Personal and Family Protection Dogs – Part 2: Why dogs are so great at this job
Written on May 24, 2022
A highly trained dog with the correct genetic makeup and the right preparation, coupled with client education and training transfer, is one of the most elite security systems out there. A dog can hear roughly four times better than a person. Their vision is also better than ours. Dogs have rod-dominated retinas that allow them to see well in the dark. Along with superior night vision, dogs have better motion visibility than humans have. A dog’s sense of smell is incredible. They possess up to 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses, compared to about six million in us. The area of a dog’s brain that is devoted to analyzing smells is about 40 times greater than ours. Dogs possess a sense of smell many times more sensitive than even the most advanced manufactured instrument. They are keenly aware of their environment, especially when there is a change that triggers them to be more alert, which in turn switches all these outstanding senses into full drive. When we pair natural canine instincts like these with excellent genetics and generations of purpose bred dogs for this type of work, along with socialization, confidence building, high level obedience training and elite level protection training, we end up with a highly intelligent, balanced, social dog that is very committed to keeping the family, property and himself or herself safe.
Outside of our family protection dogs being committed protectors, they are also eager to be your best friend.
Specialty Dog Training™ protection dogs are exposed to home settings and a vast array of new environments to be sure they can be safe, obedient, and perform regardless of the environment. Our trained protection dogs are good with children and adults. Our dogs are raised around kids and exposed to many new people from an early age.
Specialty Dog Training protection dogs are a well-rounded, comprehensive security system. They are the early warning/alarm, the deterrent. Ultimately, if needed, your dog is the weapon. Alarms do help, but unfortunately, by the time someone has already breached a door or broken a window, it can be too late. If someone with no sound mind is serious about executing a burglary or worse, they know they have time. Your dog will hear, smell or see before your alarm is ever triggered. If that subject decides to push past the barking threat/alarm bark, they will be met with a second level of threat response and if they still don’t quit, your dog will deploy. Thankfully, the reality is that most protection dogs never need to bite/attack. The threat and deterrent are enough, but your safety is priority one and being prepared can save lives.
*Please note that only level 2 and 3 dogs are trained in apprehension while level 1 dogs are deterrent dogs or alarm dogs only.
Your personal protection dog doesn’t require, or want, days off, doesn’t make you run payroll and manage another employee/team member and will never need a raise, except for extra pets and play time. On average, a certified private security guard runs $50/hour through a security services company. Even if you only have one person on your security team working 5 days a week, 8 hours a day, you are looking at an investment of $104,000 annually. Some people need more (7 days a week at 12+ hours a day) and some need less or none. However, those that do not need or want private security are still investing in other security measures and they are not as thorough and solid as a trained protection dog.
Among our clientele are everyday families, businesspeople, professional athletes, influencers, music artists, actors, producers, directors, and we maintain the highest level of privacy while working with you.
Creating the ideal family protection dog is an art. The dogs need to be social, have the drive for the job but also understand how to settle in a home. They need to be comfortable around kids, adults, and other dogs and deal with the normal hustle and bustle of life at home. Personal and family protection dogs should have a solid foundation in obedience training, being able to listen to commands on- and off-leash with or without distractions. They should obey their owners/handlers, but also be able to make good decisions on their own to a degree. These protectors aren’t superheroes, so being fair with expectations is also important. However, the bottom line is that we want to produce dogs that are balanced, loving, loyal, obedient, and protective of their loved ones when necessary. While it’s a lot to live up to and a challenging task, the dogs that we work with are working breeds that adore – and are in need of – having a job or a purpose. Without a mission, structure, and a job to keep them busy and engaged, they do not feel complete.