| German,
Thanks for another great mini-thesis!
My Diesel seems to have it in the genes. He began guarding me at the tender age of 4 months (I already told my little puppy bodyguard anecdote in the thread called 'A normal part of obedience training?', if anyone's interested :) ).
I've recently had the fabulous luck of finding an excellent trainer with 20 years' experience with Rotties and Dobermans. I abandoned my first, laissez-faire ('put a muzzle on him') trainer, when it became clear to me that real bitework with an expert is an absolute necessity with my Diesel. We have begun training, and Diesel is handing out stellar performances. He is just a very confident and courageous dog. I've seen him charge and stick his face into burning embers (no actual contact, no singed whiskers- phew!), remain triumphantly undaunted by their heat and glow- and want to go back for more! I never imagined I would own a dog who would want to engage fire in battle!
I have not a single doubt that Diesel would guard and save me from any person who might menace me in any way; I feel a safety in walking the streets in the middle of the night that I would never have know before.
It is, however, an enormous responsibility in owning a dog like my boy. It is up to me to make sure that all of his courage and guarding instincts become and remain controllable, and that is a real challenge. But it's a challenge that I'm determined to rise to (with a lot of work, and the help and expertise of my trainer, of course!).
Michela  |