If you’re wondering whether or not your Golden Retriever would protect you, this post will show you whether or not it would do it.
So, would my Golden Retriever protect me? If your Golden Retriever has not been trained to protect you it is difficult to tell whether or not it would protect you. However, it would likely act as a deterrent, it would likely alert you to the danger and it would be more likely to protect you from other animals.
There are a number of things that you can consider when trying to figure out whether or not your Golden Retriever would protect you. There are also a number of options that you have when getting it to be more protective.
How to tell if your Golden Retriever would protect you
Below are some ways you can tell whether or not your Golden Retriever would protect you.
It is difficult to tell if it has not been trained to
If your Golden Retriever has not been trained to be protective, it would be difficult to accurately say whether or not it would physically protect you if you were in danger. Golden Retrievers are not generally an aggressive breed so it would be more likely that it would not protect you physically.
In most cases, when the owners of untrained dogs are being confronted it has been found that most dogs will bark and look threatening but they will not actually do anything. This is even the case with typically more protective breeds such as German Shepherds.
With that being said, there are many instances where dogs have actually protected their owners without training which is why it is difficult to be sure that it wouldn’t protect you.
It depends on the dog
The behavior of your Golden Retriever would also be something to consider. If it tends to become overly protective when you are around other people and dogs then it would make it more likely that it would protect you physically.
Whereas, if it is always a friendly Golden Retriever (which is what you want as discussed below) then it would be less likely that it would protect you.
It would still be a deterrent
While it is not likely that it would protect you physically, it is likely that it would still act as a deterrent. Golden Retrievers are big dogs and they do have the potential of being dangerous so people would likely think twice before threatening you with it around.
It would be more likely to protect you from animals
While it is unlikely that it would protect you from people, it is likely that it would protect you from other animals since it will be easier for it to see that you are in danger.
It might alert you to danger
If there is a danger such as an intruder in your home or a fire, it would also be likely that it would alert you to the danger by barking. With that being said, there have also been cases where they haven’t so it is still important to take precautions such as to have smoke detectors in your home.
Things to consider
The nature of your Golden Retriever
It would help to consider the nature of your Golden Retriever when you are trying to figure out if it would protect you or not.
If your Golden Retriever tends to be quite dominating and naturally untrusting it would make it more likely that it would protect you.
Whereas, if it tends to be friendly even in situations where the person might not be friendly then it would be much less likely that it would protect you.
Being overly friendly is better than overly aggressive
It is also important to consider that it is better to have a dog that is overly friendly than overly protective. If your Golden Retriever is overly protective then it will mean that it will be more difficult to have it around other people and animals and it will be much harder to manage.
How to get your Golden Retriever to protect you
Below are some things you can do to get your Golden Retriever to be more protective.
Train it using the panic word method
One option would be to train it to become more intimidating using the panic word method.
To train it to learn the panic word you would do as follows:
Get some treats that your Golden Retriever likes
- Give it a small treat so that it knows you have treats
- Wait for your Golden Retriever to bark by teasing it with the treat if necessary
- Reward it when it barks or when it shows a sign of barking
- Continue to do the above each time you show it the treat say the command word so that it learns that the command word means to bark
You can watch the video below to see how it is done
Train it to learn who is friendly
It is important to make sure that your Golden Retriever does not become aggressive around friendly people. To train it to be friendly around other people it would help to reward it when it approaches people in a friendly way and when it is actually friendly around them.