This site was started as a resource for protection and guard dog trainers, decoys and owners. All too often we are limited as to what we can achieve with our dogs because of lack of training partners / decoys. Being a somewhat isolated venue protection and guard dog trainers traditionally don't network very well. That's unfortunate because we all know the necessity of exposing our dogs to various human opponents.
The dilution and general misunderstanding of protection dog training is another factor responsible for our small numbers. Animals with the genetic potential to become good protection dogs through training are relatively few. Consequently weaker dogs have had watered down training methods developed specifically for them. Being in the majority the uninformed owners of such dogs have set the trend with equipment, play/prey oriented training. This so called protection dog sport training is often passed off as protection dog training. People who would otherwise be an asset to a protection training program are drawn to sport venues such as Schutzhund where their perception of protection dog training is twisted. This in turn makes them frown upon those who want to prepare their dogs for the real world. The objective of this site is not to belittle dog sports or the people and dogs who participate in them, but it is to draw a defining line between protection dog sports and working protection dogs so that everybody who participates here can be at ease talking about what they do.
Liability is yet another thing that complicates matters for us. Protection Dog Forum's position on liability is that we believe in controlled dogs. Controlled due to inherent stability and obedience training and/or controlled by limiting public access to the dog. The rest we don't give a shit about. The dog throughout history has been a guardian of family and property and we're not going to succumb to cultural pressures advocating that all dogs must be animated stuffed toys.
We are not breed specific. While we believe that there are dog breeds among which potential protection dogs are more easily found we also know that there are exceptions to this and that there are excellent protection dogs among the off breeds. We also recognize that protection can be defined by varying standards. All have their preference but in terms of deciding the kind of protection that is needed from a dog ultimately it is the choice of the owner/handler as far as breed, trainability, sociability, and whether the dog will be used offensively or defensively.
Protection Dog Forum is a place for trainers and decoys to make use of each others abilities for the betterment of our dogs. Apart from being a place where knowledge can be shared it is a place to find training partners. The forum is divided into regions where you can introduce yourself and find others who are willing to exchange helper work. As membership grows more regions will be added at the request of members looking to network in their area. The site is new and evolving but that is the basic premise. We are looking for knowledgeable people in the field who have previous experience developing protection dogs. Membership is also open to individuals who have some experience as trainers or decoys, perhaps coming from a dog sport background, who are open minded and want to learn about protection dogs.
The tone for the forum will be mutual respect and tolerance of others ideas. Much is lost when things are assumed. Dog work is far from science, training terminology is still not homogeneous and semantics many times get in the way. With that said this is a place for positive interaction. Leave the ego behind because flaming will not be tolerated. Welcome to Protection Dog Forum.
Protection Dog Forum
