BOISE, Idaho — Dog owners, have you ever looked at your dog and wondered, “what would they do if I was being attacked?”
We met three German Shepherds and their owners and learned that just because you have a protection breed, doesn’t mean you have a protection dog.
Jacob Fowler, the owner of BlueLine K-9, is a former K-9 cop and current dog trainer who specializes in personal protection dogs. With thirteen years of experience under his belt, Fowler tells Idaho News 6 that your dog’s bark doesn’t mean they’re ready to protect you.” The assumption is that because a dog barks at someone or the dog is aggressive that they’re naturally going to protect them,” said Fowler. “There are two core reasons why a dog barks in fear or self-defense of themselves, not the owner or barking to get something they want that they can’t have.”
Fowler says that buying a specific breed for protection and expecting it to protect without formal training create a false sense of security telling us you should never make assumptions about your dog.
After undergoing two “life-like” scenarios at Forward Movement Training and Consulting in Boise, owners were able to walk into space and see what their Shepherd would do if “attacked” in an office or “home-like” space. Of the three dogs participating in this exercise, only one protected their owner. However, the dog that stepped up has experience in Schutzhund.
Fowler will tell you that personal protection dogs are an excellent alternative to owning a weapon, “if you’re concerned about your safety given today’s climate, there’s an option for you outside of a gun. A dog will help protect you. A dog will help deter violence.” Adding that “you cannot call back a bullet, but you can call back a dog. So, if I send my dog to bite somebody and in at the last second, they turn around and run away and are no longer a threat to me, I can call my dog back. I cannot do that with a bullet.”
If you’re interested in learning more about personal protection dogs or would like to know if your dog has what it takes to become certified, visit bluelinek9dogtraining.com.
Or if you’d like to know more about handgun safety as it pertains to personal/family, workplace, place of worship, or student/ school safety, visit forwardmovementtraining.com.
