Why is my dog not protective?

If your dog is not protective you might be wondering why and what you can do about it. This post will show you a number of possible reasons why it is not protective.

So, why is my dog not protective? Possible reasons are that it has not been trained to be protective, it might not feel like it needs to be, illness, an issue with its diet or it might be a breed that is not naturally protective.

There are actually a number of possible reasons why your dog might not be being protective and it could be due to a combination of reasons. However, there are some things you can consider when trying to figure out the exact reason.

Why your dog is not protective

Below are a number of possible reasons why your dog is not protective.

It hasn’t been trained to be

The reason why your dog is not protective is likely to be because it has not been trained to be. If your dog is not trained to be protective then it is not guaranteed that it will be protective and most dogs will not naturally be physically protective.

With that being said, there are situations where it would be normal for a dog to be more protective such as when someone it doesn’t know is in its home. If your dog doesn’t become more protective in these situations it could also be due to one of the reasons below.

Also, while most dogs won’t protect their owners physically without training it is the case that many will still be intimidating and most will still bark when there is a threat.

It doesn’t feel the need to be

It could also be the case that your dog does not feel the need to be protective. This would be more likely if you tend to meet other people, that are not threatening, with it on walks and it is not protective. This would be a good thing since you do not want it being protective when it does not need to be.

Illness

If your dog is normally more protective but it has suddenly started behaving differently it could be the case that it has an illness. This would be more likely if it has been showing other signs of being ill such as being fatigued, not eating as much or vomiting. If it does seem like it might be ill it would help to take it to a vet.

Diet

It could also be the case that a problem with its diet has been causing it to behave differently. This would be more likely if it has started acting differently since you changed its diet. You can look here to see what foods you should and should not be feeding it. You can also speak with your vet to see what diet would be best for your dog.

It got to socialize a lot as a puppy

If your dog was able to socialize a lot with other people and dogs as a puppy then it might have learned that other people and dogs are not threats. This would be a good thing since it means that it will not be aggressive when you do not want it to be. It would also still be likely to know when someone is actually being threatening.

You have not been treating it well enough

It might be the case that you have not been walking it enough, feeding it right, giving it enough attention, mistreating it or not training it.

If that is the case it might not feel like you have been treating it well enough or it might even be frightened of you. This would normally be unlikely but things such as if it tries to avoid you would make it more likely.

Related: Why is my dog so restless?

Things to consider

Below are some things you can consider about your dog not being so protective.

When your dog is not protective

It would help to consider if there are certain times where it does become more protective.

If it is protective in certain situations then it could be the case that it usually feels like you are not being threatened.

Whereas, if it is always friendly then it would be more likely that it is because it is naturally friendly and it has not been trained to be protective.

How old it is

It would also help to consider the age of your dog.

If it is still a puppy then it would be likely that it does not yet know who it can and cannot trust and that it does not feel like it could be very protective. But, it would be likely that it would become slightly more protective as it gets older.

If your dog is an adult and it is not protective it would be more likely to be due to one of the reasons mentioned above.

Not being protective is not necessarily a bad thing

It’s also important to realize that it is not such a bad thing that your dog is not protective. When dogs are overly protective they are often difficult to control and they will make guests feel uncomfortable.

Being too friendly is a good thing

It is important to be aware that it is generally a good thing for a dog to be overly friendly since it means that it will be easier for you to control it and it will be easier for you to meet other people with it.