Why a Great Protection Dog Can Still Be the Wrong Dog

By David Harris
Founder & Master Trainer, Protection Dog Sales

If you're considering buying a personal protection dog, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is starting with this question:

"Which dog do I want?"

After close to four decades of helping people select, train and live with personal protection dogs, I've learned that there's a much better question:

"Which dog is right for my family?"

Those questions may sound similar.

They're not.

A beautiful, highly trained and extremely capable protection dog can still be completely wrong for a particular family.

That's why selecting a family personal protection dog should begin with understanding you, your family, your lifestyle and your expectations—not simply choosing the dog that looks most impressive in a video.

We learned that lesson firsthand with one of our customers.

A Real Customer and a Real Lesson

Chris and his family live in Richmond, Virginia.

Because they weren't located near our Kentucky training facility, their introduction to Protection Dog Sales came through our website.

They did their research.

They looked at multiple protection dog companies. They watched videos. They compared dogs and training programs.

Eventually, they found Protection Dog Sales.

Chris later told us that our website was far and away the best resource he'd found during his search.

That's important to us because we've spent decades documenting our dogs and our training process.

We don't want prospective customers to see one carefully edited sales video.

We want you to see the dog's development.

We want you to see obedience.

Socialization.

Home manners.

Public behavior.

Protection development.

Travel.

Environmental exposure.

Interactions with people.

Interactions with other animals.

And sometimes years of the dog's development before that dog is ever offered for sale.

But there's also an interesting potential downside to having access to so much information.

You can fall in love with a dog before you know whether that dog is right for you.

That's exactly what happened to Chris.

"David, I Want This Dog."

When Chris first called me, he wasn't really calling to say:

"David, I'm interested in purchasing a personal protection dog. Can you help me determine what would be best for my family?"

He had already made up his mind.

Essentially, he was saying:

"David, I want this dog."

He was enthusiastic.

And I understood why.

I love these dogs, too.

When someone becomes excited about one of our dogs, I naturally want that customer to be happy.

But in this situation, we allowed enthusiasm for a particular dog to get ahead of the selection process.

And we had some stumbles.

Eventually, Chris discovered that the dog wasn't the right match for his family.

But here's the important part:

There was nothing wrong with the dog.

The dog was everything we represented him to be.

He was a tremendous dog.

He was simply too much dog for Chris and his particular family situation.

That's an important distinction for anyone shopping for a personal protection dog.

A great dog isn't automatically the right dog.

Don't Short-Circuit the Selection Process

Eventually, Chris drove back to Kentucky with the dog.

When he arrived, I asked him a simple question:

"Now will you let me help you find the right dog?"

He said yes.

This time we approached the selection process differently.

That process ultimately led us to Micah, a beautiful female Giant Schnauzer.

Micah turned out to be everything Chris and his family wanted in a family personal protection dog—and more.

What changed?

Same family.

Same company.

Same trainers.

Same training philosophy.

Different dog.

The difference was the match.

That's why Chris now gives prospective protection dog buyers some simple advice:

Don't short-circuit the process.

Choosing a Protection Dog Should Start With Your Family

When someone contacts Protection Dog Sales, I'm going to ask questions.

A lot of questions.

That's not because I'm trying to make purchasing a dog complicated.

It's because the answers help us determine what type of dog has the best chance of succeeding in your home.

We need to know things like:

• What experience do you have with dogs?

• Do you have children?

• How old are they?

• Do you have other dogs?

• Do you have cats or other pets?

• How active is your family?

• Do you travel?

• Do you entertain frequently?

• What is your home environment like?

• What does your spouse expect from the dog?

• What do you expect from the dog?

• What level of protection do you actually need?

• How much dog are you comfortable handling?

I've worked with just about every family situation imaginable.

Sometimes the husband wants one thing and the wife wants something completely different.

There may be young children running around the house.

There may be multiple dogs.

There may be cats.

There may even be a tiny Pomeranian who believes he's the toughest dog in the neighborhood and intends to prove it to the 90-pound protection dog we're bringing into his house.

Those details matter.

The more honest and accurate information you give us, the better job we can do selecting the right dog.

Temperament Comes Before Training

This is one of the most important concepts for anyone researching how to buy a personal protection dog.

You have to start with the right temperament.

Skilled professional trainers can accomplish tremendous things with a properly selected dog.

We can develop obedience.

We can improve manners.

We can build confidence.

We can expose the dog to new environments.

We can develop social skills.

We can teach advanced behaviors.

We can develop controlled protection skills.

And we can customize training around the needs of a particular family.

But training isn't magic.

Training cannot replace the dog's underlying genetics and temperament.

Training develops the dog you have. It doesn't replace the dog you started with.

That's why breeding, puppy selection, early development, socialization, life experiences and temperament evaluation are so important.

If we start with the right dog, professional training gives us tremendous opportunities.

If we start with the wrong temperament for a particular family, we're trying to solve the wrong problem.

A Family Personal Protection Dog Is Not a Police Dog

This is another important question consumers should ask when comparing protection dog companies:

What was this dog bred, raised and trained to do?

A police dog has a job.

A military working dog has a job.

A competition dog has a job.

And a family personal protection dog has a job.

Those jobs are not interchangeable.

At Protection Dog Sales, we aren't trying to take dogs developed for police or military work and figure out how to make them fit into family homes.

Our dogs are developed specifically for families.

That's a very different mission.

Yes, your personal protection dog should possess the temperament, instincts and professional training necessary to protect you and your family.

But think about how that dog will actually spend the overwhelming majority of his life.

He'll be lying in your living room.

Riding in your vehicle.

Playing with your children.

Living around your other pets.

Going for walks.

Traveling.

Meeting appropriate visitors.

Going to parks, hotels and public places.

Maybe he'll go boating with you.

Hiking.

Camping.

Fishing.

Or simply hang out with the family on a Saturday afternoon.

That's his real life.

Protection is an important capability.

It should not be the dog's entire identity.

That's why we believe the safest and most successful family personal protection dogs should be developed as family dogs first.

Home Raised / Family Trained Matters

How a protection dog is raised matters just as much as how that dog is trained.

A dog that will eventually live in a home should understand what living in a home means.

That's one reason Protection Dog Sales has built our program around Home Raised / Family Trained dogs.

Our dogs aren't simply learning exercises.

They're learning how to live.

They experience households, families, vehicles, visitors, public environments, other animals and the countless little situations that make up everyday life.

Those experiences help us evaluate temperament while simultaneously preparing the dog for his eventual family.

We're not simply asking:

"Can this dog perform protection work?"

We're also asking:

"Can this dog successfully live the life our customer wants to live?"

That's a much bigger question.

Sometimes the Right Protection Dog Is Available Today

Sometimes we already have exactly the right dog for a customer.

That's wonderful.

But sometimes we don't.

We may have a younger dog with the correct genetics, temperament and foundation that can be further developed and customized around your family's needs.

In other situations, the best answer may be starting from scratch.

That can mean evaluating a breeding, selecting the right puppy and developing that puppy specifically toward your family's lifestyle and expectations.

All of those can be good answers.

The question shouldn't be:

"Which dog can we sell this customer today?"

It should be:

"Which dog gives us the best opportunity to create a successful relationship for this family for years to come?"

How Should You Research a Personal Protection Dog?

Chris has some excellent advice for people beginning the process.

Research.

Spend time on our website.

Watch the dogs.

Watch the educational videos.

Learn about the breeds.

Look at dogs you like.

Look at dogs you don't like.

Then ask yourself why.

Maybe you love the personality of a particular Giant Schnauzer.

Maybe you've owned German Shepherds your entire life.

Maybe you love the appearance and personality of a Doberman.

Maybe one dog's energy attracts you while another dog's calm demeanor better matches your lifestyle.

Those preferences are useful.

Tell us about them.

But don't confuse having preferences with professionally selecting the right dog.

Use the internet to educate yourself—not to replace the selection process.

Questions to Ask Before Buying a Personal Protection Dog

Whether you're considering a dog from Protection Dog Sales or another company, don't just ask about the dog.

Ask about the process.

How was the dog bred?

Where was the dog raised?

Was the dog raised in a home or primarily in a kennel?

What environments has the dog experienced?

Has the dog lived around children?

Other dogs?

Cats?

Has the dog's development been documented?

Can you see previous training and development videos?

What was the dog originally bred and developed to do?

How does the company evaluate temperament?

How does the company determine whether a particular dog is appropriate for a particular family?

And here's another question I think consumers often overlook:

What questions is the company asking you?

If someone is prepared to sell you an expensive personal protection dog without understanding your family, lifestyle, dog experience and expectations, that's something you should think carefully about.

The Consultation Is Part of the Product

People sometimes think of the consultation as the conversation that happens before buying the product.

I look at it differently.

The consultation is part of the product.

The dog's breeding matters.

The dog's early development matters.

The dog's socialization matters.

The dog's professional training matters.

But none of that matters very much if we put the wrong dog in the wrong home.

Professional selection is part of developing a successful family personal protection dog.

You know your family better than we do.

We know our dogs better than you do.

When we put those two sources of knowledge together, we have a much better chance of making the right decision.

There's No Hurry

Buying a family personal protection dog shouldn't feel like buying the last available seat on an airplane.

There's no reason to panic.

There's no reason to rush into the wrong dog because you're afraid somebody else might buy him.

I tell prospective customers something that probably sounds strange coming from someone who sells dogs:

There's no hurry.

We're not running out of dogs.

If the right dog isn't available today, we'll continue looking.

If we need to further develop and customize a dog, we can do that.

If the best solution is starting with a puppy, we can do that.

There will be a right dog for you at the right time.

Because ultimately, our job at Protection Dog Sales isn't simply to sell you a great protection dog.

Our job is to put the RIGHT DOG with the RIGHT FAMILY.

That's the difference.

And after close to four decades of working with dogs and families, I believe it's one of the most important parts of the entire process.

Ready to Learn More?

Before choosing a personal protection dog, educate yourself about the dogs, the company and the process.

Explore the dogs currently in development at Protection Dog Sales, watch their development and training videos, and learn how our Home Raised / Family Trained approach is designed around the needs of real families.

Then contact us and tell us about you.

Your family.

Your lifestyle.

Your experience.

Your expectations.

Your concerns.

And yes—even the dogs you've already fallen in love with on our website.

We'll help you determine what actually makes sense.

Because the goal isn't simply to buy a personal protection dog.

The goal is to find your dog.

— David Harris
Founder & Master Trainer
Protection Dog Sales