Are Golden Retrievers Good Guard Dogs?

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Golden Retrievers can almost be considered the perfect breed, but how are they as guard dogs? If part of the reason that you want a dog is to feel safe in your home, you will want to know if the Golden Retriever will actually protect you and your family.

So, are Golden Retrievers good guard dogs? No. The Golden Retriever has most of the traits needed for a good guard dog, except the most important one: they are 100% absolutely not aggressive. A Golden Retriever might have potential as a watchdog, with appropriate training, but you should never expect a Golden to be willing to attack or to be naturally distrustful of strangers. Those traits are inherent in good guard dog breeds. Unless a Golden has been abused or neglected, those traits are just never going to be part of its character.

Despite being loyal, highly intelligent, large and strong, the Golden Retriever just does not have it in them to be a good guard dog.

It simply boils down to this…

Golden Retrievers are Just too Friendly

According to the AKC, the Golden Retriever ranked as the third most popular dog breed in 2018.

Their most distinguishing characteristic?

Are Golden Retrievers Good Guard Dogs meme

They are friendly.

Other adjectives listed in the official breed description are:

  • Eager-to-please
  • Joyous
  • Playful

A Golden Retriever is most likely to walk up to a stranger and invite them to play rather than growl menacingly.

Remember, a good guard dog should be intimidating in their appearance, distrustful of the unknown and highly vigilant.

Golden’s Love Food

Imagine an intruder walking up to your house…

Your Golden Retriever barks vigorously but with its tail wagging furiously.

This ill-intentioned person just happens to have some beef jerky in his pocket. You can bet that your Golden will immediately be distracted by that beef jerky.

And if the intruder gives it to the dog… well… let’s just say your “guard dog” has left you to fend for yourself.

Ask any Golden owner or trainer and they will confirm that this breed is easily motivated by treats. A dog that is so easily distracted and redirected by a treat could be very easily manipulated by an intruder.

A good guard dog would not be so easily distracted from defending its territory.

Golden Retriever’s Don’t Tend to Bite

One detail that boils down to genetics and breed is that the Golden Retriever does not have a strong tendency to bite.

In fact, the Golden is known for having what is known as a “soft bite”.

This is because their original job was to retrieve – that is, bring back fallen prey undamaged.

The Golden instinctively knows that its bite is weak and has a tendency to defend itself through submissiveness and avoiding conflict.

An ideal guard dog should have an instinct towards biting and should be trained to control their bite appropriate to a given situation.

Guard Dog vs. Watchdog: What’s the Difference?

The differences between a guard dog and a watchdog are few, but important:

A guard dog is like having an armed security guard for your house.

You expect the dog to be vigilant, to bark at an unknown intruder and, most importantly, to take action if the intruder does not respect the boundaries of your guard dog’s territory.

“Taking action” means aggressive behavior by the dog designed to stop, immobilize and detain the intruder.

A watchdog, on the other hand, can be thought of as a simple security alarm.

The ideal watch dog has their power in its bark.

The watchdog will sound the alarm at unknown people entering their territory (your home) and will alert their owner to any unusual activity that might be happening.

Training Your Golden as a Watchdog

So if you are willing to let go of the notion of training your friendly, playful Golden Retriever as an intimidating guard dog, you might be interested in training them to be a helpful watchdog instead.

It is well recognized that Golden’s are really very trainable. It is easy enough to take advantage of their eager-to-please personality and to train them into overcoming the inherent weaknesses of their breed.

While this is not a complete explanation of the training process, the following steps can give you a good idea of where to start:

  1. Train basic commands. Watchdog training is considered advanced. To ensure success, make sure your dog flawlessly knows the basic commands. These include SIT, STAY, LEAVE IT, and DOWN. You should also have taught your dog to bark on command.
  2. Teach impulse control. Your dog should learn to stay or lay down when a visitor approaches your house. This should also include teaching your dog to not eat treats that are available to them unless you give them permission. Remember, you do not want your watchdog running up to strangers ready to play. You do not want your dog receiving treats from strangers either. Your Golden will need to know how to control its strong instincts to play and eat to become a good watchdog.
  3. Teach your dog its territory. Golden Retrievers are not naturally territorial breeds. You will have to teach them their territory starting as early as possible. Every day you should walk the boundaries of your property with your dog so they know the area they will be expected to guard.
  4. Find a stranger for your dog to bark at. Find someone your dog does not know. Have that person approach the house and give your dog the command to bark. Try to repeat this exercise daily, rewarding your dog with a favorite treat when they successfully bark at unknown people. Eventually, they will learn to bark at people approaching their territory.
  5. Have a stranger offer your dog a treat upon approaching. This is the most difficult part of the training a Golden to be a good watchdog. Initially, order the dog to ‘leave it’ and command them to continue barking.

With time and consistency, you can teach your Golden Retriever to be a good watchdog.

A Golden Retriever may not provide the intimidating and ferocious protection that you feel you might need, but they can learn to faithfully advise you of unusual situations and people approaching your home.

Related Questions

Can I train my Golden Retriever to be a guard dog myself?

You can, but you really shouldn’t. The training of a guard dog is a very delicate job. Remember, you are actually training your dog to be aggressive to strangers. It is really, REALLY important that your guard dog know the difference between an ill-intentioned intruder and, say, the mailman or your neighbors selling girl scout cookies.  It is also fundamental that your guard dog can be called off immediately. Guard dogs must demonstrate impulse control and have absolute respect for their owner. It is best to entrust such a delicate job with a professional trainer who has specialized in guard dog training.

What are the best breeds to train as guard dogs?

Many well known and widely available breeds make excellent guard dogs. The German Shepherd, Bullmastiff, Doberman Pinscher, Boxer, and Giant Schnauzer are some of the best known. There are many other breeds, including a wide variety of shepherding and herding animals that have very strong instincts towards territorialism, vigilance, protectiveness, and loyalty. These are all traits needed for a truly good guard dog.

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