| The last post was pretty correct. Protection training is ongoing, for the active "career" of the dog. It requires a serious commitment of time and resources. It is not an 8 or 10 week class. With that being said, it is incredibly rewarding, and if you are willing to commit the time and effort, I strongly encourage you to get involved with a local schutzhund club or other similar training club.
Another thing I want to offer for consideration is that working dogs are raised a little differently than housedogs. They generally aren't discouraged from the "bad" puppy behaviors like jumping and play biting, and I know the mantra I see over and over is "obedience first", but a lot of trainers don't do any real obedience (i.e. leash corrections and correction collars) until the dog is older, to prevent it from becoming leash/handler sensitive. There are others who disagree with me, and there is certainly more than one way to train a dog, but I know I have personally seen some very nice, mature obedience dogs who had a rough time transitioning to protection because they couldn't seem to hit the end of a leash or tie out line without believing they were being corrected and wanting to return to their handler.
I went on a little bit of a tangent, but I guess it was to reinforce the point that dogs raised for protection training are treated a little bit differently than the standard recommendations for raising a dog that is intended to be nothing more than a house pet. Ultimately, if you decide to go that road, the rewards and bond you form with your dog are indescribable. |