Guard dog classes?

[Ja Rhule]

I got a German shepherd puppy who is extremely nice, he will lick any stranger to death. We originally got him to be more of a guard dog but its not working out. I'm thinking to put him thru classes to make him more territorial at home. Any ideas? Or will he get more territorial as he grows? He's 4 months old and weights about 45lbs. He loves barking at strangers but will lick them if gets near em.

[Guest]

Shepherds are very territorial.  He's still a pup, give him a few more months (we had a scary territorial/aggressive shepherd).  Nothing wrong with barking at a stranger but not biting for goodness sake.  Any smart person would see the dog and head the other way.  which is what you want right? (thinking of someone breaking into your house for ex). 

[Ja Rhule]

Pretty much, if someone breaks into my house while I'm away, I want him to protect my wife.

[Mrs Pantherfan]

my german shepherd mix ...MIX...will let the person know who rings the doorbell that she's there...

 

they get more territorial the older they get ...you don't need classes for that... get classes for obedience if anything...my girl is highly intelligent though..easily trainable and very sweet...please don't train your dog to potentially attack people....if you're that nervous about break ins...get an alarm system

[Guest]

yeah, our shepherd was about 80 pounds. The sight of her barking at the door scared many salesmen away.  

[Mrs Pantherfan]

yeah, Izzy's fat ass weighs in at 48 lbs :) ..but her bark...is quite scary to those who don't know her..

[Guest]

dog I have now is about 75 and his bark is fearsome. He runs away from people once they are in the house tho. He and our other dog bark like crazy when the doorbell rings.

Cop came by the house once and told us we'd never have a problem with break-ins "they'd just skip your house". lol 

[panther4life]

With age he will become more protective of the fam. He'll learn how to read your reactions to know how to react to certain situations.