How to Train a Great Dane to be a Guard Dog

Hello Marco, I suggest starting with Basic then Intermediate Obedience - a high level of obedience is necessary. Pup also needs to be thoroughly socializes so that they are able to tell when something is normal and not normal - otherwise pup will be a liability to you and a danger to others. Protection Dog training has the initial foundation of obedience and socialization - where bite work and such is involved, is something that should only be done working in person with a protection dog trainer. Done wrong, it can lead to a dangerous, fearful, and highly reactive dog who attacks not only in protection-necessary situations when told, but also attacks you, friends, family and random people at unwanted times also. A correctly trained protection dog has to be trained to a high off-leash level, using positive reinforcement type methods via rewarding with things like tug and bite bags, utilizing a dog's natural defense drive during training to teach bites, rushing, and holds, and building the right type of confidence in the dog for the work. This isn't something that normally can or should be done at home without the right safety measures, experience, or staff with pads and safety measures to practice everything with. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Luyema, It sounds like it's time to pursue formal protection training. The type of training you need isn't something I recommend doing on your own - at the risk of creating fear aggression that is directed at the wrong people. A good protection trainer should be able to utilize the dog's own natural drives for things like tug and rewards to teach pups to recognize suspicious people, hold their ground, and bite and hold when approached. Also know that a dog generally does need to have a fair defense drive and some natural courage that the trainer can work with - some dogs simply are not cut out for such work, but I would certainly recommend having pups evaluated by the trainer in person to see what you naturally have to work with. Great Danes are a breed who often do have the drive necessary - but some can be too submissive or laid back for the work since temperaments vary from dog to dog. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Cute photo! Remember that Manson will grow up to be a very large dog. Obedience and the willingness to listen to you must be 100%. I would start by taking Manson to puppy classes and work him all the way through advanced training. Doing so will form an incredible bond between you and the protective nature will be natural although a calm and controlled one. The only way I would recommend teaching Manson to be protective is through a trainer who has experience so that the protectiveness does not go overboard. In preparation for the training classes, work on Manson's listening skills: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-doberman-to-listen-to-you. Start basic commands, too, like sit: https://wagwalking.com/training/sit. Good luck and have fun training!

The best place to start for voice only training is clicker training. That way, you aren't doing any luring methods which later turn into hand signals. The clicker "marks" the behavior. They know what they just performed is correct without too much influence from you. Because clicker training is a multi step process, I have included a link with a quick video regarding clicker training. https://wagwalking.com/daily/clicker-training-for-dogs

Hello Reluca, Are you wanting pup to learn to watch for and alert for intruders on a property or personally protect you and attack anyone who would attempt to hurt you - which is called protection training? For training a dog to be a guard dog and guard property, you can work on teaching pup a Speak command, commanding pup to Speak whenever someone enters your property and reward the barking (recruit friends pup doesn't know to practice being disguised strangers), then work up to rewarding pup if they bark before you command Speak to teach them to automatically bark whenever they see someone. Also, reward pup whenever you catch them quietly keeping an eye on strangers passing by, to teach more attentiveness. To teach pup to be a protection dog, which involves bite work, I highly suggest hiring a professional protection trainer to do this part. Done wrong the training can lead to a fearful dog who is dangerous around friends and family too. It needs to be done by a professional who has the right equipment like bite bags and body suits, and can utilize the dog's natural defense drive and use positive reinforcement to reward the dog for their defensive responses in the right situations and staying controlled and calm in other situations when told. You can also join a club such as IPA, Schlutzhund, or French Ring to be more involved with part of the training yourself. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden