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I'm just curious, but what are these dogs like? Do they make good pets/companions, or are they always on the in a "work" state of mind? Are they like a normal dog that will curl up next to you, fart, snore, and try to sneak in the bed at night until you command it to attack? I always admire the agility and athleticism of malinois at the dog park, and most of those are probably not the same caliber of dog as these PPD's. Another question is why does one need to travel to Europe to get a dog? Are there not good dogs bred domestically? Do the euro breeders just produce superior dogs? Forgive my ignorance, but I've never been around these dogs before. I'm a beagle guy myself, so all anyone would have to do to get around my "personal protection dog" is clank his food bowl around. That Usually wakes him from his slumber...
Many make the misconception of thinking PPD's need to be vicious, crazy dogs that are hard to control, and destroy anything in front of them. But that's not the case, someone told me years ago: We are not training them to bite, they know how to bite, we are training/teaching them when not to bite.
It's not difficult to find a dog that's able to take pressure and stand it's ground. It's not difficult to find a dog with a great/safe temperament and solid nerves. But to find one that has both is rare.
Aggression, coupled with the right combination of nerves, and temperament is a thing of beauty. Think of the many Police K9 public school presentations around the country, to grade school kids. They are usually in awe of the "police dog" because of an obedience routine, as well as the officers's words. Little do they know, what the capabilities of the K9 in front of them is, while they are all around the dog petting him.
Bogey & import gsd,
Thank you for your replies. They were both very helpful and informative. It sounds like the right dog, provided with work to get rid of excess energy, can be both a companion and brother in arms. I can't imagine the bond a handler has with his dog. I don't have the time or training to own one of these dogs, but I love watching dogs work. There is something amazing about seeing a dog do what he was bred for. I'm speaking mostly of hunting dogs, since I have zero experience with protection dogs. Whenever I'm around German Shepherds, I feel like they are sizing me up and know they can get in my as if he wants. It's not just an instinct thing. It literally feels like that dog KNOWS he will win, but isn't going to do it. I may just imagine this, but I've felt that around several of these type dogs.
This may be a dumb question, but are the dogs that are deployed with special operations guys trained to kill? I mean do they go for the neck , or do they go for the arm? Can they be trained to both? Do they not become crazy excited when the action starts, or are they just that well bred/trained? I'm glad there are some experts on here, since I've always wondered how the dogs are. They seem like super dogs.
To the post that started this Snake River k9 do have 5 star pups and are nothing but the best pups but they are $$$$$$$$$$ my white GSD came from one of there breeders her blood line is top notch hip elbows heck even DNA for all of them. But I got mine as a pup and trained her myself and stoped when she got to be a solid level 1. I do have to say they can justify there asking price because there in Jackson Hole and if anyone has been there they know you can sell shit for $$$ plus to have a level 3 dog is a massive amount of time. So if your going to spend a minum of 12 hours a day training a dog for a year strait in a location were a studio goes for 700 a month how much you going to ask for it when its all said and done. Plus there place there is really nice ok its damn nice.
knockem, the only thing i don't understand with your post is this seemingly ''inbred'' desire for agression towards humans? the aggression has actually been bred in large part out of the working breeds. think of it this way, to the dog protection is taught as a game, more so in schutzhund and like dog sports. but as a whole defense drive has been bred out and replaced by prey drive in most instances. this is because the dog is very '' clear headed'' in this drive state.
If your in the market for an estate guard/man stopper ( or pretty much any type of blood pumper ) all weather type of K-9 weapon you need look no further than the South Russian Ovcharka aka. Caucasion Shepherd. Take a min. and look it up. Average 180lbs of bad ass protection. Almost any other dog would be a chew toy.....But still just a quick squeeze away from the dirt knap. Now if you had 2 of them..?
Chef,
None of those dogs I ever encountered were "trained to kill" in the sense that you're talking about. However, there were some VERY strong dogs doing CQB work which is a sub-specialty of it's own. SOCOM is actually doing some pretty neat stuff with their CQB dogs that I'd prefer not to get into.
What you WILL see with a dog that's learned how to FIGHT is the willingness to bite whatever it can to dominate the situation rather than just the "target" areas common for sport dogs. LE sees this in the no-shit fights they get into where their dog ends up biting the head or the groin. They're also much better at using their whole bodies when on the bite instead of just their mouths. I call it "Dog-Jitsu" when I'm catching a dog that's learned how to use its whole body and he's constantly working his position and body angles to lock me up and break my balance to get me down. As Kenny mentioned, muzzle fighting helps to bring that out. Catching a dog during muzzle work sucks for the decoy, and I think all of us have seen decoys get knocked out or hurt pretty bad while doing it. I attached a super short youtube vid of why I usually leave the muzzle decoy work to guys who've had the additional training in it (and are a little younger and dumber)
Decoy gets knocked out by K9!! - YouTube
Not unfamiliar, just feel a professionally trained family 'protection dog' is little more than a novelty at best, and a liability at worst.
It's also best to recognize a question posed rhetorically...
That is an awesome moment.