Good (Guard) Dog!

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Also keep in mind that some dogs are not content only as watchdogs. When they are not given appropriate work, herding dogs such as border collies or Australian shepherds can be extremely excitable, which is not a good trait in a watchdog. Predatory aggression is another bad trait that can be present in some aggressive breeds. But Luescher says even naturally friendly dogs can be trained as good watchdogs. “Dogs are quite good at realizing when something is amiss.”

TRAINING A WATCHDOG

Let’s say you adopt a mixed-breed puppy after learning the puppy’s parents are good watchdogs. Where do you go from there? “Don’t encourage too much barking at an early age,” Hunthausen says, because “territorial” barking often does not emerge until a dog is 9 months to 3 years old. Then, as the dog reaches maturity, teach it how to do its job.

“I like to teach the dog to bark when something unusual happens, and then go to a family member,” Hunthausen says. “To do this, tell the dog to be quiet every time it barks, and then call it to you and give it a reward – a treat or a chew toy. You want to develop a reflex so that when a dog senses something unusual, it barks and then goes to a family member and stops barking.”

One version of this technique is “clicker training.” As the dog carries out a request, the owner sounds a small clicking device to alert the dog it has performed the correct behavior and then gives it a treat. As a result, the dog learns to associate the sound of the clicker with the treat. Using the clicker is very effective; the device allows the dog to instantly recognize that it has performed the desired task because it immediately hears the clicking noise. As soon as the dog is comfortable with the requested behavior, a verbal command can replace both the clicker and treat.

Donna Mlinek, an animal behavior educator at the Dumb Friends League in Denver, says words and phrases, such as “quiet” or “enough barking,” should be taught as firm word commands. “If you yell ‘Shut up!,’ the dog may think you’re barking with it,” she says.

But some dogs get so carried away barking that owners have trouble teaching them a “quiet” command. In this case, it can help to use an “interrupter,” such as shaking a can with pennies in it, or giving the “quiet” command and squirting the dog in the mouth with water. The dog will stop barking to lick the water; follow that by giving it a treat. With these strategies, the dog eventually will respond to the command alone, and the noise or squirt won’t be necessary, Mlinek says.

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