you are responsible to control them, to care for them and to protect them. It's almost like having a child.

For a woman, having a trained personal protection dog is a huge defense asset. Most bad guys will avoid any place or any vehicle that contains a dog. (Nobody wants to get bit. Or shot. Or stabbed.)

The book in the link below was written by a former Air Force Security dog handler. It's an excellent book, and it tells step-by-step how to train a personal protection dog, up to every level, except to where the handler can order a dog to attack independently. He doesn't teach that, because once a dog has been trained to attack upon command it must spend the rest of its life in a secure kennel, and cannot be allowed to run free in a yard. The danger, to innocent passers-by, and to the dog, and to the owner, is too great to allow an attack dog to run free. But short of an "attack dog," a personal protection dog can live a normal dog's life.

Order the paperback. It's a lot cheaper.

https://www.amazon.com/How-Train-Watchdog-Bruce-Sessions/dp/0830657533

What you want in a canine companion is a well-behaved, well-trained, affectionate dog who can also protect you from adversaries. But keep in mind, you cannot leave a dog alone in a vehicle very long, and never with the windows rolled up completely. Training a dog is largely a matter of behaving in an unemotional, controlled way yourself. If the dog isn't performing correctly, it's not his or her fault. It's YOUR fault. Dogs want to please you. So you must be endlessly patient and well-disciplined yourself in order to get the desired behavior from your dog. You must be absolutely consistent with your dog. You can't scold him for getting on the couch one time and allow it another time. If he can't get on the couch, it must be absolute. Commands must be given exactly the same way every time. "Sit" always means sit. "Stay" always means stay. And "Guard" always means "Scare the holy fuck out of this rapey bastard."

But the absolutely best defense tactic is to not be there in the first place. Don't go into situations where you might be attacked to start with.