Protective instincts...

[Magnus]

I was just wondering when a doberman's protective instincts might kick in naturally? We did NOT buy him to be a guard dog. We wanted a good family pet, but in that even, it would be nice if he naturally wanted to shield his family from strangers in a reasonable way. He is only 6mo old right now so I know it's too early to expect much. I was just curious if there was an age that they tend to stop wanting to make friends with every person that comes to the door and start to want to "protect" his family more.

 

[LunasMommy]

I think it depends on the pup. My Luna's 4 months old and she's alerted us of strangers in the mid morning coming into the yard , she barks aggressively as giving them a warning to back off as well as to alert me. She's iffy with making human friends on the street she'll Stand by me and bark and if I give her the go ahead she'll let them them pet her, I think it depends on the pups, she protects my kids as well.

 

[watson123]

i think with Watson he started getting protective at 6 months but he really wasn't doberman protective until 8-12 months, but as said above it all depends on the dog.

 

[gettinggreyer]

I think it depends if your Dobe thinks there is something "out there". My Dobe just turned 1yo and I have heard him bark 3 times. All three times have been outside, with focus to the boundary of woods vs field. The bark he had, I'm sure drove off what ever it was (prob a wolf/coyote) I personally would never mess with him, with just the sound of the bark. He also barked so loud and viscous he would move forward and his front legs come off the ground.
I think Dobes know when something is wrong/fishy and will react when the time comes.

 

[Dobs4ever]

Dogs are not mature til 2 years of age and that is when the defense drive fully kicks in. I would be concerned about a puppy that barked at people if you are there with it on lead. is a big difference between an aggressive bark and a fear bark and I seriously doubt any 6 month old has an aggression bark. It sounds far more fear based than protection based and if the dog was off lead flight would be likely. There is a difference between barking and alerting and being protective. They are two different things. Hackles up and barking in loud pitch is fear not protection.

Who would expect a 5 year old child to be protective of its family??? They are puppies. Enjoy the puppy time, Keep the puppy safe from fear accidents, socialize, socialize, socialize and wait and see.

 

[Magnus]

Thank you everyone for your responses! He does bark to alert when he is off lead outdoors in our fence. I obviously do NOT want to him to be aggressive, EVER! I was just wondering when he might move from being friends with every Tom, Dick, and Jane, to wanting to be sure his family is safe first. I honestly figured he is way too young for that now. He is a great dog! And a wonderful addition to your family!

 

[Dobiemom_of2]

Yeti is more my protective guy. He's over 7 months, but will really just alert us if he hears something outside (usually the wind!!) or if he hears people in our alley/next door backyards. Other then that he doesn't really do much "protecting", usually just a play bark, which is fine with me. I love his goofy puppy side!! Zoey on the other hand, I've only heard her bark when she's playing, never really alerted us of anything outside, and she doesn't mind people in the alley. But I have a feeling that when she gets bigger, she'll start coping Yeti, and no one will mess with our house!!