How to Train a Golden Retriever to Guard

Hello Ayush, Depending on where you live, I would switch pup to "Puppy Milk Replacer" formula. It's similar to Cerelac for babies but formulated for puppies. The milk replacer specifically shows and says it's for puppies, perhaps your grandmother would find it more understandable to feed puppy a formula that's only used for dogs. You could try explaining to her that dogs do not have the same digestive system as people, they lack some of the enzymes to break down certain foods that people can digest easily, so those digestive differences can cause them to get sick if fed human food, especially when very young. A young puppy can't even digest adult dog food due to the immaturity of their systems and lack of enzymes - much like babies not being able to digest a steak dinner when they are first born - even if you blended up the steak, the baby would still have issues digesting the fat and protein at that age. Your dog may never have the natural instincts to truly guard but you can teach pup commands on cue to intimidate, be watchful and alert, and even bite and hold on command. I would only pursue bite work with the help of a trainer to avoid creating an aggressive or fearful dog though. Confidence and good socialization are important for any guard dog. Teaching pup obedience commands and having reliability with those are also important during the first year. Once pup is several months old, you can teach pup to bark when people approach. To teach pup to bark and be more alert, first, teach pup the Speak command. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-to-speak Once pup knows the speak command, recruit friends pup doesn't know to step onto the property while pup watches from a window or fence. Command speak and reward with a treat when they do. Practice with telling pup to speak each time the person is on the property, until pup barks on their own when the person enters without saying speak. At that point, have the person step onto the property, wait seven seconds to see if pup will bark on their own, reward if they do, and command speak if they don't - then reward but give a smaller reward when you tell pup opposed to when pup does it on their own. Practice until pup will bark each time someone enters the property. Practice with different people you can recruit, that pup doesn't know so that pup will learn to do this with anyone who enters the property and not just that one person. Draw pup's attention to people outside or people on your property, and reward pup when you see them watching someone in general - so that pup will begin watching people and staying more alert as a habit. Pup doesn't have to bark to reward this one - just reward when pup is watching someone and you notice that. I also recommend teaching the Quiet command, so that you can tell pup when to stop barking after they alert. Quiet method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

March 22, 2021

Hello Vaagmi, You can either hire a professional protection trainer to train pup formally, or you can work on teaching pup to bark when someone comes onto the property and generally be more alert of surroundings, on your own. For any bite work, you will need to hire professional help though. To teach pup to bark and be more alert, first, teach pup the Speak command. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-to-speak Once pup knows the speak command, recruit friends pup doesn't know to step onto the property while pup watches from a window or fence. Command speak and reward with a treat when they do. Practice with telling pup to speak each time the person is on the property, until pup barks on their own when the person enters without saying speak. At that point, have the person step onto the property, wait seven seconds to see if pup will bark on their own, reward if they do, and command speak if they don't - then reward but give a smaller reward when you tell pup opposed to when pup does it on their own. Practice until pup will bark each time someone enters the property. Practice with different people you can recruit, that pup doesn't know so that pup will learn to do this with anyone who enters the property and not just that one person. Draw pup's attention to people outside or people on your property, and reward pup when you see them watching someone in general - so that pup will begin watching people and staying more alert as a habit. Pup doesn't have to bark to reward this one - just reward when pup is watching someone and you notice that. I also recommend teaching the Quiet command, so that you can tell pup when to stop barking after they alert. Quiet method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark If you are wanting to train to protect you, opposed to property, at this age work on socializing pup thoroughly so that they will learn what is normal human behavior and be able to tell when someone is acting suspicious later, and be confident and not fearful as an adult so you can take them places with you. Also, work on working up to an intermediate and advanced level of obedience so that pup has a high level of reliability listening to your commands. When those things are in place, then formal protection training with bite work can begin closer to a year of age as pup matures more mentally. You need pup to be confident and not fearful or reactive around normal people though. Protection training isn't about encouraging fear or aggression- that creates a dog who is a liability. It is a task that's trained to a well socialized, confident dog, like herding or service dog work. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Sept. 24, 2020