My Dog Is Too Friendly With Strangers

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“My dog is too friendly with strangers. What can I do to make him into a guard dog? I want my dog to protect me.”

I figured it was about time to write an article about this topic.

First off, I expect all young dogs to like strangers. This is normal for almost every breed. Puppies that “don’t like strangers” are usually not being protective, but instead are just fearful dogs.

As an adult, this kind of dog is more likely to bite some innocent person or dog, and to run away from a real confrontation. Fearful puppies have a high probability of growing up to become Fear Biters. A Fear Biter is an unstable dog and one that will never be able to protect you.

Second, some people try to make their dogs wary of strangers. This is a huge mistake. Your dog’s ability to protect you has more to do with breeding than it does training. To intentionally make a dog wary of strangers will just make the dog unstable as an adult, and worthless as a protection dog. Yes, you will find some wacko trainers out there that will take your money, terrorize your dog, and make it a biter, regardless of the breed. But, this dog will then be untrustworthy and potentially vicious. This kind of thing is what the drug dealers do with their pit bulls. They take normal dogs and wreck them. They tease them, terrorize them, put them in fights, frustrate them, etc. If you notice, after a drug dealers place, or a pit fighting operation, is busted by the police, they normally seize these dogs and put them to death. They can’t take these dogs and convert them to police dogs. I get emails all the time telling me what great protection dogs pit bulls, and other fighting breeds, make. No, they don’t. Make any dog of any breed vicious by abusing them, and yes they will attack… anyone. But, that doesn’t make them into useful protection dogs. These breeds are suitable as pets, period. Most breeds are only suitable as pets. Most dogs from even the traditional protection breeds are only suitable as pets. To turn them into something they are not is inhumane.

Third, if you have purchased a personal protection dog, from working lines, you will see the dog become protective over time, without you having to do anything. My dog, Dillon, a Doberman, was friendly to everyone for the first 3 years of life. But, at about 3 years, he changed. From then on, I couldn’t let just anyone come up and pet him, especially a man, and especially at night. I didn’t have to make him this way, and his Schutzhund training didn’t make him this way. He grew up, and that is all it took. When the police get a protection bred puppy, they don’t start terrorizing the pup. They let it grow up to be a normal dog, in a home, meeting people, doing the same things we all do with our pups. The protection dog trainers know what the breeding will do once these dogs grow up. The training they do with the dogs just brings out the control that will be needed on the street, but the protectiveness is already in the dog. The training doesn’t make the dog a protection dog. The breed doesn’t necessarily make a protection dog. Selective breeding, within certain breeds that have the potential for protection, makes a protection dog.

Forth, most people have no idea what they are getting into when wanting their dog to “not like strangers.” They get the wrong breed. They choose the wrong breeder. They don’t know how to raise such a pup. They pick the wrong type of trainer. They don’t know how to deploy such a dog. And most of these folks really shouldn’t own a protection dog at all. I spoke to the owner of a Scottish Terrier the other day who said they didn’t want their dog to like strangers. They got the dog to protect them.

Sigh…

Do you really think a peanut-sized dog like that is going to protect you from a criminal? All they have done is make the dog dangerous by not properly socializing, leading and training their dog. It is the wrong dog for the wrong situation. I’ve had people ask me if I could make their pit bull, Labrador Retriever, etc… you name the breed… “not like strangers”. The dog is “too friendly.”

The answer is NO. I’m not going to wreck your dog, and…

you aren’t the type of person that should own a protection dog! You haven’t done your homework and you don’t know what you are doing. Professionals won’t waste their time on you.

When most people inquire of me about this topic, they are seeking to make their dogs into protection dogs, or they are asking because their dogs are nuisances and won’t leave their guests alone.

Let’s just put a fine point on this once and for all, eh?

Protection Dogs

First, if your dog wasn’t bred to be a protection dog, then forget it. I’m talking about a police line dog, where the parents and grandparents and so on were all police or military dogs.

Second, there is a lot of hype out there regarding which breeds are the “ultimate guard dog”. Sorry folks. Look at what the professionals buy and use, not what some breeder or guy selling books has to say. If you don’t see the police or military using them, then your dog is the wrong breed.

Third, just because your dog is friendly doesn’t mean it won’t protect you. This is where novices get it all wrong. A friendly dog can also be a very protective dog in the right circumstances. Usually what novices perceive to be a protective dog is really just a fear biter or a dog that has been made vicious (and therefore completely worthless as a protection dog). A snarling, growling dog that lunges at everyone is almost always a dog that is unsuited to be a protection dog.

The Untrained Nuisance Dog

Sometimes this inquiry is from someone who has a dog that they aren’t seeking to protect them at all. Instead, they have an untrained and poorly led dog that is a nuisance and a brat. The dog jumps on guests, won’t leave anyone alone, and won’t calm down. That’s just a training problem, and a good trainer can give you ways of dealing with this without squashing your dog’s spirit.