Why do so many people think they need personal protection dogs? - Page 4

I kinda agree with 4 pack,

Being aware and alert on it's own will save you from alot of nonsense.  Having a logical plan of action just in case is always wise. For some reason I don't understand every so often I pick up a stalker. (most aren't threatening just annoying) 

Just last month I was followed into my neighborhood by a someone in a large silver truck. Who knows what they would have tried if I didn't realize they had started to follow me.  

Unfortunately after they figured out that I knew they were following me and thus was leading them elsewhere and they peeled out.

I get verily P!$$ed OFF when it comes to such things I really have absolutely no pitty or tolerance for them. They would have been in a world of hurt if they hadn't gotten a clue at the last moment. 

Anyway for me  I only want my dog to serve as a courtesy warning for any would be violent criminal. Other than that forget the dog it only bites BEWARE OF OWNER.

I'm just a lady who is not about to be somebody's victim.

All I can say is that some of you people have grand ideas.  

 Emoore, we don't see eye to eye at all in this, and I can only assume this is because you have never had someone literally twice your size physically trying to kill you. 

When it's a personal, emotional, passionate attack, they are just as likely to not have a gun...and in this case, a dog can be a lifesaver. I know how my dog reacts when a man fights him. I know how he reacts when he's hurt by an attacker. I guess this means I don't love him in your book, but I've always viewed it as one of those things that he's better suited to than I am. I protect him as best I can with my human skills, and I know that he will do the same with his canine skills, and holding an attacker at bay long enough for me to get my phone or a gun in some cases, is one of those instances where he is more qualified than I am, and I won't be jumping in front of him to protect him.

I would not knowingly allow him to go after someone w/a gun, but as I said, many of these cases where a dog is used/needed are cases where the person is violent and doesn't have a gun and is simply planning on physically overpowering the victim. 

Ask any criminal; the last thing they want to deal with is a dog, and they are more likely to be deterred by a dog than they are a security system.

When I said protection trained, I probably should have made the distinction between schutzhund protection, in which I also train for most of the same reasons mentioned by VKGSDs, and PPD (which at this point has arguably become a sport as well).

Lots of interesting discussion here but many people are still overlooking the obvious, that the major deterrent is the dog's presence and not its training.  I take issue with the suggestion that if a dog knows someone, this type of training will be the deciding factor if he feels his owner is being threatened.  The dog will either be conflicted or it won't.

 

I think I need a personal protection dog because I want the option to "sick" my dog after anyone who wants to physically harm me. I want to know that when I am in my car, I will not be carjacked, when I'm out and about an assailant will see my dog and find easier prey. When I'm at home, I am safe from anyone who might want to break in, and if someone I think is trustworthy isn't, I have a type of defence.

I see what you are saying, Keith. When I read the title of the thread the first two words that popped into my head were: Penile enhancement.

I don't think people are doing anything. I think three kinds of people want PPDs, and when I use that acronym I am referring to dogs trained heavily in obedience and protection. 1) Someone who simply appreciates working dogs, has fun with it and enjoys the benefits of having a very well trained dog who trusts them. 2) People who genuinely want to to feel safe, maybe they've been a victim of a crime more been otherwise made to feel unsafe but do not want a gun, and 3) People who want them as some kind of ego fix, and loosely within this category you will also get scumbags who want an "attack dog" or two to guard their homemade meth lab or pot farm.

I look at it this way: If a very hard but untrained dog attacks someone, will they let go, or will the police have to shoot it off? A trained dog will let go, which can save their life and potentially the life of the victim. On the same line of thinking, you can call off a dog before they engage (a good one)- you cannot call off a bullet. If someone is out to hurt your family I think they deserve whatever they get, but should a stupid 17 year old kid breaking into your house to steal your xbox really have to pay for that kind of idiocy with their life? I don't think so. 

Also, in my experience, when you're teaching a dog to bite, you are also teaching them when not to bite. Again, I only refer to dogs with extensive obedience and handlers who have complete control. No PPD should have anything less.

Keith I think I am really dense or something because I still dont understand what your point is. Are you saying that most people that think they want a PPD only have need for a deterrent? 

Also, the dog will be less conflicted if he is clear on what he is supposed to do and yes training is a factor. 

I still dont understand this thread at all LOL.

Now, if you're referring to the psychological "why", look around. There are people who shot and kill other people and don't spend one night jail. Rapists that get let off the hook on a technicality. I had someone shoot my daughter with a BB gun as she walked home from school and they lack sufficient proof to press charges, and I live in a very nice suburb. I had someone break into my car, steal off my front porch, never get caught. Bad guys everywhere are getting away, literally, with murder. As a society, many of us do not feel safe.

Lots of interesting discussion here but many people are still overlooking the obvious, that the major deterrent is the dog's presence and not its training. I take issue with the suggestion that if a dog knows someone, this type of training will be the deciding factor if he feels his owner is being threatened. The dog will either be conflicted or it won't.
 

How do you know that the dog's presence alone is a deterrent??  Actually as a former criminal, I would be more leary about the house with no dog than the house with a dog.  In this day and age you think the person with no dog is likely to have a gun.

The person with a dog has a higher chance of not having a gun as they THINK the dog will deter someone.  People don't rob blindly, they watch for awhile to see the routine and how the dog is.    Do you think criminals don't educate themselves on dogs since many people have them??

lol...criminals evolve and learn new ways just like technology.  Days of some dude in ya mom's pantyhose as a mask robbing you with a .45 are loooong gone.

SSG...im with you.  He is saying we all don't understand but maybe what is being asked isn't being said correctly