When you say the phrase guard dog it more often than not brings to mind images of vicious, snarling dogs, that more often than not will be German Shepherds or Rottweilers. These images, which are portrayed regularly by the media are in fact very misleading. Any dog can make a guard dog, although there will of course be varying levels of ability depending on the breed. All you need are some simple guard dog training techniques to help you teach your dog how to guard and what you expect from them and you will have an effective protector.

There are three categories of guard dogs, those that are used for personal protection, those that are acting as sentry guards or attack dogs. The names pretty much give away the difference between the styles of guard dog, with personal protection being the kind of dog most people want to guard their families and homes and attack dogs being more specialist and generally used by the forces.

Before you can begin any type of guard dog training with your dog it is vital that they have basic obedience training mastered first. Commands such as sit, stay, no, fetch and so on must all be able to be used effectively and without any question from your dog. Once you have this perfected you can move on to train your dog other commands that will help it in it's role as guard.

If you are training your dog for personal protection then you will want it to be able to perform a simple role such as alerting you when a stranger enters your property, or they feel something suspicious is occurring. The best way for them to alert you of this is by loud and aggressive barking, which is a skill you can teach them with careful training. Personal protection dogs will defend their family and territory in a defensive manner and can also be taught to snarl at intruders, chase them off your property or even hold them without actually biting them. This type of guard dog will not be trained to bite, maim or even kill. However, in a situation where their owner is being physically threatened they may do so of their own will.

Sentry guard dogs will patrol an area such as a warehouse or factory without the need for a handler. These type of guard dogs will attack an intruder on site and are not frightened to cause harm.

Attack dogs are probably the most dangerous type of guard dogs as they are trained to potentially kill. They are taught to respond to aggression and should only be handled by expert trainers and must never be family pets. Attack dogs may well even turn on their owner or handler for a seemingly non-aggressive gesture so should always be treated with great respect and caution.

Remember, if you are undertaking guard dog training with your dog, be sensible about it. Dogs are incredibly intelligent and when trained properly will carry out your commands to perfection. If your dog attacks somebody you could be liable for a large lawsuit.