Jake at just over 2 years doing bitework in personal protection

So if you are considering a dog for personal or family protection here are the things you need.

confident puppy with correct temperament, drives and conformation
sturdy puppy crate
responsible owner
copious amounts of time and energy

tugs, balls, rags and other fun puppy toys
leash and collar
puppy training sleeve (you can make your own, see my ehow on how to make a puppy protection training sleeve)
qualified trainer (later on in training)
Obedience training instructor if you do not understand positive obedience training.

Your puppy should drag a leash when he is out of his crate.

Of course it does you no good if he has the leash in his mouth… LOL Whenever your puppy is out of the crate he needs to be under someone’s direct supervision. This is to prevent housebreaking accidents, and to prevent him from getting into trouble.

When he is out of the crate and not in the backyard playing unsupervised, he needs to be dragging a leash. This way you always have control of the puppy. Do not play catch me if you can with any puppy, as this only teaches him that he CAN evade you.

If he is dragging a leash you can step on the leash when he refuses to come when called and then simply reel him in like a fish on a line. Try to step on the leash somewhere other than the handle, this way he never learns just how long that leash is. If he can figure out how long the leash is then he knows how much room he has before you can catch him.

Use only positive training methods with puppies!

Corrections come later once the puppy is older and understands the training.
Positive puppy or dog training relies heavily on a clicker or verbal marker to tell your puppy that he has done something correctly Basic obedience is first trained using positive methods.

This way your puppy learns that training is fun. Sit and down are the first things you need to train, this way they become a default behavior. You can teach him these using marker training or by placing him into position while telling him the name of the command. If you are not familiar with clicker or marker training please read my article on how to train your puppy or dog with a clicker or verbal marker.

This training also should begin the day you bring your puppy home, since it uses food and praise as a reward this training will build trust and teach your puppy his place in your family pack. Get the entire family involved in training your puppy, they will eventually depend on him and he needs to understand that they CAN tell him what to do.

A sock with a knot tied in it makes a good first tug.

The knot helps the puppy realize that only socks with knots in them are for him to play with. Tug O War is a game you will also teach your puppy starting the first week after you bring him home. Tug O War is a confidence building game that has rules that the puppy will need to learn. If you do not know how to play this game correctly feel free to read my article on how to play tug games with rules.

You will play this game with your puppy with his leash on. This way when you let him win the tug he can not get away from you to go chew on the tug in secret. He wins the tug and you still have control of him to reel him back in for the game to continue.

You wriggle the tug around like it is alive, to get his interest in chasing and grabbing the tug. The first few times you will let him “catch” the tug after a couple of failed attempts (his), you have to be fast to keep him from catching the tug too soon. When he is really interested in “catching” the tug you will let him catch it in his mouth, then give it a wiggle and let him have it. He will attempt to run away with his prize but, you have the leash so he can’t get far. Before he gets a chance to put the tug on the ground you will reel him back into you while excitedly saying “good boy, good boy” and then you will grab the end of the tug and give it a little shake again, when he pulls back on the tug you will again let go and continue as before.

Once he starts to catch on to the game you will let him pull on tug while wiggling it to make it seem “alive”, let him get a couple of good tugs on it and then let him win the tug again.

Tug-O-War is a game with rules!

Your puppy needs to learn that Tug O War is a game with rules. This will make training much easier later on down the road when he is ready for the “helper”(assistant who takes the bite). After a few days of playing with the tug toy like this, it is time to begin to teach him that this game really has rules. When you are ready to let him get a bite on the tug you will start giving him the bite command. In German this word sounds like Pa-kin with the ahh sound, but you can use any word you choose as long as it is not something you use in everyday speech. You will also teach him that he must release the bite or tug when he is told as well, again in German this word sounds like Owu-t or a rather harsh sounding but drawn out “OUT”. You will only have your puppy release the toy once in the beginning. This way he doesn’t anticipate the “Out” command and release the toy when he is not asked. You want him to hold and carry the sleeve (bite arm) later on in training, so doing the “out” too often will make it so that he will not want to hold and carry the sleeve. When you tell him to “out”, you will step on the toy while pulling up on his collar or leash, this makes it uncomfortable for him to continue to hold and he will release his grip. Once he has released his grip on the tug you will want to kick it away before lowering the hand with the leash or he may get the tug before you are ready.

Ball on a string

You will want to make a ball on a string toy to play with your puppy. Get any rubber ball with 2 holes and tie a cotton cord to it.

If you have a feed and tack store nearby you can buy a lunging whip like you use to train horses and attach your ball on a string to the end of it, otherwise you can tie it to a long stick like you would if you were pretending to have a fishing pole.

You can then bounce the ball and pull it along the ground using the stick so that you can get some distance between you and the ball.
Entice your puppy to chase the ball, but try to make it difficult for him to catch it. The harder it is for him to catch, (without making things so hard he gives up), the more interested he will be in catching it. Make sure to let him catch it before he looses interest and gives up.

You can also run with the ball on a string letting the ball drag the ground as long as you let the pup catch it from time to time. Again make sure he is wearing his leash and you have the end of it, so that you can let him win the ball from time to time and still have control over your puppy.
Again, as before, do not ask him to “out” the ball more than once or twice at the most.

Always stop the game before your puppy gets tired. You want to stop while he still wants to continue the game, this way it “builds drive” and keeps him interested in the game.

Puppies should never be allowed to bite children or their clothing!

Puppies must not be allowed to bite children or their clothing. It is up to you to protect your children from those sharp puppy teeth until the puppy learns better.

Do not take your puppy for walks off your property until after he has received all his puppy shots. In the mean time you can begin teaching him not to bite or mouth family members. When he is excited a puppy especially a puppy from working blood lines will get mouthy and bite hands and fingers.

NEVER discipline your puppy for doing this, instead give him something else to chew on like a squeaky toy or some other toy to play with. If he does bite you tell him OUCH, then stand up and pretend he no longer exists. Do not let small children play with your puppy unless you are there to step in and protect them from sharp puppy teeth. Explain that the puppy needs to learn the rules and they can not play with the puppy unless you are there until he learns not to bite them. If the puppy bites the children he should be told no and put into his dog crate until he gets the chance to calm down. In the beginning it may seem like he spends an awful lot of time in the crate, but he will catch on.

It is tempting to take your new puppy everywhere with you, but he MUST NOT leave the property untill he has had all of his puppy shots!

PARVO can KILL your puppy!

Do not take your puppy off the property to visit friends or family until after he has finished his puppy shots and been cleared by your Veterinarian to do so. Once your puppy has received all his puppy shots and your veterinarian says that it is ok to take him off your property then you can begin to take him out for short walks.

Let him meet people but warn them that he is very mouthy and may bite while wanting to play and that if he bites they should say “ouch!” in a shrill voice and not hit or yell at the puppy for biting. For a puppy destined to be a personal protection dog the rules have to be different!

Even the best bred puppies show fear from time to time

A fearful puppy will have his ears back and his tail low or tucked between his legs. When you notice something frightens your puppy encourage him to investigate the scary object Once he has been cleared by your Veterinarian to go off the property you should begin to get him used to all sorts of strange sights and sounds. If something appears scary to him, ask him in a silly tone of voice what he is barking at and walk up to the scary thing with him to let him investigate it. Never feed into the fear by touching him or picking him up if he appears nervous or frightened in any way. This only shows him that he had something to fear!

Your puppy depends on you

Your puppy depends on you to protect him and keep him safe, so that later on he can protect you! If you have chosen your puppy wisely you will find that, as your puppy gets older there will be less things that will frightens him and he will begin to walk with an air of confidence. He should be introduced to more people and situations that he is unfamiliar with. You want him to believe that you and he own the ground he walks on.
You are HIS protector at this point, he must learn to look to you for guidance and protection from other dogs and dangerous situations. Never fall into the idea that your puppy must tough and that he should be able to protect himself or that he needs to be “tough around other dogs” It is your responsibility to keep him safe so that he later takes direction FROM you, you are his leader and it is the leaders responsibility to protect other pack members, the pack leader says who fights and when! Do not let your puppy down, he depends on you!

If you still think you want a personal or family protection dog you will want to read how to train a puppy for personal or family protection part 3.

Keep training sessions short so that your puppy doesn’t loose interest
Only ask your puppy to give up his toy once or twice a day so that he doesn’t anticipate having to give it up.
keep things positive so that he is having fun.
Do NOT take your puppy out of his yard until all his puppy shots have finished and your Veterinarian says it is ok to do so.
keep training treats tiny, just a taste, if they have to stop and chew the treat it is too big.
Never hit your puppy for any reason
Never allow your puppy to be bullied by another dog, it is your responsibility to protect him. The last think you want is for him to be scared or injured by another dog! This causes dog agression later!

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