Personal Protection is a broad term when it comes to a trained dog. Although a dog can be trained to be a personal protection dog without implementing Schutzhund training, I Do Not Recommend It! A sound protection dog should have the two outlined phases of Schutzhund; Obedience and Tracking, before moving on to the personal protection stage. Having these two very important qualities sets the stage for your companion to achieve their ultimate goal; “A Confident, Well Disciplined Dog That Would Protect You To The Very End.”

Over the years I have been asked to train many dogs for personal protection. My requirement for both Canine and Handler/Owner always remained the same; “Stability.” Not only did the canine have to be of sound mind, so did the the handler/owner. Without this quality, there is no foundation upon which to build on. Foundation is key to the success of a well trained personal protection dog. It is both reckless and dangerous to train a dog for personal protection work, if that animal does not have the required obedience skills.

Some would argue, that it is perfectly acceptable to train a dog in personal protection work if he/she has Basic Obedience skills. Unfortunately, basic obedience does not address Off-Lead skills. A very important phase in the proper training off a personal protection dog. Your dog must be able to execute the basic obedience commands; Heel, Sit, Stay, Come & Down not only on a lead, but also off the lead. Without these skills, the handler has no control over the dog once it is turned loose. This is not only problematic, but also extremely dangerous.

Once your dog has been trained and responds without hesitation, in both Basic Obedience and Off-Lead, then and only then can you even attempt to begin their Personal Protection training. Agility training is another phase of a well trained personal protection dog. Although it is not initially required, it makes good sense to eventually incorporate this training with the skills he/she has attained thus far. Once again, some would argue that it is not necessary, I disagree. On many occassions, I have witnessed first hand trained K-9's fail in their final take down mode. This would happen when their target would take drastic measures such as; Jumping Up On An Obstacle; (Car, Small Building, Etc...) to avoid the attack. A dog that has not been trained in Agility training is 70% more likely to become confused when this type of avoidance occurs. Whereas a dog that has had Agility training will not hesitate to jump up on that car, building or even go for a swim in a lake to reach their target.

Noise is another area of vital concern when training a Personal Protection dog. When I would train a dog, I would always save the “Noise Factor” or Distractions until the very end of their training. Noise being; Gunshots, Loud Yelling, Vehicles, Etc... The reason this was saved to the end was to avoid ruining the dog at the get go. Many dogs will fail immediately if these distractions are introduced to soon. They become what I call “Gun Shy.” It is always best to build their confidence level as high as possible before introducing noise. This way the chance of them becoming “Gun Shy” is reduced dramatically. When introducing noise for the first time, it is best to do it from a considerable amount of distance; Gunshots, at least 200 yards away in the beginning. Gradually you reduce that distance down each time you work with your dog.

Training a Personal Protection dog requires many hours of discipline on behalf of the dog and the handler/owner. Also, the training does not end once your dog has reached its potential. You must routinely Exercise and practice the skills they have achieved to maintain their consistency.