Teaching my dog to fake intimidation??

sheep

Hi guys, before wondering why I wrote this title, I want to explain what happened...

So yesterday night I was walking my pup near home, when suddenly I saw some suspicious guy on the other side of the street. I looked at him a few times, and we were walking towards each other's direction on different sides of the streets, when I've noticed that when he was behind, he actually crossed the street. And then I looked back a few times, and saw him looking at me with his hands in the pocket. So we walked a bit faster (there's a police station near), and then when I couldn't see him anymore and was farther away, we've started running home.
Maybe I'm a bit paranoid, but I do feel scared when I'm outside home at night, since I'm a woman and not strong.

So I came up with an idea that might make me feel safer, which is to teach my pup to fake intimidation, like barking on command. But well, I just want to teach him to fake intimidation without actually acting really protective, coz I'm not confident enough to teach my pup protection lessons, since that requires completely control on a dog and we are still trying to achieve that. Also, although my pup seem to have some protection tendencies, like growling and barking when hearing something suspicious at home, and he's a GSD mix, he just loves everyone and I would never want him to change that.

So do you guys have any idea for this?? I just want to feel safer and enjoy our walk peacefully.

Tess

You can certainly teach a dog to bark on command, but I would be cautious about over doing the teaching the dog to growl and act fierce. You might end up with a dog who is fearful - aggressive in certain contexts.

Take a self defense class.
Carry a can of mace.
There are lots of things you can do to make yourself safer.

bigpawsup

You certainly can teach a speak or smile (showing teeth). It would just be a fun trick for the dog.

Also, I would say pay close attention to your dog's body language. They are usually pretty "intune" to what is going on around us.

I'm not certain where you live, but I "carry" my own protection. You might want to look into something to give you control of the situation.

TonkaTruckJK

I'll come right out and say it. If you feel like you need protection, buy a gun. It's more reliable and more effective.

Using your dog to 'intimidate' is going to either A) get you deeper into a situation because you've built up false confidence in your dog; or B) get your dog in trouble because he's trying to protect you and inflicts a bite. I've yet to hear (outside of police/military circles) of a "justified bite".

Buy yourself a gun. Take personal protection classes. Be more situationally aware. Feel safe knowing that you're in control of your own safety.

bigpawsup

I was trying to be a bit more tactful but this is about the size of it. If you live somewhere you cannot have a gun, look into local laws and find out what is legal (pepper spray, mace, what ever).

I would also recommend taking self defense/training classes. Sometimes we need training too!

sheep

I want to teach him to bark in a general way, by teaching him to bark positively, maybe by catching him barking and then treat him a lot. I used to do this with my past husky, but it was much easier since she was very huskily vocal. Yesterday, I've tried to make him bark by exciting him to play, but he ended up running around me instead. I must carry treats and instantly treat him the moment I catch him bark again!

People normally don't understand dog barks, so even thought a dog is just barking on command, it can scare some people, so that he would be scaring suspicious people without acting aggressive, and on distance.

But yeah, maybe I should take some defense class. I'm not physically strong, but maybe it's good to learn how to protect myself and others in such kind of situation.

Yesterday my pup didn't detect anything at the beginning, but he probably sensed something from me after a while.

Teaching a dog to smile seems fun lol but how can I make him raise teeth in a positive way??

sheep

No no I don't want my pup to really act aggressively, just faking it! Many people don't understand dog language, so that they can get scared by seeing a GSD (he's GSD mix) barking, even if it's actually a play bark.

But well, maybe pepper cans are good too (I don't like the idea of dangerous weapons - but guns are illegal here anyways -, since it can backfire and hurt ourselves instead).

TonkaTruckJK

I've taught "speak" by putting Tonka into a sit/stay and "goading" him into a bark. I do this by holding the treat out, and getting excited just asking over and over "do you want this? do you? do you? do you want this yummy treat?" until he barks...then c/t. Rinse, repeat. May not be the best method, but it worked for me. Eventually, bring in the queue "speak" or "say please" or whatever your queue of choice may be.

Definitely recommend this - even more so because you feel that you're not physically strong. You'd be surprised what you're capable of. You may also want to look into a Kubaton for your keychain, or mace if it's legal where you live.

I've heard of people getting this from dogs who have a natural 'lip-raising' reaction to touching their whiskers. Haven't personally tried to train it.

bigpawsup

I've done it this way. You need a strong "sit" and "wait" (stay). Hold the treat in front of them and slightly above their head. With patience the mouth falls open and the teeth show. Smile is my cue.

If you look at my albums you'll see Taz is a better "smiler" than Gypsy but they both will do it.

Criosphynx

Chili has a bark and hold like used in dog sports. I used to dabble in "protection" stuff and he was the only dog with the drive to do it

I can tell you, your dog will need nerve to do it. If a stomp of the foot by the stranger is going to scare your dog, dont bother. The dog also needs to bark AT the person. So teaching a simple "speak" while the dog looks at you for a cookie is useless also imo

How to teach this properly is not som'thing I quite feel comfortable doing over the internet. Sorry.

If you want to do the speak on comand i recommend you proof it so the dog will bark without looking at you
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