Not a day goes by that I don’t get a call or email asking what the difference is between a guard dog and protection dog. As I have mentioned in another article, a protection dog has all the attributes of a family pet. The difference is that now you have a well-mannered, off-leash obedience-trained dog that is social and that you can take anywhere, whether it be an airport or a shopping mall, and not have any issues. It will not hesitate to protect you and your family if the need arises.
A guard dog has little or no social skills, and merely guards a gated area, whether it is body-shop or a car dealership. It is important when purchasing a guard dog that you get it from a reputable breeder. A good guard dog still has to have strong nerves, and will not back down from an unwelcome guest. It is also important to consider purchasing two guard dogs, for they will work together and feed off each others energy. If considering purchasing two dogs, I would recommend a male and female, for the females are a lot sharper and will indicate a lot sooner while the male has greater size for intimidation.
When housing your guard dogs it is very important to make sure that no only is your fence secured to keep your dog from getting out, but that you keep your dog in a crate during the day. The crate should be in a quiet and cool place so that he or she can sleep during the day and work during the night.