If you’re wondering whether or not your Labrador would protect you, this post will show you whether or not it would do it.
So, would my Labrador protect me? If your Labrador 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 Labrador 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 Labrador would protect you
Below are some ways you can tell whether or not your Labrador would be likely to protect you.
It is difficult to tell if it has not been trained to
Most dogs that are very protective physically are protective because they have been trained to be that way. Most family dogs are not physically protective by nature.
If your Labrador 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. Labradors 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 seem threatening but they will not actually do anything. This is even the case with typically more protective breeds such as German Shepherds.
It depends on the dog
The nature of your Labrador would also be something to consider. If it tends to become threatening in situations such as when there is someone at the door, it would make it more likely that it would be protective. Whereas, if it tends to be friendly with everyone, it would be a lot less likely that it would be protective.
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. Labradors can be 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 other people physically, it is likely that it would protect you from other animals. This is because it will generally, be able to tell that you are in danger much more accurately.
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 Labrador
It would help to consider the nature of your Labrador when trying to figure out whether or not it would protect you.
If your Labrador 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
Another thing to consider is that it is better to have a dog that is overly friendly than overly protective. If your Labrador 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 Labrador to protect you
Below are some things you can do to get it to be more protective when you want it to be.
Train it using the panic word method
One option would be to train it to become more intimidating using the “panic word” method. This is where you get it to start being protective when you say a certain word.
To train it to learn the panic word you would do as follows:
Get some treats that your Labrador likes
- Give it a small treat so that it knows you have treats
- Wait for your Labrador 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 would help to make sure that your Labrador is not aggressive towards people that are friendly. 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.