Scroll down to learn how to teach a dog to attack, bark, heal, roll-over, know left from right and much more. Training a Dog to attack people or other animals can carry with it enormous liability. Make sure you know the law.
Training a Dog to Attack
First, all types of dogs can be trained to attack. The difference between a dog that is properly trained is the dog does not attack out of fear or anger, he attacks because he has been commanded to attack. Attack training, if carried out is the extention of trained discipline.
Here is some of the best written books on training dogs
Pack Animals
Dogs are pack Animals. It is important that you assert yourself as the leader of that pack. Training a dog is best started while the dog is a puppy. Establish yourself early on as the single source for the dogs food and water. Establish yourself as the dominant leader with the puppy. Never be the first to look away in a confrontation with your dog. If you want to be a good dog trainer learn to think like a dog. Think in a pack mentality.
Bite Suits
Using the bite suit is another way of attack training your dog. It's main use is to teach a dog to bite a person anywhere he pleases. The bite suit is ideal for turning your dog into a dog that will stop a man or to make your dog a more committed biter.
Dog foaming from the mouth
The angrier a dog gets the more he foams from his mouth. Even bleeding from his mouth is normal when the dog is working hard in an attack mode. This is normal for a dog in these circumstances.
Breeds of Dog best suited for Intruder Attack Training.
Shepherds
Dobermans
Rottweilers
Certainly there are others but these dogs have the ability to stop an intruder with sufficient force to stop the intrusion. These dogs can be lethal weapons and should be trained by professional dog trainers.
In training a dog there must be a relationship of trust with the dog. Every dog, like humans, has a certain amount of potential for drive and motivation.
The idea that a dog’s bloodline determines the amount of drive that a dog has is wrong. Drive is more a manifestation of the dogs desire to please its owner and excel with the pack than anything else. Because of this drive should be channeled through proper training. A dog wanting to please its owner but not being trained properly results in a wild dog that is a danger to both its owner and others. Dogs that show proper drive in training are rewarded with treats (small dry dog bones/treats sufficient to register as a treat but not large enough to be a distraction. In training we recommend ¼ of a dog treat for a larger dog) and praise.
In training a dog distractions are a natural part of the training. Some trainers do this by using a ball on a string or a tug. Training a dog to focus is an important part of training. A dog must be able to focus excluding everything else for 15 minutes if it is to become trained dog. This includes dogs that are being trained to work as attack or protection dogs. These dogs must be able to focus to bark and hold or to pull back when commanded to stop the attack.
If you want to train and dog to attack you must first train the dog to sit, lay down, roll over, heel, retrieve and stay. These are the commands that will provide the dog and you with a basis to gain trust and confidence one with another. My personal preference is to also start teaching distraction training within these commands but some prefer to teach it later.
Basic Dog Training
Materials Needed: Choke Chain, Dry dog biscuits (small), fanny pack, short cloth leash and long cloth leash. DO NOT attempt to train a dog using the fishing line type leash that automatically recoils and advances.
Here is a great audio on basic dog training:
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Place the choke chain around the dogs neck by holding the dogs nose and mouth with one hand while slipping the choke chain around the dogs neck with the other hand. Only use the choke chain during training so that the dog relates to the choke chain and your putting the fanny pack with dog treats on as time to start learning. The choke chain should be positioned on the dogs neck that it will close as you tug and release as you let up from the tug.
After each successful event you reward the dog with a small treat and praise (later praise alone or praise and a ball or other “non-food” treat should be used). You should keep training to short time periods several times a day rather than one long training period. You should conclude your dog training on a positive event with lots of praise rather than a failed event where you are frustrated. The dog will be in tune with your feelings and concluding on a failed attempt where you are frustrated simply will add confusion and frustration to the animal as it relates to training.
Contrary to some ideas dogs do not understand human language. Dogs must be taught in small pieces of information and a dog should never be corrected or punished for failing to do something you have not successfully taught him how to do. (This means he has successfully done the act or event at least 40 times and not just he “got it” once or twice).
Teaching a Dog to Sit
To teach a dog to sit lift up on the chain while gently pushing down on the dogs hind quarters and repeating the word sit. Once the dog will lower his hind quarters on his own reward him with 1/4 of a dog biscuit. Repeat this over and over. Each training session should begin with this command. Once the dog will perform "sit" from a verbal command the hand signal is the balled fist pointed straight out towards the dog and then the fist lowered to the ground while saying the word sit. By repeating this the dog will associate the movement of the wrist with the verbal command. At the time that this happens the verbal command may be eliminated leaving the dog performing on the hand signal alone. Do not let the dog lower his front legs when in the sit posture.
Teaching a Dog to Lay Down
From the sit command you teach the lay command by pulling down on the chain and repeating the word "lay." The dog should be taught to lower both his body and his head. To accomplish this command the dog must trust in you completely because he is placing himself in a vulnerable position. The hand signal for lay is to hold the hand out fully extended with the palm downward and then lower your hand as if to the ground.
Teaching a Dog to Heel
Should be taught from left heel of the trainer and the chain should be used to lightly jerk so that the dog understands walking beyond the persons foot will result in the chain being jerked back. Another method to teach a dog to heal is the continuation of the "watch me" command described under the Rottweiler Training tab on the left navigation panel.
Teaching a Dog to Roll Over
The easiest method to accomplish this is to take the dog through the sit, lay commands and then roll over command. From the lay command command you will take the chain and move it so that it crosses over the dogs body while saying, roll over, and (in some cases) physically moving the dog so that it rolls over. The dog will catch on fast enough if this process is followed. I have never had a dog that didn't catch this command within the first day or two when taught following the sit and lay commands.
Teaching a Dog to Jump
Teaching a dog to jump is actually one of the easiest commands. You will first teach them to walk through a Hoola Hoop that you will hold upright with it touching the ground. Over a series of days you will gradually raise the Hoola Hoop so that the dog is jumping through the hoop at a height of 3-4 feet. As with all commands this should be taught while the dog is on chain/leash. Later you will incorporate the sit and stay command so that the dog can be positioned 30 to 40 feet from the hoop and then told to jump. To take the jump command to the next level follow it up with the jump command where the dog jumps over your body. Same method as with the Hoola Hoop.
Teaching a Dog left from right
A dog really doesn't know left from right but it will sure seem like it once he is trained. To teach a dog this trick use a long cloth leash attached to a choke chain. Have the dog stand in front of you and drape the leash (by flicking your hand that is holding the leash) over the dogs shoulder that you want him to turn. His head will naturally turn to follow the leash and when it does you pull the leash towards you while giving the verbal command of right or left. Reverse this process to the other shoulder to get the dog the opposite way. Be sure (by having had the dog do the one shoulder direction at least 100 times) the dog understands one direction before trying to incorporate the second direction. The hand signal for this command is the closed fist moved in a circular motion (left or right) depending on which way you want the dog to turn.
Teaching a Dog to stay
From the sit position simply stand in front of the dog with your palm outward towards him. Each time the dog stays reward him. Make each time gradually longer and longer. It is easiest to train using the leash. Initally a short leash and gradually up to 30 foot of cloth leash. Once the dog has the stay command down introduce noice and outside influences to teach him to stay even with these other influences. This command works with the dog's focus capability and can be incorporated into many level two dog training tricks.
Attack Dog Training Skills
Training a Attack Dog Trust in you
Rewarding an Attack Dog
Teaching an attack dog to hold prey
Teaching your Attack Dog to disengage or “out”
Training a Attack Dog to key on prey
Training a Attack Dog to focus
Training a Dog to Bite and Bite and Hold (Requires Handler and Helper)
When a show of aggression is appropriate (when the pack leader commands or the pack leader is attacked.
Learn all the Dog Training Techniques with:
Law of the Pack
Dogs are pack animals. I learned this early on when mauled by a wolf hound at age 10. For the next 20 years I had little to do with dogs until laid off from my job. It was at that time that I started reading everything I could regarding dogs and the training of dogs. I visited a local breeder and for the next 12 months lived, slept and trained my protection/attack dog 24/7. Eventually, the dog and I communicated (with the exception of the out command and few others) solely by sight, body movement and hand signals.
A dog likes order and consistency. Consistent rules and consistent results. The law of the pack is the order of the pack. Most attack dog behavior problems come from lack of order in the pack. You must assert yourself as the leader of the pack early in the dogs life and never give that role up. At the moment that you loose your position in the pack as the leader of the pack you have lost control of the dog.
If you are simply the bringer of the food and water it is not sufficient to have asserted yourself as the leader of the pack. Your dog must perceive you as the one that gives commands, establishes order, sets rules and administers penalties when rules are broken. Beating a dog is not a penalty that establishes your long term dominance or teaches respect. (It teaches fear and a dog raised on fear alone eventually becomes dangerous). Controlling the dogs level of work and free time is one method of ascertaining your dominance as the leader of the pack. If you are not willing to make a commitment of your daily time in training and working with an attack dog you have no business owning one. It is simply inviting disaster into your home.
Teaching a Dog to Focus or Key
As part of any training regiment a dog must be taught to focus. Teaching a dog to focus or key is an important part of training. Introduction of outside stimulus (such as other people, automobiles, sounds) within training lessons can assist in teaching the dog to stay focused on the command and to follow the command through to conclusion regardless of outside distractions.
Part of a dog staying focused will depend on your own focus and temperament. If you approach to training is haphazard and allows other people and events to interfere with your training the dog then expect similar lack of focus from the animal.
From the moment I pick up the dogs choke chain and put on the fanny pack until the time I stop training my sole attention is on the dog and his task completion. The dog understands that we are there to work to the exclusion of all other events and outside influences. (While training your dog do not let other people/children break the training to pet the dog or interfere with any commands).
Similary, no one can train your dog as effectively as you. The dog expects to receive its commands from the leader of the pack. When you hire outside dog trainers to assume this role for you then you have diminished your influence with the dog and given up part of your dominance as leader of the pack.
Correcting a Puppy – Teaching them “position” within the Pack
A puppy learns respect from its mother from 4-6 weeks. Its mother growls when it comes near her food or nips at the puppy if it fails to follow her commands. At this early stage the puppy is learning pack behavior. Likewise, the puppies little mates bite and growl at one another displaying rank within the pack. A stronger more dominant pup will bite and fight harder thereby establishing its dominance almost from birth. These are all natural pack behaviors.
Thus, when puppy is removed into a human environment/pack and the puppy bites at hands, kids, ankles it is merely trying to ascertain its position within the new pack. This is the puppies way of trying to find its rank with the pack. Growling or barking, biting and nipping are the puppies way of trying to find its new leader.
I have seen small children told not to scold the puppy or push it way or otherwise keep the puppy from biting at the child. In effect the message to the pack animal is the child has lower rank than the puppy.
Remember, the dog is not only searching for who is the leader of the pack but also where the puppy ranks within the pack.
However, there is a age old argument as to how best to correct a puppies behavior without permanently damaging the dogs temperament. I have seen methods as diverse as slapping a dog, hitting the dog with a newspaper, holding their mouth closed and repeating the word, “no”, shaking the dog. My own method was adapted haphazardly from watching the 70’s show, Hillstreet Blues and the crazy detective that would growl at people. Somewhere, I adopted this method and will hold the dog looking directly into it’s eyes and growling or talking in a stern, “I’m the King” voice. It has worked for me for 20 years and I noticed that lately others have adopted a similar approach.
Pack Behavior
Here are a few Pack Behaviors that will require you to assert your dominance in maintaining your position within the pack;
When a dog charges past you to get out the door. Unless you have told the dog to go out the door he should be waiting on you as the leader of the pack to go through first.
Barking at other dogs.
When you are walking the dog on a leash and he is pulling you down the street he is exercising dominance as a pack behavior.
When it is sleeping and growls as you walk by.
Fighting with another dog. The leader of the pack (except for self defense) determines who and when to fight.
When the dog is on the chair or couch and you move it aside only to have it growl at you.
Pack behavior should be immediately corrected so the dog never forgets who is the leader of the pack and its rank within the pack. (Don’t expect your children to sit somewhere else while the dog is laying in the chair unless the message you want to send is your children have less value/rank than the dog).
Dog Bites – When/will a dog bite a family member
Many people assume that particular breeds of dogs are presupposed to bite people. Often people will ask if they purchase one of the working breeds of dogs aren’t they going to eventually bite the children, wife, spouse, parents?
Dog bites within a pack are not the result of one particular breed but a dominance and pack rank issue. Puppies should be raised so they understand their rank within the pack.
I had once gone to some friends home to pick up some furniture. They were very proud of their new “mutt” but within 15 minutes of being there I knew the dog was destined to bite someone, and it did. The dog believed it was second within the pack. Only the husband was allowed to give the dog commands and when the wife trying to get the dog outside (so we could move some furniture) she was begging rather than commanding and the dog was having no part of it. Eventually she had to lure the dog outside with food and water. From that moment I knew the dog would be problems. They had made the classic mistake of allowing the dog to assert its dominance, to gain rank, within their family. By allowing the dog to gain dominance within the “pack” the dog saw no problem in biting the six year old daughter when she tried to stop the dog from chewing her doll.
Establishing Dominance
As the leader of the pack it is important that you establish dominance from the time the dog is a puppy. Your dominance as the leader of the pack must continually be asserted so there is never a question of who is the leader of the pack.
Some methods for establishing dominance are;
Working the dog on your time and your terms. You determine when training is over not the dog.
Reduction of the dogs play time
Removing the dogs food bowl (Do not use this with adult dogs you did not raise if the dog may perceive he is the leader or dominant dog).
Making the dog get out of your chair or off your bed when you are ready to sit down or sleep.
Making the dog heel.
Not allowing the dog to stand over a child. (This is the dogs way of establishing dominance over the child and should be met with severely)
Not allowing the dog to jump up on the bed and stand over you or stand on the bed while you are laying in it (for smaller dogs)
Eye Contact. When you correct your dog make eye contact with him and keep that eye contact until he looks away. The submissive dog looks away first and you should always retain the leader of the pack roll. Adversely, if you are confronted by a agressive dog don't try to stare him down. He will take your stare as a challenge and move to maintain his pack position.
Dominance by a dog must be stopped immediately and such training should be done from the beginning. That is why training a pup is so much easier because struggling for dominance with an adult dog may result in a dog bite to you.
Also, dogs by nature have a "hunt for prey" instinct. This survival instinct is triggered by quick movement and small objects.
While on the topic of dogs and kids I need to bring up the matter of prey drive and kids. A dog's prey drive is the drive to chase and kill prey. The thing Kids can trigger a dog's prey drive by running away from the dog while they are screaming and squealing and making a lot of noise. This action on the part of the kids can trigger the dogs to chase and bite. Do not confuse the instinct of a dog reacting to prey as one of dominance. In this circumstances it is the child that has triggered the dogs natural survival instinct. Becuase of this children should be monitored around dogs. Not raised to fear them but like they are told not to run and screeam around "Grandpa" the same goes for the dog:-)
Getting an Adult Dog for an Attack Dog
Simply put it is not recommended. In addition, to bad habits that it may have from the prior owner you will also have to retrain the dog as to rank and dominance within the new family (yours).
If the dog is a dominant Alpha Male you may have additional problems trying to re-train the dog. Remember an Alpha Male perceives that he should be the leader of the pack and he will constantly be challenging you for that role.
It is difficult enough training these dogs when it only involves you but throw a alpha dog and your children into the mix and the struggle for pack dominance is not worth the risk. If you wantan attack dog start with a puppy and train them right. Read everything you can on dog training. Start here;
Another type of dog bite is the animal that bites out of fear. This can be from both poor breeding and from poor structure. A dog that bites out of fear is one of the most difficult (if not impossible) animals to deal with. If it has been determined that your dog is a biter examine both the dominance and fear elements to determine the reason. Fear biting dogs are the most dangerous of all dog bites because of the animals unpredictability.
Finally, the ideal protection or attack dog is one with a good temperament, strong body and solid nerves.
To develop this dog you cannot keep him isolated in a back yard (this would be develop strong defense (sometimes wrongly called territorial) skills but make the animal a danger to be around.
Dogs that are being trained for attack dog work must learn the art of chasing prey and focusing. Prey training is something that should be started when the dog is still young. Some trainers believe that in teaching a dog to attack you must first scare the dog and teach it to respond defensively. We disagree. The degree of fear necessary for a dog to go into a defensive posture is enormous considering most dogs will avoid the conflict first.
Training a dog is similar to teaching a child to the point that no two methods work the same. First, you must determine the dogs nerve, prey, defense, dominance thresholds before you can develop a training solution. No two training programs will work for every dog. However, a dog training program that is dependent on scaring the dog is short sited in our view.
If you have never trained a dog before do not start by training an attack dog or training a dog to attack. Your methods are likely to slip into fear training and this will ultimately result in a dangerous animal to you and your family.
A good service dog has both the focus to pursue prey and the ability to utilize defense. They see the helper as a fighting partner that they must exercise dominance over not as someone to kill or be maimed.
If you want to train your dog to attack then purchase the animal from a registered breeder, raise the dog in a home that understands rank, dominance and pack issues, have the dog evaluated by a professional so that a plan of training based on the animals personality can be developed early, work with a professional trainer and teach basic training such as sit, lay, bark, quiet, roll-over, crawl and other training before embarking on training an attack dog. Be sure you have the time to dedicate to train a dog and remember that whether you ultimately keep, sell or giveaway the animal what you teach an attack dog will stay with that dog forever.
By using the information on this site you agree that your training of a dog to attack is for a legitimate purpose and you release the owners and operators of this site for any harm or damage that may arise from the use of information on this site and agree to indemnify the owners and operators of this site from any harm caused others as a result of information provided on this site.
