Guard Dog - Barking

Barking

Both guard dogs and watchdogs bark loudly to alert their owners of an intruder's presence and scare away the intruder. The watch dog's function ends here; a guard dog is capable of attacking or restraining the intruder. For example, livestock guardian dogs are often large enough and strong enough to attack and drive away livestock predators such as wolves. Some breeds (such as Keeshonden) are excellent watchdogs but not excellent guard dogs because they bark loudly to alert their masters of intruders but are not given to assertive behavior. Similarly, even very small but attentive dogs (among a few other species) may function well as watchdogs. Guardian breeds will bark to alert their master and to warn off an approaching animal or human threat, prior to their interception of the trespasser. They are different from the smaller watchdogs in that they do not continue barking, they take action. The human shepherd would in many cases come to the guard dog's aid with a weapon, not letting the dog fend for itself. One small dog breed that would sound the alarm and be a handful for the home invader would be a male Irish terrier. This breed has spirit and great courage but its small size would not frighten off full grown armed male humans..

The following pedigree breeds are the best at watch dog barking:

• Georgian shepherd dog
• Caucasian Shepherd Dog
• Miniature schnauzer
• West Highland white terrier
• Scottish terrier
• Australian Shepherd
• Doberman pinscher
• Pit bull
• German shepherd
• Rottweiler
• Cairn terrier
• Airedale terrier

If the risk is from human intruders, a suitable dog can be simply trained to be aggressive towards unrecognized humans and then tethered or enclosed unsupervised in an area the owner wishes to protect when he is not around (such as at night); the stereotypical "junkyard dog" is a common example of this. Other guard dogs intended for police or more supervised work are trained to bite, restrain and release an intruder only on the specific commands of its handler—as in Schutzhund or K9 Pro Sports training.